Today I introduced the Real Time Reporting and Transparency Act to increase transparency in political campaigns and elections. This legislation would allow the public to see who is funding politicians and help determine whether large campaign donations are buying favor within 48 hours of those donations being made. The Supreme Court’s decision yesterday in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission (FEC) removes limits on the total amount of money an individual can give to political campaigns, parties and candidates. This decision allows multi-million dollar “hard money” contributions and will increase the level of influence that wealthy donors have over our democracy. According to Public Campaign, there were only 1,219 donors in the entire country that neared or reached the former campaign cycle limit of $123,200. The voice of this small group will now be amplified even more by the Supreme Court’s ruling. This bill is a step that Congress can take to improve transparency and ensure that citizens know who is funding campaigns in this new era of unlimited donations. It requires that all contributions of $1,000 or more be filed with the Federal Election Committee (FEC) within 48-hours and be publically available. Without this legislation, a donor could contribute millions of dollars cumulatively to members of Congress and their parties on the eve of a vote that would impact that individual’s particular interest. Under current law, the public would not know about this until up to 3 months later. The Supreme Court has accelerated the process by which public policy is for sale. We can mitigate the effects of this terrible decision with sunlight and transparency.
Posted on: Thu, 03 Apr 2014 21:39:34 +0000
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