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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

WA Joins Backlash Against 'Citizens United' Decision

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Friday, January 18, 2013   

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Washington lawmakers are being asked to take a stand on campaign finance reform.

On Thursday, a coalition called WAMEND presented the Legislature with 10,000 signatures, asking lawmakers to go on record advocating an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to reverse the Citizens United decision. That's the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that ended campaign-spending limits for corporations and special interest groups.

A new report from the watchdog group Demos says political fund-raising is dominated more than ever by big businesses and their wealthy owners. Adam Lioz is Demos' staff counsel.

"The top 32 super-PAC donors, contributing an average of nearly $10 million each, matched all of the money that both President Obama and Mitt Romney raised from small donors, combined. And that's $313 million, from at least 3.7 million people giving less than $200 apiece."

The Demos report says the campaign finance system favors incumbents over challengers and grassroots candidates, and makes it impossible to track some donations, which don't have to be reported if they fall outside a certain time period before the elections.

Another report, released by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), says almost one-third of the outside spending reported to the Federal Elections Commission was by organizations that don't have to disclose the original sources of their funds.

Blair Bowie, a democracy advocate with the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, says voters didn't know who was really behind more than half of all presidential TV ads paid for by outside groups – and Congressional races were affected, too.

"In the 20 states we analyzed, 90 percent of outside spending on House and Senate races came from out-of-state groups."

This weekend around the country, including several cities in Washington, groups are planning rallies and other events to coincide with the third anniversary of the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision.





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