[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 98 (Wednesday, June 10, 2026)]
[House]
[Page H4064]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRANSPARENCY IN ELECTIONS

  (Mr. Mullin of California was recognized to address the House for 5 
minutes.)
  Mr. MULLIN. Mr. Speaker, Americans are fed up with this government. 
They are fed up with money in politics. They are fed up with not 
knowing who they can trust.
  Corporations and billionaires are spending more than ever in an 
effort to influence our elections, and we are seeing more and more 
campaigns paying social media influencers to promote their candidates.
  Voters deserve to know who is getting paid. They deserve to know 
where corporations are spending their money and which billionaires are 
buying elections and how. When someone sees a video or endorsement, 
they should know whether it is actually an advertisement and who is 
paying for it.
  In recent years, we are seeing social media influencers with hundreds 
of thousands and sometimes even millions of followers promoting 
campaigns and candidates. Now, everyone has a right to their opinions, 
but if they are being paid to create this content and promote a 
candidate, then they should be disclosing it to their viewers.
  A semi-famous influencer with even a modest following can have an 
enormous impact on a close election that is decided, in some cases, by 
a few thousand votes. A social media personality with a large following 
can drive a campaign narrative sometimes more effectively than TV, 
radio, or any other media. They can do it all without ever disclosing 
their connection to the campaign or candidate they are supporting or 
even if they are being paid by the campaign itself.
  This is wrong. Voters deserve to have basic information about the 
conflicts of interest, incentives, and who is paying for political ads. 
Social media influencers must be required to disclose their paid 
affiliations with a candidate or campaign.
  In the California State Assembly, where I served as speaker pro 
tempore, I was proud to author the first-in-the-Nation DISCLOSE Act to 
require candidates, campaigns, and super-PACs to publicly disclose 
their largest donors in political ads. That is now law in the largest 
State in the land.
  Now, in Congress, I am working on ways to address this now and for 
future elections. Congress has tools to ensure transparency in our 
elections--who is paying for what and who is getting paid.
  Transparency is the least, the very least, we can do to safeguard our 
elections. We can and must do better.

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