Members of the House and Senate have introduced more than 20 bills this year that would affect some aspect of the role money plays in the political system, but few — if any — have a chance of becoming law.
The bills cover a range of issues, including dark money, inauguration fundraising, corporate political action committees, foreign funding of elections and super PACs. But few of the measures have managed to garner enough cosponsors to indicate broad support in Congress. Only a resolution outlining a constitutional amendment to overturn the landmark Citizens United ruling, introduced by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), has significant backing, with 40 cosponsors — but none are Republicans, who control the chamber’s agenda.
None of the bills have advanced past the most rudimentary of legislative activity; thus far, each has been referred to a committee, the default action when legislation is introduced. And that’s where they’re all likely to die when the 119th Congress ends in January 2027, unless Republican leaders take the unlikely step of advancing the legislation.
While the vast majority of these bills were introduced by Democrats, a handful came out of Republican offices, but even the Republican-backed bills seem unlikely to advance, at least during this congressional session given the lack of support and their absence from committee agendas.
Aaron Scherb, a longtime advocate for democratic reforms, has kept a running list of political reform legislation and tracks their activity in his Democracy Downloaded newsletter. With his permission, OpenSecrets is sharing the subset of money-in-politics bills.
“As a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, I’ve learned that passing comprehensive democracy reform legislation is a marathon, not a sprint. Many of these bills are supported by majorities of Republican, Democratic and independent voters, so it’s really only in Washington, D.C., that some of these bills are seen as partisan,” Scherb said. “It often takes a scandal or crisis to catalyze reform, as we’ve seen repeatedly with other successful reform legislation.”
And why might the advancement of these bills be unlikely?
“Too often, certain Members of Congress just introduce bills to get a press release, but then don’t do the hard work of building support for the legislation over a number of years,” Scherb said. “That’s not necessarily the case here, but it’s one possible explanation.”
Four bills have reached double-digit co-sponsors:
- Shaheen’s Democracy for All Amendment, which would allow Congress and states to cap political contributions and election-related spending.
- The House and Senate versions of the Presidential Library Anti-Corruption Act, which would put restrictions on donations to support presidential libraries and centers.
- The Inaugural Fund Transparency Act, which would bar corporations and foreign nationals from donating to presidential inaugural committees as well as limit how much an individual may donate.