Sec. 301. Findings
278 words·~1 min read·
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Congress finds the following: The structure of the Constitution and its amendments represents the radical idea that any sovereign power exercised by the Federal Government flows either directly from the people or through the States they established to govern themselves. In the words of the Ninth and Tenth Amendments, “[t]he enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
” Among the many freedoms it protects, the First Amendment prevents Congress from making any law abridging the freedom of speech, the right of the people peaceably to assemble, or the right of the people to petition the Government for the redress of grievances. Any proposed Federal action concerning freedom of speech, protest, or petition must start with an analysis of the First Amendment. Congress must ask whether the proposed action would abridge these freedoms, and any uncertainty must be determined in favor of fewer restrictions on speech.
In particular, political speech, uttered in the furtherance of self-government, must raise an even higher bar to congressional abridgement. The mechanisms and media used to offer political speech must realize the same protections. As the Supreme Court has recognized, the Constitution grants Congress only a very narrow interest in the regulation of political speech, the prevention of corruption or the appearance of corruption. In order to uphold and effectuate the Constitution, any Federal statute that goes beyond this interest must be repealed, and Congress must exercise its Article 1 authorities to do so.