[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 16152-16153]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            THE DISCLOSE ACT

  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I come to the floor once again to speak 
in strong support of the DISCLOSE Act, which would close the glaring 
campaign finance loopholes that have been opened by the Citizens United 
ruling. This Supreme Court ruling was a true step backward for our 
democracy. It overturned decades of campaign finance law and policy. It 
allowed corporations and special interest groups to spend unlimited 
amounts of their money influencing our democracy and opened the door 
wide for foreign corporations to spend their money on elections right 
here in the United States.
  The Citizens United ruling has given special interest groups a 
megaphone they can use to now drown out the voices of average citizens 
in my home State of Washington and across the country. The DISCLOSE Act 
would tear that megaphone away and place it back in the hands of 
American people, where it belongs.
  I am extremely disappointed that Senate Republicans continue to block 
this critical legislation. This is a very personal issue for me. When I 
first ran for the Senate back in 1992, I was a long-shot candidate with 
some ideas and a group of amazing and passionate volunteers by my side. 
Those volunteers cared deeply about making sure the voices of 
Washington State families were represented. They made phone calls, they 
went door to door, they volunteered hours of time, they talked to 
families all across my State who wanted more from their government.
  We ended up winning that grassroots campaign because the people's 
voices were heard loudly and clearly. But, to be honest, I don't think 
it would have been possible if corporations and special interests had 
been able to drown out their voices with an unlimited barrage of 
negative ads against candidates who did not support their interests. 
That is exactly why I support this DISCLOSE Act. I want to make sure 
that no force is greater in our elections than the power of voters 
across our cities and towns, and no voice is louder than citizens who 
care about making their State and country a better place to live.

[[Page 16153]]

  The DISCLOSE Act helps preserve those American values in a lot of 
ways. First of all, it shines a very bright spotlight on the entire 
process. The DISCLOSE Act will make corporate CEOs and special interest 
leaders take responsibility for their acts. When candidates put up 
campaign commercials on television, we put our faces on our ad and tell 
every voter we have approved the message. We don't try to hide what we 
are doing. But right now corporations and special interest groups don't 
have to do that. They can put up deceptive or untruthful ads with no 
accountability and no ability for the public to know who is trying to 
influence them.
  The DISCLOSE Act also strengthens overall disclosure requirements for 
groups who are attempting to sway our elections. Too often, 
corporations and special interest groups are able to hide their 
spending behind a mask of front organizations because they know the 
voters will be less likely to believe their ads if they knew the 
motives behind the sponsors. The DISCLOSE Act ends that. It shines a 
light on this spending and makes sure voters have the information they 
need so they know what they can trust.
  This bill also closes a number of other loopholes that have been 
opened by the Citizens United decision. It bans foreign corporations 
and special interest groups from spending in our U.S. elections. It 
makes sure that corporations are not hiding their election spending 
from their shareholders. It limits election spending by government 
contractors, to make sure taxpayer funding is never used to influence 
an election. It bans coordination between candidates and outside groups 
on advertising so that corporations and special interest groups can 
never sponsor a candidate.
  This DISCLOSE Act is a commonsense bill. It should not be 
controversial. Anyone who thinks voters should have a louder voice than 
special interest groups ought to support this bill. Anyone who thinks 
that foreign entities should have no right to influence U.S. elections 
ought to support this bill. Anyone who agrees with Justice Brandeis 
that sunlight is the best disinfectant should support this bill. And 
anyone who thinks we should not allow corporations such as BP or 
Goldman Sachs to spend unlimited money influencing our elections ought 
to support this bill.
  Every 2 years we have elections across this country to fill our 
federally elected offices. Every 2 years voters have the opportunity to 
talk to each other about who they think will best represent their 
communities and their families. Every 2 years it is these voices of 
America's citizens who decide who gets to stand right here representing 
them in the Congress. That is the basis of our democracy and it is 
exactly what the DISCLOSE Act aims to protect. I am very proud to 
support this bill and I urge all our colleagues to stand up against 
special interests and for voters in their States and allow this bill to 
finally pass.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.

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