[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 15] [House] [Page 22082] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]CORPORATE AMERICA AND FOREIGN ENTITIES INFLUENCING ELECTIONS (Mr. HALL of New York asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.) Mr. HALL of New York. Madam Speaker, nearly 1 year ago, the Supreme Court issued a ruling which drastically changed the electoral system in America for the worse. The court's decision to confer the rights of individuals on corporations has altered the political landscape in a way that allows unprecedented, unlimited and undisclosed corporate spending that cannot be matched by private citizens. The 2010 election cycle was the most expensive in our Nation's history, costing hundreds of millions of dollars and misinforming millions of Americans along the way. Allowing corporate America, as well as foreign companies, to spend unlimited amounts of money in U.S. elections is in direct contradiction to the health of our democracy and to the principles our country was founded on. There is already too much money in politics, and this decision only makes things worse. This year, my friends on the other side of the aisle watched as Democrats took the brunt of this undisclosed corporate spending. But I promise you, in the future, you, too, will feel its lash. This is not good for our democracy, and I urge a legislative solution. ____________________