U.S. Congress: Members of Congress Urged to Co-Sponsor DISCLOSE Act to Combat Growing Crisis of ‘Dark Money’ in Our Elections

Today, the Campaign Legal Center joined with other reform groups in urging Members of the House and Senate to co-sponsor the DISCLOSE Act, legislation responding to the unprecedented amounts of anonymously-funded political spending triggered by the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC.  The bills introduced by Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) (H.R. 430) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) (S. 229) would reveal the contributors behind ‘dark money’ political spending and allow voters to make informed decisions at the polls as the Supreme Court envisioned in its Citizens United ruling.                      

“We are now entering our fourth election cycle since Citizens United and ‘dark money’ spending continues to grow exponentially each cycle as influence is bought and sold behind closed doors in Washington,” said Meredith McGehee, Campaign Legal Center Policy Director.  “Americans deserve to know who is buying special access and influence with their elected representatives.  The DISCLOSE Act will restore some honesty and integrity to the political process and it is long overdue.  Critics have somehow managed to keep straight faces and say this legislation stifles free speech and even gone so far as to liken Karl Rove’s secret billionaires club, Crossroads GPS, to the NAACP in the Jim Crow South which was exempted from revealing its membership rolls for obvious reasons.”

In addition to the Campaign Legal Center, the reform groups signing the letters include the Brennan Center for Justice, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Common Cause, Democracy 21, Demos, Issue One, League of Women Voters, People For the American Way, Public Citizen and the Sunlight Foundation.

To read the letter, click here.