Cruz calls for lifting campaign fundraising limts

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) wants to squeeze out super PACs by abolishing limits on fundraising dollars to individual candidates. 

Joining with Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), Cruz is filing legislation that the pair argues will increase transparency and treat all campaign donations like free speech.

“Restrictions to political contributions are always presented under the guise of preventing corruption and holding politicians accountable, when in fact they accomplish exactly the opposite: protecting incumbent politicians,” Cruz said in a statement.

“Establishing unlimited contributions paired with immediate disclosure is the best way to promote transparency, eliminate the viability of SuperPACs going forward, and ensure that free speech is protected in the electoral process.”

Super PACs rose to prominence thanks to the effects of the 2010 Supreme Court case Citizens United v. FEC, which abolished fundraising limits by corporations to independent groups. A subsequent ruling lifted various limits on individual donations to those groups, turning on the unlimited spigot of cash as long as the PACs don’t coordinate spending with campaigns. 

While super PACs have to disclose their donors at various deadlines throughout the year, not all of their fundraising sources become public. That’s because some donors filter money through nonprofits, which aren’t subject to those disclosure laws, which then pass the money to a super PAC. While the nonprofit is named as the donor, the original source is shielded. 

The new bill would allow donors to give unlimited sums to candidates but require that donations of more than $200 be disclosed within one day’s time. 

Meadows praised the legislation in his own statement as a fight to ensure “individual citizens have an adequate say in our political process.”

Cruz’s 2016 presidential campaign was supported by an army of super PACs that ran ads on his behalf. On occasion, his campaign would trumpet the combined hauls of the candidate and his allied outside groups as it flexed its financial muscle over the field. 

But in his statement, Cruz slammed the current laws, which allow a flurry of donations to outside groups that can dictate the message of a campaign without the candidate’s consent. 

“Candidates should define their own messages, and citizens should be free to support whatever candidate they choose to support,” he said. 

Cruz offered a similar bill in 2014 as Democrats called for a constitutional amendment to restore the previous restrictions on campaign donations, arguing that fewer regulations limit the power of average-earning Americans. The 2014 version gained little traction in Congress.