We need to get dark money out of politics

Dear Friend,

Ever since the Supreme Court wrongly equated money with speech and corporations with people in decisions like Citizens United, we have seen dark, anonymous, and unaccountable money flood into our political system. This lack of transparency threatens the integrity of our political process and opens the door for dangerous disinformation campaigns. It also erodes the public's faith that our elected leaders will do what's right and not following orders from their anonymous donors and political backers.

I am committed to restoring transparency to our political process and reducing the influence of dark money in our elections. That’s why I voted Yes today on the DISCLOSE Act, a comprehensive package of campaign finance reforms that would increase transparency in campaign spending. I am frustrated that Senate Republicans once again used the filibuster to prevent us from moving forward on critical legislation to protect our democracy.

The DISCLOSE Act would require organizations that spend money in elections to disclose donors who have given more than $10,000 in a single election cycle. It also strengthens prohibitions against foreign actors participating in election spending in the United States, including in state and local ballot measures. And it would finally require the top funders of outside groups paying for video, text, or audio political ads to identify themselves.

So far in this Congress, every single Senate Republican has chosen to use the filibuster to block us from even beginning debate on campaign finance and voting rights legislation like the DISCLOSE Act. But I refuse to give up on preserving our hard-won and constitutional right to vote in free and fair elections. Not when our democracy is what is on the line.

Sincerely,

MARTIN HEINRICH
United States Senator