[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 11573-11574]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            THE DISCLOSE ACT

  (Mr. YARMUTH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. YARMUTH. Madam Speaker, twice this week, Senate Republicans 
blocked a vote on the DISCLOSE Act, which would shine a much-needed 
light on the dark corners of secret, anonymous political spending. The 
bill stands on a simple idea: Voters have a right to know who is trying 
to influence their votes.
  This year alone, more than 600 super PACs have spent $133 million on 
outside ads--most of which have been negative and, many, dishonest. 
It's much easier to lie about a candidate when you're anonymous--and 
when you can't be held accountable.
  The American people see the damage being done. More than three-
quarters of voters believe financial campaign reform is a key national 
issue, and the vast majority of Americans oppose the Citizens United 
decision, which opened the floodgates for outside spending and

[[Page 11574]]

dishonesty in elections. But even in the Citizens United decision, the 
Supreme Court anticipated that Congress would require disclosure as a 
critical means of providing transparency in campaigns.
  Madam Speaker, the voters have a right to judge the credibility of 
campaign ads, and they can't do that without disclosure of those who 
are paying for them.

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