	Introduction

On January 21, 2010, the Supreme Court issued a 5-4 ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission . At least two broad approaches may be available. Second, Congress could restrict spending under certain conditions or require those making expenditures to provide additional information to voters or regulators. Some may argue that the only way to provide Congress with the power to directly affect the content of the ruling would be to amend the Constitution—an option that is likely to be controversial and laborious. This report is intended to respond to Congress's ongoing interest in campaign finance policy options following Citizens United . Given the pace of developments since the ruling, the report is not intended to be exhaustive. This report does not provide—nor is it intended to provide—a legal analysis of Citizens United or of legal issues that might affect the policy options discussed here. CRS Report R41045, The Constitutionality of Regulating Corporate Expenditures: A Brief Analysis of the Supreme Court Ruling in Citizens United v. FEC , by [author name scrubbed], and CRS Report R41096, Legislative Options After Citizens United v. FEC: Constitutional and Legal Issues , by [author name scrubbed] et al., discuss legal and constitutional issues. Events described in this report are current as of September 2010, when the report was last substantively updated. No major additional campaign finance activity occurred during the 111 th Congress. For discussion of the ongoing evolution of Citizens United policy issues, see CRS Report R41542, The State of Campaign Finance Policy: Recent Developments and Issues for Congress , by [author name scrubbed]. A more complete understanding of how Citizens United will affect the political environment, including campaign spending, will likely be unavailable until after the 2010 election cycle. Table 1 at the end of this report provides an overview of legislation that may be or has been relevant for a congressional response to Citizens United . By contrast, three bills that have been the subject of more recent attention are House and Senate versions of the DISCLOSE Act (an acronym for "Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections"), sponsored by Representative Van Hollen and Senator Schumer respectively. Provisions in H.R. (For additional discussion of the DISCLOSE Act, see CRS Report R41264, The DISCLOSE Act: Overview and Analysis , by [author name scrubbed], [author name scrubbed], and [author name scrubbed].) As of this writing, the following relevant constitutional amendments have been introduced during the 111 th Congress: H.J.Res. 13 (Kaptur), H.J.Res. 68 (Boswell), H.J.Res. 74 (Edwards, MD), H.J.Res. 82 (Hodes), H.J.Res. 84 (Schrader), S.J.Res. 28 (Dodd), and S.J.Res. 158 (Obey) and H.R. 6116 (Larson), H.R. H.R. 4510 (Grayson), H.R. 4517 (Hall), H.R. 4522 (Pascrell), H.R. 4523 (Perriello), H.R. 1095 (Maloney), H.R. 4434 (Grayson), H.R. 4617 (Walz), H.R. 5175 , S. 3295 , and S. 3628 ) also proposes to amend the existing government contractor prohibitions. Relevant measures introduced thus far include H.R. 4487 (Grayson), H.R. 4537 (Capuano), H.R. 4644 (Sestak), H.R. 4630 (Ackerman), H.R. 4432 (Grayson), H.R. 4527 (Driehaus), H.R. 4583 (Boccieri), H.R. 4630 (Ackerman), H.R.
Following the Supreme Court's January 21, 2010, ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, questions have emerged about which policy options could be available to Congress. This report provides an overview of selected campaign finance policy options that may be relevant. It also briefly comments on how Citizens United might affect political advertising. A complete understanding of how Citizens United will affect the campaign and policy environments is likely to be unavailable until at least the conclusion of the 2010 election cycle.
As Congress considers legislative responses, at least two broad choices could be relevant. First, Congress could provide candidates or parties with additional access to funds to combat corporate influence in elections. Second, Congress could restrict spending under certain conditions or require those making expenditures post-Citizens United to provide additional information to voters or regulators. Options within both approaches could generate substantial debate. Some may contend that the only way to provide Congress with the power to directly affect the content of the ruling would be to amend the Constitution.
More than 40 bills introduced during the 111th Congress may be relevant for legislative responses to Citizens United. These include H.Con.Res. 13, H.J.Res. 13, H.J.Res. 68, H.J.Res. 74 ,H.J.Res. 82, H.J.Res. 84, H.Res. 1275, H.R. 158, H.R. 1095, H.R. 1826, H.R. 2038, H.R. 2056, H.R. 3574, H.R. 3859, H.R. 4431, H.R. 4432, H.R. 4433, H.R. 4434, H.R. 4435, H.R. 4487, H.R. 4510, H.R. 4511, H.R. 4517, H.R. 4522, H.R. 4523, H.R. 4527, H.R. 4537, H.R. 4540, H.R. 4550, H.R. 4583, H.R. 4617, H.R. 4630, H.R. 4644, H.R. 4749, H.R. 4768, H.R. 4790, H.R. 5175, S.J.Res. 28 ,S.J.Res. 36, S. 133, S. 752, S. 2954, S. 2959, S. 3004, S. 3295, and S. 3628. The House passed H.R. 5175, a version of the DISCLOSE Act (an acronym for "Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections"), on June 24, 2010. (For additional discussion, see CRS Report R41264, The DISCLOSE Act: Overview and Analysis, by [author name scrubbed], [author name scrubbed], and [author name scrubbed]). Given the pace of developments since the ruling, this report is not intended to be exhaustive. Relevant legislation that has been introduced thus far is reflected through selected examples and in Table 1 at the end of this report.
This report is not intended to provide a legal analysis of Citizens United or of constitutional issues that might affect the policy options discussed here. CRS Report R41045, The Constitutionality of Regulating Corporate Expenditures: A Brief Analysis of the Supreme Court Ruling in Citizens United v. FEC, by [author name scrubbed], and CRS Report R41096, Legislative Options After Citizens United v. FEC: Constitutional and Legal Issues, by [author name scrubbed] et al., discuss legal and constitutional issues.
Events described in this report are current as of September 2010, when the report was last substantively updated. No major additional campaign finance activity occurred during the 111th Congress. For discussion of the ongoing evolution of Citizens United policy issues, see CRS Report R41542, The State of Campaign Finance Policy: Recent Developments and Issues for Congress, by [author name scrubbed].