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Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections Act (H.R. 5175)

Sponsor: Christopher Van Hollen (D-MD)
Status: 6/29/2010 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. (House passed 6/24/10)

Summary: The Disclose Act would amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit foreign influence in Federal elections. It would also require organizations involved in political campaigning to disclose the identity of large donors, and to reveal their identities in any political advertisements they fund. It would also bar foreign corporations, government contractors and TARP recipients from making political expenditures. Notably, the bill would exempt all long-standing, non-profit organizations with more than 500,000 members from having to disclose their donor lists.

Case for:

Supporters argue that this bill supports Americans as opposed to special interests. Congressman Van Hollen stated that “voters have a right to know who is trying to influence their votes, and the Disclose Act will provide that information.” President Obama, in favor of the bill, said “Millions of Americans are struggling to get by, and their voices shouldn’t be drowned out by millions of dollars in secret, special interest advertising.”
In short, supporters of this bill believe that it will provide voters with more information that has previously been hidden.
Supported by: Public Citizen, Common Cause, League of Women Voters, Sunlight Foundation, Public Campaign, and Democracy 21.

 Case against:

“This DISCLOSE Act is not about reform, it’s nothing more than Democrats sitting behind closed doors [choosing] which favored groups they want to speak in the 2010 elections — all in an attempt to protect themselves from criticism of their government takeovers, record deficits and massive unpaid-for expansions of the federal government into the lives of the American people.” — Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). As noted by Senator McConnell, the DISCLOSE Act puts severe and unconstitutional limits on our ability to hold individual congressmen accountable in the weeks leading up to an election.
Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) lambasted the Democrats for trying to change election laws right before the November elections. “Some of my colleagues fear the righteous judgment of the American people this November,” he said. “So they are trying to change the rules in the middle of the game.”
Several Senators also indicated their disgust with the exemptions in the bill. “The bill creates carve-outs for the largest, wealthiest, and most powerful Washington-based special interest groups — such as the NRA and the AARP,” said Cornyn.
Unions would receive special protection, he added, as the DISCLOSE Act “would silence companies that receive bailout funds, but protect unions who represent those same companies’ employees.”
In summary, the argument against the bill is that it would infringe on our First Amendment rights to freely and openly communicate with government officials.
Opposed by: Gun Owners of America, American Petroleum Institute, National Retail Foundation, International Franchise Association, Associated General Contractors of America, National Association of Home Builders, National Restaurant Association, Center for Competitive Politics, National Federation of Independent Business.


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