{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20140919105542/http://dankildee.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-dan-kildee-oversized-role-of-money-in-politics-largely-to", "Congressman Dan Kildee: Oversized Role of Money in Politics Largely to Blame for Continued Shutdown, Broken System of Government", "2013-10-08", "2013", "2013-10", "Democrat", "House", "MI", "Dan Kildee", "K000380", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Kildee Denounces \u201cObscene Amount\u201d of Money Distorting Political Process as U.S. Supreme Court Hears Case Which Could Open Door for More Money Flooding into PACS and Political Campaigns\nCongressman Dan Kildee (MI-05) today said the oversized money in politics is in large part to blame for the continued government shutdown, now in its second week, fueling a distorted political process where Republicans are afraid to compromise in Congress. Congressman Kildee\u2019s remarks come as the U.S. Supreme Court today heard oral arguments in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, which Congressman Kildee called the \u201csecond-coming of Citizens United,\u201d that could possibly open the door for even more money to flood into political action committees (PACs), political campaigns and party committees.\n\u201cOur democracy is not working the way it was designed, in large part due to the obscene amount of money in politics. Citizens United certainly opened the floodgates, but McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission could make it even worse,\u201d Congressman Kildee said. \u201cThe latest government shutdown is a prime example of everything wrong with our current system of government, which has been turned into a game of \u2018gotcha\u2019 rather than a way to actually reconcile differences in opinion amongst the American people. We were sent here to solve problems with one another, not read talking points past each other.\u201d\n\u201cMoney in politics has paralyzed progress in Washington,\u201d Congressman Kildee continued. \u201cI\u2019m sure some Members of Congress would be more apt to compromise if they were not absolutely petrified of the Koch Brothers spending millions of dollars to unseat them in a primary. We can\u2019t afford to have a system of government \u2013 propelled by billions in campaign cash \u2013 that rewards confrontation and condemns compromise. If we don\u2019t fix the underlying problem of money in politics, we\u2019ll continue to lurch crisis-to-crisis, fighting the same ideological battles, where my constituents and the American people ultimately lose.\u201d\nAccording to a report in The New York Times, the Koch Brothers, Charles and David, have been \u201cdeeply involved\u201d in financing the brinkmanship leading up to the government shutdown, to the tune of more than $200 million. Through a variety of groups, including the Club for Growth, Tea Party Patriots, Americans for Prosperity, FreedomWorks and Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, the Koch Brothers have \u201carticulated a take-no-prisoners legislative strategy\u201d that\u00a0 pushed Republicans into \u201ccutting off financing for the entire federal government.\u201d\n\u201cTo many Americans, the shutdown came out of nowhere. But interviews with a wide array of conservatives show that the confrontation that precipitated the crisis was the outgrowth of a long-running effort to undo the law, the Affordable Care Act, since its passage in 2010 \u2014 waged by a galaxy of conservative groups with more money, organized tactics and interconnections than is commonly known,\u201d the article reads.\nMcCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, brought by plaintiff Shaun McCutcheon, challenges aggregate contribution limits for individual campaign donors and could open the door for even more money to flood into the political system. In the 2012 election cycle, McCutcheon gave $113,338 directly to candidates, PACs, and political party committees, according to the Huffington Post. Currently, federal law bars individuals from donating more than $123,200 to candidates, political parties and PACs during the current, two-year election cycle.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140919105542/http://dankildee.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-dan-kildee-oversized-role-of-money-in-politics-largely-to"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7799230515956879, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}