Denver — Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet joined U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and 163 colleagues in both houses of Congress in reintroducing the DISCLOSE Act, legislation to shine a light on the influence of dark money in U.S. politics and elections.
“In the wake of Citizens United, dark money has flooded our elections and given a handful of the wealthiest Americans and corporations outsized influence over our democracy with virtually no accountability to the public,” said Bennet. “We are long overdue to pass this legislation and bring transparency to campaign spending.”
Specifically, the DISCLOSE Act would:
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Require organizations spending money in elections – including super PACs and 501(c)(4) dark-money groups – to promptly disclose donors who have given $10,000 or more during an election cycle;
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Crack down on the use of shell corporations to hide the identity of donors; and
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Expand “stand by your ad” disclosure requirements requiring organizations to identify those behind political ads – including disclosing an organization’s top five funders at the end of television ads.
Since the Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in Citizens United, dark-money groups have poured over $2.6 billion into federal elections. Almost one in three dollars of outside spending reported to the Federal Election Commission since Citizens United flows from dark-money groups. The DISCLOSE Act would help Americans understand who is behind the surge in dark-money and other special-interest spending.
Bennet is a leading advocate for reforms to fight the corrupting influence of money in politics. In 2021, he introduced the ZOMBIE Act to require politicians no longer running for office to close their old campaign accounts. In 2019, he introduced a constitutional amendment to reverse Citizens United by restoring authority to Congress, states, and the American people to regulate campaign finance. He is also the lead author of the Close the Revolving Door Act, which would permanently ban former Members of Congress from working as lobbyists.