The Disclose Act

Floor Speech

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.

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.

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