Begich Co-Sponsors Bill to Shine Spotlight on Secret Donors

Press Release

U.S. Senator Mark Begich co-sponsored the DISCLOSE Act of 2014 this week to restore transparency and accountability to the election process by requiring disclosure of big dollar donors who fund political activities. The DISCLOSE Act would require campaign organizations to provide the public with information about their campaign expenditures and the donations that pay for those expenditures.

"Unlimited, secret campaign donations -- with no transparency requirements -- don't belong in our elections," said Begich. "Voters deserve to know who is behind the ads they see and hear -- it's that simple."

The DISCLOSE Act requires any organization that spends $10,000 or more during an election cycle to file a report with the Federal Election Commission within 24 hours, detailing the amount and nature of each expenditure over $1,000 and the names of all of its donors who gave $10,000 or more. Transfer provisions in the bill prevent donors from using shell organizations to hide their activities.

"This is a common sense bill that not only takes an important step toward campaign finance reform, but also protects individual privacy," said Begich. "I agree with the former Republican Federal Elections Commission Chair Trevor Potter that this bill is well-designed to protect our democratic process without restricting our freedom of speech."

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