The Disclose Act: A Common Sense Step Toward Honest Election « Alex Cornell du Houx

The Disclose Act: A Common Sense Step Toward Honest Election

By Rep. Alex Cornell du Houx

Published:

Monday, July 26, 2010 2:10 PM EDT

The 2010 elections are going to be different from any we’ve seen in the last 100 years. I’m not talking about candidates or technology or policy — I’m talking about money.

Earlier this year, in its decision in Citizens United v. FEC, the Supreme Court overturned a century’s worth of election laws in order to allow corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence voters. Now, a corporation like BP can spend as much as it wants to run ads against candidates who want to impose strict regulations on the oil industry, and a hedge fund can spend millions to aid a candidate who shares its interests.

What’s more, the new rules give the same freedom to domestic subsidiaries of foreign companies as to those controlled by U.S. companies, and contain no restrictions on campaign spending by government contractors-creating a real opportunity for pay-to-play deals.

We can’t know exactly how corporations will use their new influence in the 2010 elections. But we can make sure that their campaign expenditures are as limited, and as transparent, as possible.

Last month, the House passed the DISCLOSE Act, a common-sense bill to limit which corporations can pour money into elections, and to make sure that those who do get involved in politics disclose exactly what they are doing. The DISCLOSE Act would close the loophole that allows foreign-controlled domestic subsidiaries to participate in American elections, and make sure that government contractors and recipients of TARP funds couldn’t curry favor by buying campaign ads. It would establish new rules to prevent outside spenders from coordinating their campaign activities with candidates and political parties. And it would also impose strict transparency requirements-all corporate and labor union expenditures for or against a candidate would need to be reported promptly and clearly, and a company’s CEO would have to appear in all of its political ads, much like candidates must “approve the message” of ads funded by their campaigns.

The DISCLOSE Act isn’t perfect, but what it does is simple and important: It takes a harmful Supreme Court decision and ensures that it can do as little damage as possible in a quickly approaching election.

It is now up to the Senate to pass DISCLOSE in time for voters to have the information we need as we go to the polls in November. But in a typically Washingtonian twist, the straightforward bill to promote transparency has run into the fierce opposition of those whose moneyed influence it endangers. Big business lobbyists, who embraced the Citizens United decision and plan to spend millions on the 2010 elections, have been ratcheting up their efforts to defeat DISCLOSE, and have gotten most of the Republican caucus on board.

When the Senate votes on DISCLOSE this Tuesday, the votes of Maien Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins will be crucial to its passage. Both have been strong supporters of transparency and accountability in the past, but rarely have the voices against honest government been so loud. They will hear plenty from the business lobby; now they need to hear from ordinary citizens.

Americans have worked for decades to make sure our elections belong to voters, not to the highest bidder. The only way we can fully take back our “government by the people” is to pass a constitutional amendment to undo Citizens United.

But in the meantime, we have a basic right to know who is spending money in our elections. The Supreme Court has handed unprecedented political power to big corporations. It’s now the job of our elected officials to protect the power of voters.

Rep. Alex cornell du Houx, D-District 66, represents part of Brunswick in the Maine House of Representat