Washington, D.C. - Rep. David Price released the following statement today after the Supreme Court overturned significant portions of existing campaign finance legislation in its 5-4 decision in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.

"Today's Supreme Court ruling is a major setback for the integrity of our democracy. By striking down a cornerstone of the bipartisan McCain-Feingold legislation, this decision will open the door for special interest groups and corporations to spend millions to influence the outcome of political campaigns. I have no doubt that it will have a corrosive effect on the electoral process.

As Justice John Paul Stevens wrote in his dissenting opinion, the Court's ruling represents 'a rejection of the common sense of the American people, who have recognized a need to prevent corporations from undermining self¬-government since the founding [of our nation]... While American democracy is imperfect, few outside the majority of this Court would have thought its flaws included a dearth of corporate money in politics.'

As a longtime advocate of transparency and integrity in our nation's electoral process, I call on the leadership of Congress to move swiftly to close the gaping loophole that the Supreme Court has left in our campaign finance laws."

Before the Supreme Court considered the case, Rep. Price joined with several other lawmakers to file an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief arguing that the Court should uphold existing bipartisan campaign finance legislation. That brief can be found here.

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