House Passes Bill Reforming Campaign Funding

Press Release

On Thursday, the House passed H.R. 5175, the DISCLOSE Act, by a vote of 219-206. Congressman Serrano voted in favor of the legislation.

"The DISCLOSE Act will shine a much needed light on the realm of corporate and special interest spending in elections," said Serrano. "Given the wild west campaign atmosphere created by the Supreme Court, these new disclosure requirements will ensure that voters are not duped by corporations and other special interests seeking to hide their involvement in elections, and that investors and special interest donors know how their money is being spent. In addition, this bill places some reasonable restraints on political efforts by corporations who have received TARP money or who have significant government contracts. By no means is this bill perfect, but it is a big step in the right direction."

The bill is a legislative response to a recent Supreme Court decision which equated the free speech rights of corporations with those of individuals. The legislation puts reasonable restraints and disclosure requirements on such corporate speech, to ensure that corporations and other special interests cannot hide behind third parties to promote their agenda.

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