Demand Disclosure of Corporate Funding in Elections

It's outrageous that Rep. Joe Barton apologized to BP. But it's not surprising given the outsized influence of corporate money on politics. And now the recent Citizens United decision by the U.S. Supreme Court has opened the floodgates for corporate money in politics.

The Senate is considering legislation intended to rollback some of the worst effects of the Citizens United decision. The DISCLOSE Act, passed by the House, would require special interest groups to publicly disclose corporations and top donors who fund TV ads and direct mail before an election.

Republicans, Blue Dog Democrats, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are just a few of the forces working to defeat the DISCLOSE Act. And the National Rifle Association (NRA) successfully lobbied the House to exclude the NRA from the bill's disclosure provisions, making the bill impossible for progressives to support.

It's time for Congress to get serious about getting corporate money out of politics. Tell your Senators to pass the DISCLOSE Act without an exception for the NRA or any other political organization.