Senate Republicans Filibuster DISCLOSE Act
DISCLOSE Act would combat the flood of anonymous special interest spending in American politics
WASHINGTON – Today, Senate Republicans filibustered the DISCLOSE Act, legislation to combat the flood of anonymous special interest spending in American politics. The bill would require organizations spending money in federal elections to disclose their donors, allowing the American people to see who is attempting to sway their elections and gain control over their government. Durbin is a cosponsor of this legislation.
Ahead of today’s cloture vote, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, urged his colleagues to support the legislation in a speech on the Senate floor, noting that “dark money is a dire threat to American democracy.”
“The DISCLOSE Act is really pretty basic… protecting American democracy from foreign interference and requiring super PACs and special interest groups to disclose anyone contributing $10,000 or more to their cause. That’s it. We don’t prohibit the actual contribution. We just require disclosure,” Durbin said. “It would literally say to America you have the right to know who’s paying for this candidate’s ads, who’s putting all those ads on TV, what special interest group is behind this cause. Senator McConnell says we should be dealing with serious issues. There is no more serious issue than the integrity of our campaign process.”
Durbin concluded, “This system we have in America is one we need to protect and not exploit. When the U.S. Supreme Court in Citizens United decided that money was speech and that corporations had a right to speak, it really corrupted the system in ways unimaginable. We’re living with the results today. Citizens United was a terrible decision… the idea that if you’re rich, you can speak more loudly and more often in America is a corruption of the basic right we all should protect and enjoy.”
Video of Durbin’s floor speech is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s floor speech is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s floor speech is available here for TV Stations.
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