The Hill: Democrats introduce bill to end political spending by foreign-owned corporations

The Hill: Democrats introduce bill to end political spending by foreign-owned corporations

“Americans deserve to know who is trying to influence our voices and our votes, and foreign entities should have zero role in determining American elections,” Karen Hobert Flynn, president of Common Cause, said in a statement.

House Democrats reintroduced a bill Tuesday that would block foreign-owned corporations from spending company funds to influence U.S. elections.

The bill would extend the federal ban on political donations from foreign nationals to multinational companies that are at least partially owned by foreign nationals. Following the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision that allowed corporations to spend unlimited sums to influence elections, some U.S. subsidiaries of foreign-owned companies have made large donations to super PACs. …

The bill is backed by watchdog groups that say that loopholes in campaign finance law make the U.S. vulnerable to foreign influence. This summer, the Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) Office of the Inspector General warned that the agency does not do enough to crack down on foreign money in U.S. politics.

“Americans deserve to know who is trying to influence our voices and our votes, and foreign entities should have zero role in determining American elections,” Karen Hobert Flynn, president of Common Cause, said in a statement.