LA Times: Campaign finance legislation faces tricky issue of foreign corporations

[usregimechange]

Reporting from Washington - Proposed legislation to block foreign companies from contributing money to U.S. elections could end up affecting well-known companies such as Chrysler, Anheuser-Busch and Citgo, according to legal experts and company representatives.

The legislation is a reaction from key House and Senate Democrats to a Supreme Court decision in January that struck down a portion of the nation's campaign funding laws, allowing corporations to freely contribute to political campaigns.

The high court's 5-4 decision in Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission seemed to open the way for U.S. subsidiaries of foreign corporations to also contribute to campaigns.

The legislators say they are now considering a broad definition of foreign corporations -- companies that are more than 20% owned by non-American entities. That could end up banning thousands of corporations from contributing to political activities.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-foreign-corporations7-2010mar07,0,1197030.story