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Jeb Bush Super PAC Hit With Record Fine

Right to Rise USA, the super PAC that supported Jeb Bush's 2016 presidential campaign, has been fined $390,000 by the Federal Election Commission for accepting $1.3 million from an international investment holding company owned by Chinese nationals that counted Jeb's brother Neil as a board member. (It is illegal for foreign nationals to be involved in making donations to American political campaign committees.) The FEC has also fined the company, American Pacific International Capital, $550,000.

The penalties have not been made public but were reported by Mother Jonesbased on FEC filings. The report claims the combined fines were the largest levied in a single case in the nine years since the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling opened the political fundraising floodgates – and also the biggest FEC fine in a case of foreign national participation.


"This illegal $1.3 million is a direct result of Citizens United," since before that 2010 ruling companies were restricted in what they could give to super PACs, said Brendan Fischer of the Campaign Legal Center, the nonpartisan watchdog that first made the FEC aware of the APIC contribution.

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Strengthening Elections, Rights, and Citizen Engagement

Strengthening Elections, Rights, and Citizen Engagement

Strengthening Elections, Rights, and Citizen Engagement

Welcome to the latest edition of The Expand Democracy 5. From Rob Richie, with Eveline Dowling and Juniper Shelley’s assistance, we highlight timely links and stories about democracy at the local, national, and global levels. Today's stories include:

🔁 The primary problem is a lack of general election competition

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Pros and Cons of Congressional Term Limits

The United States Capitol Building, the seat of Congress, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Getty Images, Omar Chatriwala

Pros and Cons of Congressional Term Limits

Background: What are Congressional Term Limits?

While members of the U.S. House of Representatives serve two-year terms and U.S. Senators serve six-year terms, all Congresspeople are eligible for re-election indefinitely. As of 2023, U.S. Representatives served an average term of 8.5 years, while U.S. Senators served an average term of 11.2 years.

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