HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0735.007 2010-2012 MAZIE K.HIRONO COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
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Hawaii County Council
County of Hawaii
Office of the Clerk
25 Aupuni Street, Suite 1402
Hilo, HI 96720-4245
Dear members of the Hawaii County Council,
Thank you for contacting me regarding campaign finance reform and the Council's
passage of a resolution in support of a constitutional amendment to reverse the Supreme
Court's decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. I appreciate hearing
from you on this important issue.
Like you, I was very troubled by the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v.
Federal Election Commission. This U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturned provisions of
the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act that prohibit corporate or labor union funds from
being used for federal elections. The Court stated that these restrictions constitute a"ban
on speech"that would violate the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. I agree with
you that we cannot allow corporations and lobbyists to manipulate elections.
That's why I cosponsored H.R. 2517, the Shareholder Protection Act of 2011, which
would amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require shareholders to approve
certain political expenditures by publicly traded companies. This campaign finance and
election reform legislation is intended to counter the effects of the Citizens United
decision. This legislation has been referred to the House Committee on Financial
Services.
In addition, I am a cosponsor of H.J.Res. 78, which proposes an amendment to the U.S.
Constitution permitting Congress and the States to regulate corporations spending money
on political activity. This resolution has been referred to the House Committee on the
Judiciary.
I am a strong supporter of campaign finance reform outside the realm of the Citizens
United decision, which is why I also cosponsored H.R. 1404, the Fair Elections Now Act.
This bill would create a voluntary public financing system for Congressional candidates
and has been referred to the House Committee on House Administration.
Comm. No. 73s. 7
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Hawaii County Council
Page 2
July 26, 2012
While I am not a member of these committees, please be assured that I will continue
working to see these important bills advanced in the 112th Congress.
Again, thank you for contacting me. If you would like to stay in touch with me on this or
other issues of importance to you, please visit my website at http://hirono.house.gov and
sign up to receive my regular e-mail updates. Please do not hesitate to contact me again
in the future if I may be of assistance to you in any way.
Sincerely,"AD.; �_ Ma
Mazie K. Hirono ,�,`
Member of Congress