Himes Helps Pass Campaign Finance Disclosure Bill

The bill was crafted in response to the Supreme Court's 5-to-4 decision in Citizens United earlier this year which lifted the limits on contributions for campaign advertising by corporations, business groups, unions and trade associations.  Without new legislation to enforce transparency, powerful special interests like Big Oil, Wall Street firms and even foreign interests could funnel unlimited amounts of money to fund shadow campaign ads and manipulate the outcome of elections.

As a co-sponsor of the bill, Jim had stated his concern that, unless mitigated by legislation, the Supreme Court decision could lead to the voices of individual citizens being drowned out in the electoral process.  “The Supreme Court's decision to allow unlimited third-party political advertising practically hangs a ‘For Sale’ sign on the U.S. Capitol," Jim had said.

The DISCLOSE Act would establish strict disclosure requirements on firms and groups contributing to election ads, and prohibit foreign interests, federal TARP fund recipients and large government contractors from spending in federal campaigns.  The measure now moves to the U.S. Senate.

A round-up of related coverage follows:

From CNN:

The U.S. House on Thursday passed a bill that would require most independent groups that pay for campaign ads to disclose their donors.

The measure passed on a 219-206 vote, with most Democrats in support and Republicans opposing. The Senate is considering taking up its own version of the bill.

Referred to as the "disclose act," the bill was pushed by House Democrats to respond to a Supreme Court ruling in January that struck down key provisions of campaign finance laws that restricted spending by corporations, unions and independent groups.

From the New York Times:

The House on Thursday approved legislation to curtail the ability of corporations and other special interest groups to influence elections by requiring greater disclosure of their role in paying for campaign advertising.

The bill is intended to counter a Supreme Court ruling in January that the federal government may not ban political spending by corporations and other advocacy groups, like labor unions. The ruling overturned two precedents, including a 1990 ruling that upheld restrictions on political spending by corporations.

The vote was 219 to 206, with just two Republicans joining Democrats in favor.

Known as the Disclose Act, the acronym for Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections, the bill would ban spending on political campaigns by corporations that have $10 million or more in government contracts as well as by American corporations that are controlled by foreign citizens.

The bill would also establish rules and restrictions for American corporations and interest groups, including a prohibition of corporations and other interest groups in coordinating spending with candidates or political parties, and a mandate that chief executives appear in any advertisement paid for by their companies.

From Huffington Post:

The House of Representatives passed major reforms to campaign finance law on Thursday following a heated debate over whether an exemption granted for the National Rifle Association had sullied the final product.

The final vote was 219 to 206 in favor of the DISCLOSE Act, with only two Republicans -- Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.) and Joseph Cao (R-La.) -- crossing party lines. The bill would provide tough new disclosure rules for groups that invest in the election process. In addition to forcing all 501c4 groups to stand by the ads they sponsor during elections (with the CEO of the organization literally forced to appear in the spot), the law would also require groups that met certain criteria to reveal who was funding their election activity.

The latter provision sparked intense pushback from a host of business groups, led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

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