Earlier today I wrote up the Walz-Demmer battle on corporate campaign contribution disclosure in DISCLOSE Act discourse: Randy Demmer, Tim Walz, and the Sunlight Foundation.
The bill was passed in the House this afternoon in a 219-206 vote. The Minnesota vote divided along party lines, with the exception of Collin Peterson, who joined the Republican block.
The Walz congressional office issued this statement about the vote:
Legislation includes Walz provision to make it illegal for Wall Street banks to use taxpayers’ money to influence the outcome of elections
Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Walz voted for the DISCLOSE Act and urged his colleagues in the Senate to pass the legislation and send it to the President right away in order to protect the integrity of our democracy and American elections. This legislation is the most far-reaching campaign finance reform law since McCain-Feingold and does more to strengthen disclosure and transparency than any measure in recent history. The DISCLOSE Act includes a provision Rep. Walz successfully added to the overall bill that prevents Wall Street banks from using taxpayer dollars they received in the bailout to influence the outcome of U.S. elections. The bill passed the House today.
“It was wrong that American taxpayers had to bail out Wall Street banks for their reckless behavior,” said Congressman Walz. “It is outrageous these same Wall Street banks can now use your taxpayer money to run TV attacks ads attempting to elect or defeat candidates for public office. This legislation fixes that wrong.”
“Congressman Walz has been a strong fighter for campaign finance reform. His work was vital as we drafted the bipartisan DISCLOSE Act, and I want to thank him for his efforts on this issue,” said Rep. Van Hollen. “Powerful special interests should not be able to drown out the voices of hard working Americans. It is critical to let the sun shine in on political expenditures and ensure voters are able to follow the money and make informed decisions.”
The legislation also prevents U.S. corporations controlled by foreign – or even hostile – governments from dumping in secret money to influence U.S. elections.
“China already owns enough of our debt, they don’t need to own our elections too,” said Walz.[emphasis added]
In January, the Supreme Court overturned decades of campaign finance law and opened the floodgates for special interests to directly influence elections. The House passed the DISCLOSE Act (H.R. 5175) to close some of the biggest election loopholes created by a recent court decision and help ensure that the voices of the American people are not drowned out by a corporate takeover of our elections. In the Citizens United case, the Supreme Court opened the floodgates to unrestricted special interest campaign donations in American elections—even from entities controlled by foreign governments.
A summary of the DISCLOSE Act is tucked below the fold--take a look at what Randy Demmer thought you didn't need to know about who is funding a candidate's campaigns.
DISCLOSE Act: Shine the Light on Special Interests Behind American Elections
SUMMARY OF THE BILL
Prevent Large Government Contractors from Spending Money on Elections:
Prevents government contractors with over $10 million in contract money from
making independent expenditures and electioneering communications. Before the
Citizens United case, corporations could not make political expenditures in federal
elections.
Prevent TARP recipients from Spending Money on Elections: Prohibits
bailout beneficiaries from making independent expenditures or electioneering
communications in federal elections until the government money is repaid.
Limit Foreign Influence in American Elections: Extends existing prohibitions
on campaign contributions and expenditures by foreign nationals to domestic
corporations in which foreign nationals own more than 20% of voting shares, make
up a majority of the board of directors, and/or have the power to dictate decision-
making of the domestic corporation.
Strengthen Disclosure of Election Ads: Expands electioneering communications that
must be disclosed under the bill to broadcast ads referring to a candidate in the 120
days before the general election, expanded from 60 days before the general under
current law.
Stand by their Ads: Requires corporate CEOs to appear on camera to say that he or
she “approves this message,” just like current law requires candidates do in political
ads, funded by their company.
Requires Top Donor to Appear in Political Ads and Top Five Donors to be Listed
in Ads. The top funder of a campaign-related ad (who provided more than
$10,000) is required to stand by their ad. Also requires a TV ad to list the top
five funders and the amounts they gave to be used for campaign-related ads,
as long as they have provided more than $10,000 over that last 12 months.
Radio ads must state the top 2 funders, and robo calls must disclose the sponsor
and the significant funder on the call and mass mailings must disclose the
sponsor, significant funder and top 5 funders.
Strengthen Donor Disclosure of Political Expenditures by Corporations, Unions,
and 504 (c)(4)s, (6)s, and 527s: Requires full and timely disclosure of campaign-
related expenditures made by covered organizations, including corporations and
labor organizations. The bill imposes disclosure requirements that prevent covered
organizations from masking their campaign-related activities through the use of
conduits and intermediaries.
Corporations, labor unions, trade associations, 501(c)(4) organizations, and
527 organizations must report all donors who have given $1,000 or more if the
organization has made an expenditure in excess of $10,000 from its general
treasury funds for “electioneering communications,” and $600 or more if the
organization has made an expenditure in excess of $10,000 from its general
treasury funds for “independent expenditures” to the FEC.
The name of the donor, date and amount of the donation must be disclosed.
Exempts from these donor disclosure requirements 501(c)(4)s that have
500,000 million or more dues-paying members in the prior year, with members
in each of the 50 states, that received no more than 15 percent of their funding
from corporations or labor organizations, that have been in existence for over
10 years, and that do not use any corporate or union money to pay for their
campaign-related expenditures. These organizations, however, would still have
to stand by their ads.
An organization can establish a separate “campaign-related activities” account
to make campaign-related expenditures (independent expenditures or
electioneering communications).
Restricts organizations from using a donation for campaign-related activities if
the donor specifies that it may not be used for such activities, in which case the
identity of the donor is not to be disclosed.
Disclosure of Political Expenditures to Shareholders and Members: Requires
corporations, unions, trade associations, 501(c)(4) organizations and 527s to
disclosure campaign related expenditures on the organization’s website as well as
included in any periodic or annual financial reports.
Lobbyist Disclosure of Political Expenditures: Requires lobbyists --registrants
under the Lobbying Disclosure Act -- to disclose the amount of any independent
expenditure or electioneering communication of over $1,000 and the name of the
candidate referred to in the ad.
Extends Ban on Coordinating with Candidates and Parties: Prevents corporations,
labor unions, nonprofits and individuals from coordinating campaign-related
expenditures with candidates and parties in House and Senate races in the period
from 90 days before the primary through the general election, and where the ad is
run in the candidate’s jurisdiction. (Current FEC rules apply just to the 90-day pre-
primary and pre-general election periods.) For presidential elections, the bill put into
law the existing FEC regulation that bans coordination on ads from 120 days before
the first presidential primary or caucus through the date of the general election.
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