Congress looks at foreign influence in U.S. elections

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/3417752

In the wake of the recent Supreme Court ruling that ended most restrictions on corporate funding in elections, a congressional panel was asked Wednesday to enact greater limits on the influence of foreign companies in U.S. elections.

At the hearing of a House of Representatives Judiciary subcommittee, experts also sought congressional intervention to restrict contributions from out-of-state corporations.

The 5-4 decision last month in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission has sparked debate about the prospect of a possible surge in corporate spending on election campaigns.

How to sort out who owns or controls a multinational corporation — which now would be free to use corporate funds to influence U.S. elections — troubled some on the subcommittee.

"I don't know who owns what in this global economy," said Rep. Bill Delahunt , D- Mass. For instance, he asked, who are the shareholders of Exxon Mobil , which has operations across the planet.