The Week Ahead: Sept. 2 - 5

by rachna on September 2, 2014



From our Hill Sources: It's the home stretch for August recess! Congress returns next week. Here are some issues that we're hearing about around the Hill.


Political Money


After recess, the Senate plans to vote on a Constitutional Amendment to reverse Supreme Court decisions related to campaign contributions like Citizens United v. FEC.


  • SJRes 19 The Democracy for All Amendment

    "Would allow Congress to regulate the raising and spending of money, including so-called "Super PAC" independent expenditures, while giving states the same authority to regulate campaign finance at their level," according to the amendment sponsors. Restores authority to the American people, through Congress and the states, to regulate and limit the raising and spending of money for federal political campaigns; Allows states to regulate campaign spending at their level; Includes the authority to regulate and limit independent expenditures, like those from Super PACs; Would not dictate any specific policies or regulations, but instead would allow Congress to pass campaign finance reform legislation that withstands constitutional challenges; Expressly provides that any regulation authorized under the amendment cannot limit the freedom of the press.

Background: "In 1976, the Court held in Buckley v. Valeo that restricting independent campaign expenditures violates the First Amendment right to free speech, essentially saying that money and speech are the same. Building on this flawed precedent, the Supreme Court decided in Citizens United v. FEC that corporations deserve the same free speech protections as individual Americans. Since then, corporations have been able to spend unlimited amounts of money on political activity and mostly negative campaign advertising. With the Court striking down the sensible regulations Congress has passed, the only way to address the root cause of this problem is to give Congress clear authority in the Constitution to regulate the campaign finance system," according to amendment sponsors.
A version of the amendment has also been introduced in the House:


  • HJRes 119 The Democracy for All Amendment

    "The Democracy for All Amendment is the product of months of collaboration between the House and Senate sponsors of earlier constitutional amendment proposals, constitutional scholars, and grassroots advocacy organizations committed to restoring the integrity of the American electoral process. In addition to overturning recent rulings like Citizens United and McCutcheon, the Democracy is for All Amendment also reverses the Supreme Court’s controversial holding in Buckley v. Valeo that spending money in elections is a form of speech protected by the First Amendment," according to amendment sponsors.

Burger King and Tax Inversion

This week, Burger King announced that it is buying the Canadian chain Tim Horton's -- and relocating its headquarters to Canada, a move that could lower its corporate taxes. According to accounting firm KPMG, total tax costs in Canada are 46.4% lower than in the US.

Burger King isn't the first corporation to pursue this strategy, known as "tax inversion." Walgreens recently abandoned plans to pursue a tax inversion after negative publicity. Already, Burger King is receiving some angry responses. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) released a statement calling people to boycott Burger King:
"Burger King’s decision to abandon the United States means consumers should turn to Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers or White Castle sliders," Brown said. "Burger King has always said 'Have it Your Way'; well my way is to support two Ohio companies that haven’t abandoned their country or customers." Wendy's is based in Dublin, Ohio, while White Castle is headquartered in Columbus.
Related Bills

Members of Congress have introduced proposals related to corporate taxes and inversions:

  • HR 4679 Stop Corporate Inversions Act

    (S 2360 in Senate) "Increases the needed percentage change in stock ownership from 20 percent to 50 percent and provides that the merged company will nevertheless continue to be treated as a domestic US company for tax purposes if management and control of the merged company remains in the US and either 25 percent of its employees or sales or assets are located in the US," according to bill sponsors. "Under current law, the merged company is treated as a foreign company if more than 20 percent of the stock of the merged company is owned by stockholders who were not stockholders of the US company or if the merged company has at least 25 percent of its employees, sales and assets where it is incorporated."
  • S 250 Corporate Tax Dodging Prevention Act

    Would eliminate the deferral of tax on the foreign-source income of US corporations for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2013; deny the foreign tax credit to large integrated oil companies that are dual capacity taxpayers; limit the offset of the foreign tax credit to income that is subject to US tax; and treat foreign corporations managed and controlled in the United States as domestic corporations for US tax purposes.
  • S 8 End Wasteful Tax Loopholes Act

    Expresses the sense of the Senate that Congress should enact legislation to: (1) eliminate wasteful tax loopholes; (2) eliminate corporate tax loopholes and wasteful tax breaks for special interests; (3) enhance tax fairness by reforming or eliminating tax breaks that provide excessive benefits to millionaires and billionaires; (4) crack down on tax cheaters and close the tax gap; (5) use the revenue saved by curtailing tax loopholes to reduce the deficit and reform the federal tax code; (6) address provisions in the tax code that make it more profitable for companies to create jobs overseas than in the United States; and (7) reform the tax code in a manner that promotes job creation, competitiveness, and economic growth.
  • HR 694 Corporate Tax Fairness Act

    "Would require US companies to pay taxes on all of their income by ending the deferral of foreign source income. Corporations would pay US taxes on their offshore profits as they are earned. Would take away the tax incentives for corporations to move jobs offshore or to shift profits offshore because the US would tax their profits no matter where they are generated," according to bill sponsors.
  • HR 4985 Stop Corporate Expatriation and Invest in America's Infrastructure Act

    Would "put an end to corporate expatriations and devote the resulting revenue to the Highway Trust Fund. It will raise $19.5 billion in revenue over ten years and keep the Trust Fund solvent as Congress works on a long-term funding solution," according to bill sponsors.



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