In the near future, I intend to introduce a resolution calling on Congress to enact the ‘For Our Freedom’ amendment to the United States Constitution, and return it to Pennsylvania and the states for ratification.

For years, courts have chipped away at the ability of elected officials to regulate outside political spending, finally resulting in a total constitutional prohibition. While we retain the authority to regulate political giving directly to candidates and campaigns, courts have ruled that spending that takes place outside of that system, where disclosure rules and limits do not apply, is protected by the Constitution and therefore no legislator can seek to regulate it.

We are seeing the effects of this system every cycle. Elections continue to be nationalized with tens of millions of dollars from corporate and union interests flooding into our districts from all over the country - and even the world - and shouting down the voices of our constituents.

The only proper remedy to this Constitutional problem is a Constitutional one. The For Our Freedom amendment is the solution because it doesn’t prescribe a specific remedy or enshrine any specific regulation into the Constitution. Rather, it simply says that elected officials have the authority to regulate this money as they see fit in their respective jurisdictions.

I’m sure that we all have lots of ideas about how we should regulate independent political spending - and I’m sure there are lots of disagreements to be had. However, we can’t even begin to have those conversations unless the Constitution is amended to undo the actions that our activist courts have taken in removing our authority as elected officials to oversee elections.

I hope that you will join me in co-sponsoring this important resolution.