Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States providing that the rights protected and extended by the Constitution are the rights of natural persons only.

# Summary of HJRES 54 **What It Would Do:** This proposed constitutional amendment would fundamentally change how campaign money is regulated in the United States. It would declare that only individual people—not corporations or other organizations—have constitutional rights. The amendment would allow the government to limit how much money candidates and groups can spend on elections, and would require public disclosure of all political donations. It would also prevent courts from treating campaign spending as free speech protected by the First Amendment. **Who It Affects:** This would impact corporations, unions, nonprofits, and other organizations that currently participate in politics through donations and spending.

It would also affect individual candidates, political donors, and voters by potentially changing how campaigns are funded and conducted. The amendment targets concerns about wealthy interests having outsized influence in elections. **Current Status:** The bill is in committee and has not advanced to a floor vote. Constitutional amendments require approval by a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate, then ratification by at least 38 state legislatures. This proposal directly challenges recent Supreme Court decisions (particularly *Citizens United* in 2010) that have expanded the ability of corporations and wealthy donors to spend money in elections as a form of free speech.