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The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact: Phone: (202) 588-1000

Senators Who Support Disclosure of Election Ad Funders Should Stick by Principles, Stand Up to Party

Statement of Craig Holman, Government Affairs Lobbyist, Public Citizen

WASHINGTON

Today, the U.S. Senate is reconsidering passage of the DISCLOSE Act
(S. 3295). The measure was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives
in July but has stalled in the Senate in the face of a Republican
filibuster. In July, all Republican senators marched in lockstep with
the party leadership and refused to allow a vote on the bill.

The Republican filibuster of the DISCLOSE Act is a travesty and a
betrayal of the professed principles of many individual senators.
Several Senate Republicans have a long history of supporting
transparency when it comes to money in politics. The issue is not
whether there is a Republican senator who supports disclosure - there
are plenty - but whether one or more of these senators is willing to
stand for this principle against the wishes of party leaders.

A recent study by Public Citizen shows that more than two-thirds of
independent political groups are refusing to disclose their funding
sources for electioneering communications for this election cycle.
Precisely when disclosure is most important - at the time in which the
U.S. Supreme Court has unleashed unlimited corporate money flooding our
elections - we no longer have a meaningful disclosure law in place. The
DISCLOSE Act closes the gaping loopholes in current disclosure laws that
allow corporations, unions and wealthy individuals to hide their
campaign spending by funneling their money through innocuous-sounding
front groups.

Public Citizen calls upon those senators who believe in openness to
stand true to their principles, end the filibuster and bring all this
new special interest money out of the shadows.

To read a letter Public Citizen sent today to the U.S. Senate, go to: https://www.citizen.org/documents/Letter-on-DISCLOSE2.final.pdf.

Public Citizen is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that champions the public interest in the halls of power. We defend democracy, resist corporate power and work to ensure that government works for the people - not for big corporations. Founded in 1971, we now have 500,000 members and supporters throughout the country.

(202) 588-1000