Citizens United
| Citizens United | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Washington, D.C. |
| Type: | 501(c)(4) |
| Affiliation: | Nonpartisan |
| Top official: | David Bossie, President and Chairman |
| Year founded: | 1988 |
| Website: | Official website |
| Promoted policies | |
| Limited government, Free market economics, Strong national defense, Traditional social values | |
Citizens United is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization known for its numerous documentary films and its involvement in the landmark campaign finance case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. Citizens United and its affiliates support conservative politicians and policies at all levels of government through political giving, issue advocacy, policy research and education.
Mission
The organization describes its mission in the following way:[1]
| “ |
Citizens United is an organization dedicated to restoring our government to citizens' control. Through a combination of education, advocacy, and grass roots organization, Citizens United seeks to reassert the traditional American values of limited government, freedom of enterprise, strong families, and national sovereignty and security. Citizens United's goal is to restore the founding fathers' vision of a free nation, guided by the honesty, common sense, and good will of its citizens.[2] |
” |
Background
Citizens United was founded in 1998 and is located on Pennsylvania Avenue in the Capitol Hill area of Washington, D.C. David Bossie began his tenure as president of the organization in 2001.[3]
Work
Documentary films
Citizens United Productions (CUP) is the media and marketing arm of Citizens United. CUP has produced more than 20 documentaries from a conservative perspective, often in conjunction with conservative pundits and politicians. Newt & Callista Gingrich, Dick Morris, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and Fred Thompson have all appeared in CUP documentaries.[4]
The following is a list of documentary films produced by Citizens United:[5]
- Rocky Mountain Heist (2015)
- Fast Terry (2014)
- The Hope and the Change (2012)
- Our Sacred Honor (2012)
- Occupy Unmasked (2012)
- The Gift of Life (2011)
- A City Upon a Hill: The Spirit of American Exceptionalism (2011)
- Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous with Destiny (2011)
- Battle for America (2010)
- Fire from the Heartland: The Awakening of the Conservative Woman (2010)
- America at Risk: The War with No Name (2010)
- Nine Days that Changed the World (2010)
- Generation Zero (2010)
- Rediscovering God in America II: Our Heritage (2009)
- Perfect Valor (2009)
- ACLU: At War with America (2009)
- We Have the Power: Making America Energy Independent (2008)
- Blocking the Path to 9/11 (2008)
- Hype: The Obama Effect (2008)
- Hillary: The Movie (2008)
- Rediscovering God in America (2007)
- Border War: The Battle Over Illegal Immigration (2006)
- Broken Promises: The United Nations at 60 (2005)
- Celsius 41.11 (2004)
Political spending
The Citizens United Political Victory Fund (CUPVF) is a segregated fund operated by Citizens United that supports conservative candidates for federal office. Candidates funded by CUPVF support policies such as limited government, lower taxes, less spending, traditional family values and victory in the war on terror.[6]
The Presidential Coalition is an affiliate of Citizens United that funds issue advocacy campaigns and direct contributions to conservative political candidates, particularly at the state and local levels.[4][7]
Research and education
The Citizens United Foundation (CUF) is an affiliated 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that complements the work of Citizens United through research and education. Founded in 1992, CUF advocates for public policy that reflects "traditional American values," including Constitutionally limited government, strong national defense, free market economics, a belief in God and Judeo/Christian values and recognition of the family as society's basic social unit.[4][8]
Board members
The Board of Directors of Citizens United includes the following individuals:[1]
- David N. Bossie (President and Chairman), former Chief Investigator, U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
- Michael Boos (Vice President and General Counsel), former Executive Director, Legal Affairs Council
- Douglas L. Ramsey (Secretary-Treasurer)
- Brian Berry, Media consultant
- Ron Robinson, President, Young America's Foundation
- John Bliss
- Kirby Wilbur
Finances
The following is a breakdown of Citizens United's revenue and expenses for the 2010-2013 fiscal years:
| Annual revenue and expenses for Citizens United, 2010-2013 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tax Year | Total Revenue | Total Expenses |
| 2013[9] | $13,976,587 | $12,615,400 |
| 2012[9] | $11,633,688 | $13,210,947 |
| 2011[10] | $14,604,052 | $13,681,438 |
| 2010[10] | $15,172,681 | $15,178,830 |
The following is a breakdown of the Citizens United Foundation's revenue and expenses for the 2010-2013 fiscal years:
| Annual revenue and expenses for Citizens United Foundation, 2010-2013 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tax Year | Total Revenue | Total Expenses |
| 2013[11] | $4,192,560 | $3,505,532 |
| 2012[11] | $4,414,799 | $3,952,922 |
| 2011[12] | $3,828,371 | $3,849,372 |
| 2010[12] | $5,811,695 | $5,966,094 |
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
| Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission | |
| 08-205 | |
| Year: 2010 | |
| Court: United States Supreme Court | |
| Important Dates | |
| Argued March 24, 2009 Reargued September 9, 2009 Decided January 21, 2010 | |
| Court membership | |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Associate Justices John P. Stevens • Antonin Scalia Anthony Kennedy • Clarence Thomas Ruth Bader Ginsburg • Steven G. Breyer Samuel Alito • Sonia Sotomayor | |
Citizens United was the successful plaintiff in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010), a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision on free speech and campaign finance. The case started in December of 2007 when Citizens United sought an injunction against the Federal Election Commission (FEC) in federal district court. Citizens United was concerned that a federal statute would prevent the organization from spending general treasury funds to advertise its documentary movie Hillary and make the film available through video-on-demand.
