Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States giving Congress power to regulate campaign contributions for Federal elections.
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on the Constitution and Civil Justice.
Constitutional Amendment
This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment giving Congress the power to prohibit, limit, or otherwise regulate donations to candidates for federal office or to purchase media advertisements intended to influence the outcome of any such election.
States may prohibit, limit, or otherwise regulate donations to candidates for state office or donations for media advertisements intended to influence the outcome of an election for state office or any other direct vote in the state.
The amendment prohibits a person who is not a U.S. citizen or who is a foreign government or its agent from: (1) donating to a candidate for public office in the United States, or (2) making donations intended to influence the outcome of an election for public office or of any other direct vote of the U.S. electorate.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on February 6, 2017. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
3 steps remain before this amendment could become part of the Constitution. Congress only proposes an amendment; it cannot enact one, and the President has no part in it.
The record's latest action, on February 14, 2017: Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.
- A two-thirds vote in the House
- A two-thirds vote in the Senate
- Ratification by three quarters of the states, which is 38 of the 50
What would it take to amend the Constitution?
This is a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution, which follows Article V rather than the ordinary path a bill takes. Two thirds of the House and two thirds of the Senate have to agree, and a simple majority is not enough.
It is then never sent to the President, who has no role in amending the Constitution. It goes to the states, and three quarters of them, 38 of the 50, have to ratify it before it takes effect.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Kurt Schrader (D-OR) introduced it on February 6, 2017. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on February 6, 2017, 3503 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3495 days ago, on February 14, 2017.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 115th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2019 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers