Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Summer Lee today introduced legislation to ban super PACs from buying our elections.
Introduce and support federal legislation to ban Super PACs and prohibit wealthy individuals and organizations from using Super PACs to influence federal elections.
Occurrences
Evidence
The Sanders Senate press release says Bernie Sanders and Rep. Summer Lee introduced the Abolish Super PACs Act, which would cap individual contributions to super PACs at $5,000 and was presented as legislation to ban super PACs from buying elections. Sanders said he was proud to support the bill.
The June 5 floor wrap-up reports that the Senate considered Sanders amendment #5451 in relation to S.2 and that the motion to waive the Budget Act failed 45-53.
During the June 9-July 8 lookback, the floor feed lists Senate business through June 24 and then pro forma sessions with no business until July 13. I found no listed follow-up action on Sanders' Super PAC legislation in that window.
Sanders' Senate office announced that Sanders and Rep. Summer Lee introduced the Abolish Super PACs Act. The release says the bill would cap individual contributions to super PACs at $5,000 and quotes Sanders calling it an important step that he was proud to support.
The bill text identifies Mr. Sanders as introducing the Abolish Super PACs Act in the Senate. It would amend the Federal Election Campaign Act to place contribution limits on independent expenditure committees, including Super PACs.
The Senate considered Sanders Amendment No. 5451, described as placing reasonable limits on contributions to Super PACs making independent expenditures. The waiver motion was rejected 45-53, and Sanders voted yea.
Assessments
The promise was to introduce and support federal legislation targeting Super PACs, not necessarily to enact a ban. Sanders introduced the Abolish Super PACs Act in the Senate, publicly supported it, and advanced a related Super PAC contribution-limit amendment to a Senate vote during his current federal term. The amendment failed, but that does not negate delivery of the narrower introduce-and-support commitment.
Sanders introduced the Abolish Super PACs Act with Rep. Summer Lee and publicly supported it, which satisfies the promise to introduce and support federal legislation targeting Super PACs. The later Senate vote shows the bill was blocked, but the promise was about making the legislative push, not securing enactment.