The law at issue was Section 203 of the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), which prohibited corporations and unions from spending general treasury funds on "electioneering communications." Any publicly distributed broadcast, cable, or satellite communication referring to a federal candidate and made within 30 days of a primary or 60 days of a general election was defined as so. The rule similarly applied to "speech that expressly advocates the election or defeat of a candidate."
Citizens United argued that BRCA's restrictions on “electioneering communications” are unconstitutional as applied to Hillary. The organization argued separately in the same case that BCRA’s disclaimer, disclosure and reporting requirements are also unconstitutional. The district court denied Citizens United’s motion and granted summary judgment to the FEC, but on appeal the Supreme Court reversed part of that decision. In early 2010 the high court held 5-4 that a ban on corporate independent expenditures is unconstitutional and upheld the contested disclosure rules on an 8-1 vote. The first part of this ruling, which overturned Section 203 of BCRA, is controversial and many efforts at campaign finance regulation are focused on overturning it.[13]
2014 elections
Citizens United spent $1,451,038 in the 2014 elections: a total of $988,038 on independent expenditures, of which, $680,788 was spent in support of Republicans, $87,250 against Republicans, and $220,000 against Democrats; a total of $318,000 was contributed to individual Republican candidates for the House of Representatives; a total of $145,000 was contributed to Republican candidates for Senate; no money was given to individual Democratic candidates for either House or Senate.[14][15]
Contributions
The following table lists the top five contributions to House and Senate candidates made by Citizens United in 2014. For a full list of endorsed candidates, click here.
| Top 5 largest Citizens United expenditures in 2014[15] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Party | State | Office | Total | Desired Result | ||
| Chris McDaniel |  |
MS | Senate | $20,000 |  | ||
| Paul Broun | |
GA | Senate | $15,000 | | ||
| T.W. Shannon | |
OK | Senate | $15,000 | | ||
| Steve Stockman | |
TX | Senate | $15,000 | | ||
| Justin Amash | |
MI | House | $15,000 |  | ||
2012 elections
Citizens United spent $1,064,003 in the 2012 elections: a total of $285,003 on independent expenditures, of which, $209,483 was spent in support of Republicans, $48,150 against Republicans, and $27,370 against Democrats; a total of $629,000 was contributed to individual Republican candidates for the House of Representatives; a total of $150,000 was contributed to Republican candidates for Sente; no money was given to individual Democratic candidates for either House or Senate.[16][17]
Contributions
The following table lists the top six contributions to House and Senate candidates made by Citizens United in 2012. For a full list of endorsed candidates, click here.
| Top 6 largest Citizens United expenditures in 2012[17] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Party | State | Office | Total | Desired Result | ||
| Alex Mooney | |
MD | House | $20,000 | | ||
| Michele Bachmann | |
MN | House | $15,000 | | ||
| Jeff Landry | |
LA | House | $15,000 | | ||
| Allen West | |
FL | House | $15,000 | | ||
| Jon Bruning | |
NE | Senate | $15,000 | | ||
| Ted Cruz | |
TX | Senate | $15,000 | | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Citizens United. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
- Campaign finance regulation
- 501(c)(4)
- 501(c)(3)
- Nonprofit organization
- Issue advocacy
External links
- Official website
- Citizens United Foundation
- Citizens United Political Victory Fund
- Presidential Coalition
- RSS feeds
- Social media:
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Citizens United, "Who We Are," accessed June 25, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Citizens United, "Who We Are: David N. Bossie," accessed June 26, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Citizens United, "What We Do," accessed June 26, 2015
- ↑ Citizens United, "All Films," accessed June 26, 2015
- ↑ Citizens United Political Victory Fund, "Mission," accessed June 26, 2015
- ↑ Presidential Coalition, "Mission," accessed June 26, 2015
- ↑ Citizens United Foundation, "Our Principles," accessed June 26, 2015
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 GuideStar, "Citizens United IRS Form 990 (2013)," accessed June 26, 2015
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 GuideStar, "Citizens United IRS Form 990 (2011)," accessed June 26, 2015
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 GuideStar, "Citizens United Foundation IRS Form 990 (2013)," accessed June 26, 2015
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 GuideStar, "Citizens United Foundation IRS Form 990 (2011)," accessed June 26, 2015
- ↑ Connecticut General Assembly Office of Legislative Research, "Summary of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission," March 2, 2010
- ↑ OpenSecrets, "Citizens United Independent Expenditures 2014," accessed June 29, 2015
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 OpenSecrets, "Citizens United Recipients 2014," accessed June 29, 2015
- ↑ OpenSecrets, "Citizens United Independent Expenditures 2012," accessed June 29, 2015
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 OpenSecrets, "Citizens United Recipients 2012," accessed June 29, 2015
