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S.J.Res. 78

U.S. Senate•In Senate Committee

Summary

S.J.Res. 78, “A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to the authority of Congress and the States to regulate contributions and expenditures intended to affect elections and to enact public financing systems for political campaigns”, was introduced in the Senate on Sep 17, 2025 by Sen. Adam Schiff (D) with 12 co-sponsors. It was referred to Judiciary, and last saw action on Sep 17, 2025: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Record

Text

S.J.Res. 78 has 12 co-sponsors.

sjr78/introduced-in-senate.txt
119 SJ 78 IS: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to the authority of Congress and the States to regulate contributions and expenditures intended to affect elections and to enact public financing systems for political campaigns.
 U.S. Senate
 2025-09-17
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 IIA  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  S. J. RES. 78  IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES   September 17 (legislative day, September 16), 2025   Mr. Schiff  (for himself,  Mrs. Shaheen ,  Mr. King ,  Mr. Welch ,  Mr. Whitehouse ,  Mr. Kim , and  Mr. Booker ) introduced the following joint resolution; which was read twice and referred to the  Committee on the Judiciary    JOINT RESOLUTION
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to the authority of Congress and the States to regulate contributions and expenditures intended to affect elections and to enact public financing systems for political campaigns.
That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years after the date of its submission for ratification:
 —
1.
Congress and the States may regulate and impose reasonable viewpoint-neutral limitations on the raising and spending of money by candidates and others to influence elections.
2.
Congress and the States may regulate and enact systems of public campaign financing, including those designed to restrict the influence of private wealth by offsetting the raising and spending of money by candidates and others to influence elections with increased public funding.
3.
Congress and the States shall have power to implement and enforce this article by appropriate legislation, and may distinguish between natural persons and corporations or other artificial entities created by law, including by prohibiting such entities from spending money to influence elections.
4.
Nothing in this article shall be construed to grant Congress or the States the power to abridge the freedom of the press.
  .

Tracker

The tracker indicates the progress of this legislation as it moves through the legislative process.

  1. Introduced2025-09-17
  2. Passed Senate
  3. Passed House
  4. Conference
  5. To President
  6. Became Law

CRS Summary

The summaries are the Congressional Research Service’s, one per stage. Read them in full.

Introduced in Senate Sep 17, 2025

sjr78/introduced-in-senate.md

Shown Here:
Introduced in Senate (09/17/2025)

This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment authorizing Congress and the states to (1) regulate and impose reasonable viewpoint-neutral limitations on the raising and spending of money by candidates and others to influence elections; and (2) regulate and enact public campaign financing systems, including those designed to restrict the influence of private wealth by offsetting the raising and spending of money by candidates and others with increased public funding.

The amendment grants Congress and the states the power to implement and enforce this amendment by legislation. They are allowed to distinguish between natural persons and corporations or other artificial entities created by law, including by prohibiting such entities from spending money to influence elections.

Sponsors

Sen. Adam Schiff (D) sponsors S.J.Res. 78, and 12 members have co-sponsored it, 6 of them from the day it was introduced.

Committees

S.J.Res. 78 went before 1 committee: Judiciary.

Judiciary
Judiciary
Referred To · Sep 17, 2025

Actions

S.J.Res. 78 has taken 2 actions since Sep 17, 2025.

ChamberAction
Sep 17, 2025
Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.Judiciary Committee
Sep 17, 2025
—
Introduced in Senate

Votes

S.J.Res. 78 has not gone to a roll call.

1 bill is related to S.J.Res. 78, as Identical bill.

Titles

S.J.Res. 78 goes by 2 titles.

  • A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to the authority of Congress and the States to regulate contributions and expenditures intended to affect elections and to enact public financing systems for political campaigns. — Official Title as Introduced
  • A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to the authority of Congress and the States to regulate contributions and expenditures intended to affect elections and to enact public financing systems for political campaigns. — Display Title

Lobbying

1 client hired 1 firm and 2 registered lobbyists who named S.J.Res. 78 in 1 quarterly filing, 2025. Reported under the Lobbying Disclosure Act; a filing’s income covers everything its registrant worked that quarter, so the amounts below are the filings’, not this bill’s.

Filed under Civil Rights/Civil Liberties, Constitution, Government Issues.

Clients

Who paid to be heard, by how many filings named the bill.

ClientBusinessStateFirmsFilingsReported
PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY—District of Columbia11—

Firms

Registrants who filed on the bill, by filings.

RegistrantClientsFilingsReported
PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY11—

Lobbyists

Named on the filings that cite the bill.

LobbyistFirmsClientsFilings
MARGE BAKER111
PAUL GORDON111

Filings

The documents themselves, on the Senate’s Lobbying Disclosure site, largest reported first.

ClientRegistrantPeriodReportedDocument
PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAYPEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY2025 third_quarter$30K3rd Quarter - Report

Classification

The Congressional Research Service files S.J.Res. 78 under Government Operations and Politics, one of its 31 policy areas.

CRS Subjects

CRS assigns every bill one policy area from its 31; S.J.Res. 78’s is Government Operations and Politics.

sjres78/policy-areas.txt
Government Operations and PoliticsAgriculture and FoodAnimalsArmed Forces and National SecurityArts, Culture, ReligionCivil Rights and Liberties, Minority IssuesCommerceCongressCrime and Law EnforcementEconomics and Public FinanceEducationEmergency ManagementEnergyEnvironmental ProtectionFamiliesFinance and Financial SectorForeign Trade and International FinanceHealthHousing and Community DevelopmentImmigrationInternational AffairsLabor and EmploymentLawNative AmericansPublic Lands and Natural ResourcesScience, Technology, CommunicationsSocial WelfareSports and RecreationTaxationTransportation and Public WorksWater Resources Development

Source: congress.gov · legiscan.com