Harder Introduces Bill to Combat Corruption in Washington

WASHINGTON — Today, Representatives Josh Harder (CA-10) and Jared Golden (ME-2) re-introduced the Ban Corporate PACs Act which would ban all corporate Political Action Committees (PACs). In the 2020 election cycle, corporate PACs gave more than $400 million to federal campaigns, the most of any type of PAC.

"Throw a rock in any direction from Capitol Hill and you'll find a corporation looking to buy somebody's vote. It's corrupt, it's just plain wrong, and it has to stop," said Rep. Harder. "If this place is going start working for the people, it's got to stop working for the big money corporations. The Ban Corporate PACs Act brings us one step closer to weeding out corruption and putting working families back in charge of their government."

"Corporations have too much power over American politics. Our government should be responsive to the people, not corporate special interests. I'm proud to work with Congressman Harder to introduce the Ban Corporate PACs Act," said Rep. Golden.

"With the introduction of this bill, Congressmen Josh Harder and Jared Golden continue to prove that they are at the forefront of the fight to root out the corrosive and corrupting influence of corporate money in politics," said End Citizens United Action Fund President Tiffany Muller. "This bill is an important step in ending the broken system in Washington, where only those with the biggest campaign checks have a seat at the table. Everyday Americans have been effectively shut out of the conversation because corporations control the agenda and too many politicians are addicted to their PAC checks. We're grateful for Congressmen Harder and Golden's continued leadership and commitment to making government work for all Americans, and we look forward to passing this critical bill."

Harder and Golden's Ban Corporate PACs Act would amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit for-profit corporations from being allowed to sponsor, operate, or fund a separate segregated fund, commonly known as a PAC. This bill also dissolves existing corporate PACs one year after enactment. Corporate PACs are often established by corporations to influence policy, with corporations able to fund the creation and operation of the PAC and solicit contributions. In many cases, corporate PACs are controlled by corporate lobbyists and expressly make contributions to forward business interests.