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Bernie Sanders to Congress: You Are Going to be Paid Employees of Billionaires

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Created: 24 March, 2015
Updated: 21 November, 2022
1 min read

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARWIWh5XWo4&t=61

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) made headlines Thursday when he introduced an amendment before the Senate Budget Committee to begin the process of overturning the 2010 Citizens United decision handed down by the Supreme Court. His question to his colleagues was simple: "Are we comfortable with an American political system which is being dominated by a handful of billionaires?"

On Sunday, the senator published an op-ed in The Huffington Post with the basic argument for his amendment and his stance on the issue:

"Are we a nation that prides ourselves on one-person, one-vote, or do we tell ordinary Americans you've got one vote but the Koch brothers can spend hundreds of millions of dollars? [...] Who are those members of Congress elected with the help of billionaires going to be representing? Do you think they're going to be representing the middle class and working families? The answers seem clear to me. Unless the campaign financing system is reformed, the U.S. Congress will become paid employees of the people who pay for their campaigns -- the billionaire class. Needless to say, not everyone on the Committee agreed." - U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)

Read the full op-ed here.

Sanders' proposed budget amendment failed in a 10-12 vote; not a single Republican on the committee voted in favor of it. Sanders says he intends to introduce the amendment again this week on the Senate floor.

Photo Source: Reuters

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