Political Speech

Floor Speech

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Mr. LEE. I ask unanimous consent that I be given 2 additional minutes to wrap up my remarks.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. LEE. What all of this boils down to is that the core values, the core protections underlying the First Amendment are not just important, they are not just nice to talk about, they are at the very foundation of our representative democracy. They are at the very foundation of our Republic and how it operates. If this amendment were to pass, if this were to become part of the Constitution of the United States, Congress would become more powerful at the expense of the American people.

Ultimately this will inure to the benefit of the political establishment in Washington. It would inure to the benefit, perhaps, of two political parties but everybody else would suffer. It would be more difficult for more Americans to speak on issues that concerned them. Congress would have more power and the States would have more power to restrict the speech of the American people.

It has been said in the past that this is about restricting money, not speech.

It is a little bit like saying a city ordinance prohibiting people from using either an automobile or a subway car to get to a protest rally isn't restricting their access to a protest rally or the right to participate in that protest rally.

When money is the means by which the American people can have the ability to express their concern on an issue voters are facing in an upcoming election, that should concern us all. This is an attempt to weaken the most fundamental components of our rights as U.S. citizens. I must, therefore, oppose Senate Joint Resolution 19 and urge my colleagues to do the same.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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