(Washington, D.C.) –
Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray, joined as an original co-sponsor in the
introduction of the “Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in
Elections Act” ( “The DISCLOSE Act”). The bill will rein in influence of
corporate and special interest money in federal elections after the Supreme
Court decided earlier this year in Citizens United v. Federal Election
Commission that corporations can now spend freely on campaign advertising
in federal races. Senator Murray is a
senior member of the Senate Rules committee, which will be holding hearings on
the legislation.
“The Supreme Court’s
appalling ruling in Citizens United gave wealthy corporations and special
interests a megaphone to drown out the voices of Washington state voters,” said Senator Patty Murray. “No voice should
be more powerful in Washington state’s elections than the voices of our state’s
voters. I’m proud to support this effort to protect our democratic
process and put power back in the hands of the people and grassroots
activism.”
The
DISCLOSE Act will address seven major points:
1.
Enhance Disclaimers: Make
CEOs and other leaders take responsibility for their ads.
If
a corporation, union, section 501(c)(4), (5), or (6) organization, or section
527 organization spend on campaign-related activity, its CEO or organization
head will have to stand by the ad and say that he or she “approves this
message,” just like candidates have to do now. In order to seek out the
real money behind the ad, this legislation will drill down several layers and
require the top contributor directing the funds to also “stand by the ad.” Additionally,
we require the top five contributors to an organization to be listed on the
screen.
2.
Enhance Disclosures: It is
time to follow the money.
Any
covered organization must disclose within 24 hours to the FEC not just its
campaign-related activity, but also transfers of money to other groups which
can then be used for campaign-related activity. Additionally, a covered
organization must disclose its donors and has two options: 1) it can disclose all
of its donors $1,000 and above; or 2) it can set up a “Campaign-Related
Activity” account and disclose only those political donors to that account
$1,000 and above. If, however, the organization dips into its general
account for funds, it must then disclose all its general treasury donors in
excess of $10,000. In both options, the Act allows for organizations to
“wall-off” donations if the donor does not want the money to go to
campaign-related spending.
3. Prevent Foreign Influence: Foreign
countries and entities should not be determining the outcome of our elections.
Corporations
that have either 1) a foreign entity controlling 20% of its voting shares; 2)
foreign nationals comprising a majority of its board of directors; 3) a foreign
national who directs, dictates, or controls U.S. operations; or 4) a foreign
national who directs, dictates, or controls political decision-making are
banned from spending in U.S. elections. If a corporation is under the direction
or control of a foreign entity, it should not be able to spend money on our
elections.
4. Shareholder/Member Disclosure: We should
allow shareholders and members to know where money goes.
This
provision would mandate disclosure by corporations, unions, and other groups to
their shareholders and members in their annual and periodic reports. This
would also require these groups to make their political spending public on
their websites within 24 hours after filing with the FEC.
5.
Prevent Government Contractors from
Spending:
Taxpayer money should not be spent on political ads.
Due
to the appearance of corruption and possible misuse of taxpayer funds,
government contractors with a contract worth more than $50,000 will not be
allowed to spend money on elections. Similarly, TARP recipients who have
not paid back government funds are also banned from spending.
6.
Provide the Lowest Unit Rate for
Candidates and Parties: Special interests should not drown
out the voices of the people.
If
a covered organization buys airtime to run ads that support or attack a
candidate, then candidates, parties, and party committees get to take advantage
of the lowest unit rate for that market. This provision is limited specifically
to that media market. Additionally we improve the reasonable access provisions
to ensure that candidates are not shut out of airtime.
7. Tighten Coordination Rules: Corporations
should not be able to “sponsor” a candidate.
Loopholes
in current coordination rules would be filled, thereby banning coordination
between a candidate and outside groups on ads that reference a candidate from
the time period beginning 90 days before a primary and running through the
general election. At the same time, rules limiting coordination between
the party and the candidate are loosened a bit to allow for effective responses
to the influx of corporate and special interest money.
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