According to CNSnews.com, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats in Congress announced on Thursday that they have moved to ratify an amendment to the United States Constitution that would give Congress power to control the political speech of corporations, including those corporations that produce films, newspapers, books, and radio broadcasts. The amendment would seek to reverse the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission in which the High Court ruled that the First Amendment protects the right of free speech for corporations as well as individuals. It was this decision that President Obama openly criticized during his State of the Union address in January of 2010.

Minority Leader Pelosi said that the move to amend the Constitution was part of a three-pronged strategy that includes passage of the DISCLOSE Act, which would further regulate disclosure requirements for organizations that run political ads, and promotion of taxpayer funding of political campaigns. Ms. Pelosi said, “Our Founders had an idea. It was called democracy. It said elections are determined by the people, the voice and the vote of the people, not by the bankrolls of the privileged few. This Supreme Court decision flies in the face of our Founders’ vision and we want to reverse it.”