or watch online anytime at book .org. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government who are funded by these television companies and more including comcast. >> do you think this is just a community center? no, it's way more than that. comcast is partnering with a thousand community centers to create wi-fi enabled so students from low income families can get the tools they need to be ready for anything. >> comcast supports c-spans a public service along with these other television providers giving you a front row seat to democracy. ♪♪ >> more than 3200 students from across the country participated in a 20-year anniversary of c-span's student cam documentary competition. this year, we asked students in the next 20 years, what is the

most important change you'd like to see in america, or over the past 20 years? what's been the most important change in america. all of this month, we're featuring our top 21 winning entries. this year's high school winner is a 10th grader from jenks, oklahoma where c-span is available through cox communication. the winning documentary talks about the impact of citizens united and how super pacs fund campaigns. >> super pacs are a disaster. they're a scam, they cause dishonesty and you better get rid of them. billionaires right now through superpacs can spend as much money as they want. tens of millions, hundreds of millions of dollars to elect the candidate who they want, who represents their interests. >> voting, a crucial aspect of our democracy allows everyone

to have a say in government. along with casting your vote, you can volunteer or donate to your candidate as long as it's under 3300. to protecht the wealthy from having too much influence. in december of 2007, citizens united sued they could not air their movie on hillary clinton. it was made illegal by the 2002 campaign reform act. >> the district court decided against citizens united and. >> citizens united argued that the sec violated their first amendment right to freedom of speech. in the end the supreme court ruled in favor of citizens united citing that-- >> political speech must prevail against laws that would

suppress with whether by design or inadvertent. >> this landmark decision set a precedent that now allows corporations and organizations to have fewer restrictions when it comes to media and donations. >> citizens united the same as american citizens in terms of campaign finance law. >> last week the supreme court reversed a century of law that i believe will open the flood gates for special interests. >> the ruling established a new norm that permitted individuals and corporations to donate unlimited funds to political action committees, commonly known as sum super pacs. >> these organizations have gained momentum with the five largest groups spending over $4 billion in the 2022 election cycle. >> people spend more money on halloween than they do on their

democracies. >> american arguably consider free speech the most crucial rights. and super pacs allow voice to their aspirations without limitations. >> the premise is freedom of speech, the more speech the better. >> the more people participating and the more information people are getting, that's a good thing. it has given candidates who may not have otherwise had much of a chance to win, suddenly they have a size-- you know, outside allies and sizable support networks that they otherwise didn't have. >> in 2022, voter turnout and donations to political campaigns were the highest they've ever been. 3.7 million small donors donated over $740 million. this sounds incredible and it is until you look at the other donors. >> almost 60 donors have accounted for nearly one third of all of the money donated so far in the presidential race.

>> these 60 donors currently hold an incredible amount of leverage over politicians and that just isn't right. the citizens united division has played a pivotal role in american politics over the years and that's why many have called for transparency. super pacs have to disclose their donors, but nonprofits don't. they can donate to the same super pac. this money donated is called dark money one of the way that foreign entities and corporations. >> it's become a landscape easy for wealthy people to influence politics without any of us knowing. >> because super pacs are prohibited from being in contact with the candidate. they find ways around it. ted cruz, his uploaded sharing

to anyone interested in making any kind of advertisement or support for him. how about jessica cisneros, red boxing when she described the exact demographic of voter she wants to target and the message she wants them to hear. >> this isn't a good system, but we have a chance to make a better one. many cities around the country are implementing democracy voucher programs. >> instead of people individually donating to political campaigns they get vouchers which they can give to a politician of their choice to send. and in california, to give everyone a $100 voucher to spend on a local politician. in seattle, washington, a battle initiative passed in 2015 to give every eligible citizen a $25 vouch tower give to a city council or candidate. and costing the average seattleite a voucher, leading to increased voter turnout and

the greater sense of empowerment for donors. >> when you appeal to people whose voices will be amplified by the experience. >> over the past 25 years our system changed drastically. our system before citizens united wasn't perfect, but we have a chance to make things better. by instituting a voucher system, we can reduce the power of the companies. >> to watch all of the entries, visit our website. student cam.org. >> nonfiction book lovers, c-span has a number of podcasts for you, listening to authors and after words podcast. on q & a, wide ranging interviews with those making things happen and our

conversations regularly feature authors of nonfiction books on a wide variety of topics. and behind the scenes of the nonfiction book publishing industry. with insider interviews, industry updates and best seller's. and download the free, c-span now app or wherever you get your podcast. c-span.org/podcast. ♪♪ . >> c-span has been delivering unfiltered congressional coverage for 45 years. here is a highlight from a key moment. >> and although this city was the nation's capital for only a short time from the early days the eyes of the world has continued to be on new york. one year ago, this great center of history, enterprise and creativity suffered the gravest of cruelties and showed itself to be a place of valor and

generosity and grace. here, where so many innocent lives were suddenly taken, the world saw acts of kindness and heroism that will be remembered forever. >> c-span, powered by cable. >> and the senate gavelling in now to consider the nomination of a u.s. district court judge for utah. lawmakers are also working on two measures that would block biden administration policies. one would block a greenhouse gas emissions rule. the other would block a new standard for determining joint employer status in collective bargaining. live coverage of the senate here on c-span2. e senate will. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal and powerful god, don't

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