RESTORING ELECTION INTEGRITY

On 2026-01-21, Representative Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA-10) delivered a floor speech titled "RESTORING ELECTION INTEGRITY" in the House. The speech addressed immigration and also covered healthcare, gun policy.

RESTORING ELECTION INTEGRITY

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 14 (Wednesday, January 21, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 14 (Wednesday, January 21, 2026)] [House] [Pages H1162-H1167] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] RESTORING ELECTION INTEGRITY (Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2025, Mr. Subramanyam of Virginia was recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.) General Leave Mr. SUBRAMANYAM. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Haridopolos). Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Virginia? There was no objection. Mr. SUBRAMANYAM. Mr. Speaker, today marks 16 years since the Supreme Court's disastrous decision in Citizens United. The decision overturned critically important limits on political spending by corporations and billionaires. We said it at the time, and it has come true: The decision has unleashed unprecedented spending by dark money groups on our elections. Now campaigns are often defined not by a candidate's record or their ideas but, rather, by their access to dark money. The wealthiest individuals and corporations can now help skew elections singlehandedly by giving millions to their preferred candidate. They can block progress that they don't want to see. In fact, the world's richest man spent more than $250 million to help President Trump get elected in 2024. Let's talk about that 2024 cycle. Super-PACs spent $4.5 billion. That is up from $2.3 billion in 2022, almost double in 2 years. That is more money than the GDP of Greenland. In the 2024 Presidential election, the biggest super-PACs supporting majority party nominees raked in $865 million from donors who contributed $5 million or more alone. Each year, our elections are increasingly defined not by big spenders but by the biggest spenders. Between 2010 and 2024, the percentage of Federal election spending by the top 100 individual donors has jumped from 2 percent to almost 15 percent. That is eight times as much. This has resulted in Americans losing faith in the integrity of our elections and the integrity of our democracy because our democracy is predicated on the idea that every voice matters, regardless of how much money you have. When the wealthy few can drown out the many, we lose sight of who we are supposed to serve. Policymaking gets overshadowed by these special interests. Yet, after Citizens United, it is too often small groups of corporations and billionaires tipping the scales based on who serves their business interests. This can and must end. The American people have a voice, and if the majority supports a candidate or a reform, that should win the day alone. We must limit super-PACs, dark money, and excessive campaign spending. We must restore trust in the political process. We must restore democracy to the way our Founders intended, centered on equal access to government, and we must overturn Citizens United. We have that power. I thank my colleagues for joining me today and for Assistant Leader Neguse for organizing today. I look forward to hearing from my many colleagues in the next hour about how we can tackle this important issue. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Mrs. Grijalva). Mrs. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Subramanyam) for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the single greatest force that continues to distort our democracy: the role of money in our politics. Mr. Speaker, 16 years ago today, the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision opened the floodgates to unlimited corporate and billionaire spending in our elections, drowning out the voices of working people. The decision overturned longstanding precedent rooted on independent political spending by corporations and billionaires. [[Page H1163]] The conservative majority embraced the idea that spending money on elections equals speech and that corporations are entitled to the same speech rights as people, giving carte blanche to corporations and billionaires to spend unlimited money. When money is allowed to dominate, it blocks progress on everything else. Private prison and immigrant detention contractors spend millions to influence elections and policy, all while people die in their facilities. Mr. Speaker, three people have died in just the last 6 weeks at a privately run tent camp in El Paso. Fossil fuel and mining companies pour enormous sums into elections to block climate action while communities like mine in Arizona face record heat, drought, and wildfires and continue to deal with the devastating impact to our water, land, and environment. The gun lobby spends millions to stop lifesaving reforms while my friend Congresswoman Gabby Giffords continues to fight for commonsense gun laws so that tragedies like that mass shooting in Tucson never happen again. Nowhere is this corruption more visible than in the White House, where policy decisions are increasingly shaped by the interests of wealthy donors and corporate insiders. Literally, it feels like there is a sign in front of the White House saying: Justice for sale. We should be clear that Congress doesn't have to wait to act. We can ban Members of Congress from holding and trading stock. We can pass transparency laws like the DISCLOSE Act. Ultimately, we need to pass a constitutional amendment reversing Citizens United. This is a choice between democracy that serves donors or one that serves people. The choice couldn't be clearer. Mr. Speaker, 16 years after Citizens United, we need to shift the power back to everyday Americans and away from those who can write the biggest checks. It is past time that we reverse course on Citizens United. It is time to act and end Citizens United. Mr. SUBRAMANYAM. Mr. Speaker, there are a lot of reforms that people have proposed to overturn the damage done by Citizens United. I introduced legislation, the Campaign and Election Accountability Act. One of the things that Citizens United did was make it easier for foreign nationals to funnel money into U.S. elections. {time} 1740 The Federal Election Campaign Act currently prohibits foreign nationals from contributing to U.S. elections and political campaigns. However, it does not prohibit Americans from assisting foreign nationals from seeking to do so. We don't know if they are wanting to donate for nefarious reasons or if they just like a candidate, but we must ensure that our elections are free and fair from foreign influence. It is a small tweak, but my bill will prohibit Americans from assisting foreign nationals who want to contribute to U.S. elections. This way, we can all have faith that only Americans are contributing to our campaigns. For now, this is a step in the right direction as we all work toward the larger goal of overturning Citizens United. I hear from a lot of constituents about what is the disconnect between Washington's policies and what is happening for everyday Americans because Americans are living through one of the worst cost- of-living crises in modern history. Working families are struggling with rising expenses, like healthcare, housing and utilities, and groceries, yet they have representation that seems to reflect the very wealthiest. We just passed a tax cut for the very wealthiest Americans this last summer, and people don't understand why. If you look back at what happened with Citizens United, you realize that that influence on our campaigns and elections is why you end up with policies like that. This is why we have to make sure that we overturn Citizens United. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Neguse). Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Virginia for this opportunity to speak on the floor today. He is new to the Congress, but he has already made an outsized impact during the course of his 13 months of service in this august body taking on corruption. I am deeply grateful to him for his efforts in that regard, not just with respect to overturning Citizens United, but tackling the corruption that has become so pervasive here in Washington, D.C. Mr. Speaker, I stand on the floor of the people's House to deliver what I believe to be an urgent message: The time to confront political corruption and clean up government is now. Sixteen years ago to this very day, the Supreme Court issued its ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. As you know, Mr. Speaker, that decision overturned longstanding precedent and limits on political spending by special interests. The decision created a dark money system, where money speaks louder than everyday Americans. It has shifted power and influence away from everyday Americans, from the folks in our communities that we are privileged to serve, to instead these shadowy special interests that flood television screens every evening. In my view, Citizens United undermined what it means to be a country of the people, by the people, for the people, and, above all, accountable to the people. Unfortunately, for far too long, this Chamber has failed to do what needs to be done to renew the faith of the American people in our democracy. We cannot accept that. We have to do something about it. As you know, Mr. Speaker, earlier this year, I introduced legislation in the form of a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that would revoke Citizens United. It would ensure transparency through our campaign finance reform and prevent unrestrained spending and dark money in our elections. Put bluntly, it would put the power back in the hands of the American people. I thank my Democratic colleagues, 73 of them, who have already cosponsored this legislation, who are joining us tonight to be part of this effort, this clarion call, supporting the restoration of integrity and