April, 02 2014, 12:50pm EDT
McCutcheon Decision Another Blow to Democracy and Our Essential Resources
Statement by Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director of Food & Water Watch
WASHINGTON
"The Supreme Court continues to chop away at the basic laws protecting our democracy from becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of the corporations and wealthy individuals making campaign donations. The McCutcheon ruling shows that the decades-long crisis with money in politics--a serious problem accelerated by Citizens United--has just been turned up another notch.
"With these two rulings, corporations and billionaires like the Koch brothers will be able to use their money to buy more influence in more places, gaining a tighter grip on our government.
"According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the food industry spent $40 million lobbying the federal government in 2011. And the biotech industry spent over half a billion dollars in campaign contributions and lobbying expenditures since 1999. Additionally, special interests spent $173.5 million lobbying on the 2008 Farm Bill. Meanwhile, the oil and gas industry spent over $145 million lobbying Washington in 2010, making it one of the top five industries spending big money to buy influence.
"We need to take back our democracy in order to protect our essential food and water resources from big moneyed interests. That's why we at Food & Water Watch are working with dozens of other organizations to amend the constitution to restore sanity in campaign finance--overturning Citizens United and now McCutcheon."
Food & Water Watch mobilizes regular people to build political power to move bold and uncompromised solutions to the most pressing food, water, and climate problems of our time. We work to protect people's health, communities, and democracy from the growing destructive power of the most powerful economic interests.
(202) 683-2500LATEST NEWS
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According to the CBD:
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