Congress proposes constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United
H.J.Res. 122 — Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to the authority of Congress and the States to regulate contributions and expenditures intended to affect elections and to enact public financing systems for political campaigns. · Filed by Joe Neguse (D-CO) · 113 cosponsors · Introduced Sep 17, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment that would allow Congress and the states to regulate campaign contributions and spending, and to establish public financing systems for elections. It would overturn or limit the effect of Citizens United v. FEC by explicitly permitting viewpoint-neutral limits on money in politics and allowing governments to distinguish between natural persons and corporations in campaign finance regulation.
Why we flagged it
This is a straightforward constitutional amendment proposal designed to overturn or limit Citizens United by restoring government authority to regulate campaign contributions and spending. It is not a statute but a proposal to amend the Constitution itself, making it a structural governance measure rather than a policy bill.
What the text implies
- Ratification requires 38 state legislatures (three-fourths of 50) to approve within seven years; passage is extremely difficult and uncertain, making this primarily a messaging/advocacy vehicle rather than imminent law.
- Section 3 explicitly permits Congress and States to distinguish between natural persons and corporations in campaign spending, potentially enabling corporate spending bans — a direct reversal of Citizens United's core holding.
- Section 2's reference to 'offsetting' private spending with public funds suggests support for matching-fund or voucher-based systems, which could reshape campaign economics if implemented.
- Press freedom carve-out (Section 4) preserves media companies' ability to spend on political content, creating a potential loophole for media-owned entities or news organizations with political interests.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The amendment would restore democratic authority to regulate money in politics, potentially reducing the influence of wealthy donors and corporations on elections and enabling public financing systems. Citizens would gain a mechanism to address concerns about money's outsized role in campaigns, though the actual effect depends on how Congress and states choose to implement the power.
Named in the bill
Congress, States, Citizens United v. FEC (implied target), Federal Election Commission (implied enforcer)
Where it stands
113 cosponsors: 113 Democrats.
- Sep 17, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Sep 17, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $100,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 8 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Joe Neguse, the sponsor, reported $1,076,229 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Infin, a Financial Services Alliance (f/k/a Financial Service Centers America) — $100,000 on 2 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 16, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (2,727 characters) on Sep 5, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 16, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-21.
“Congress proposes constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hjres122 Report an error
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