June 26, 2014

Springfield Republican: Senate Democrats including Ed Markey, Elizabeth Warren, pushing campaign finance transparency bill ahead of midterm elections

June 26, 2014

Democrats in the U.S. Senate this week reintroduced a bill to increase transparency relating to campaign contributions and with a eye toward the midterm elections in November, the topic is likely to be a polarizing one in Washington.

A version of the DISCLOSE Act, authored by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., was reintroduced in the Senate on Tuesday to require any covered organization that spends $10,000 or more during an election cycle to file a report with the Federal Election Commission within 24 hours, detailing the amount and nature of each expenditure over $1,000 and the names of all of its donors who gave $10,000 or more. It would also end the practice of using 501(c)4 and 501(c)6 nonprofit status as a means to contribute relatively anonymously to political campaigns.

...

Warren told Politico.com, "The Supreme Court has determined that billionaires should have a louder voice in elections than everyone else. The Supreme Court is wrong."

Other Democrats already signed onto the bill include U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. Shaheen is the Democratic incumbent who is facing Brown, the Republican frontrunner, in a tough re-election bid.

Read the full article here