Senators Urging Administration to Require Government Contractors to Disclose Political Spending

Press Release

Today, on the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court's McCutcheon decision that further eroded the nation's campaign finance laws, a group of U.S. Senators are sending a letter asking the Obama Administration to implement an executive order requiring government contractors to disclose political spending. The letter is signed by U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tom Udall (D-NM), Al Franken (D-MN), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

The letter from the Senators also comes on the same day as a coalition of organizations delivered more than 500,000 petition signatures to the White House calling for such an executive order.

The Senators note in their letter that the system of disclosure in our campaign finance system has "completely broken down," and that "congressional gridlock has made advancing some of the nation's most important priorities impossible." With that in mind, they write that "[p]olitical spending by government contractors is a problem the President can address without congressional authorization. The President would be on solid legal ground if he were to issue an executive order requiring disclosure of political spending by entities that have been awarded government contracts and their senior leadership. The order could also take into account transfers to and from shell corporations and non-profits, to prevent evading disclosure requirements."

"An executive order will not solve our campaign finance problems but it will at least be a step in the right direction, and will show this Administration's commitment to transparency and fairness," they conclude.

Senator Whitehouse is the lead sponsor of the DISCLOSE Act, which would shine a light on secret campaign spending by requiring timely disclosure of donations over $10,000 by corporations, super PACs, social welfare organizations, unions, and other political groups. Republicans have repeatedly filibustered previous attempts to pass this commonsense bill.

"Right now, one thing is clear: Republicans want to protect the status quo that allows shadowy groups to spend unlimited dark money in campaigns," Whitehouse said today. "An executive order would disrupt that status quo and could even force Republicans to negotiate with Democrats on a legislative solution. I hope the President and his team will consider such an order."

Senator Udall is the lead sponsor of a Constitutional amendment to repeal the Citizens United decision, which fatally undermined Congress' ability to enact common-sense campaign finance laws and opened the doors for vast, secretive government influence by corporations and wealthy individuals. Udall's amendment was supported by a majority of the U.S. Senate in 2014.

"Until we reverse the Supreme Court's incredibly misguided campaign finance decisions, we must take every opportunity to shine some light on the huge increase in spending to influence elections," Udall said. "This executive order is something the president can do in the near term to increase transparency. If companies are going to benefit from taxpayer money through government contracts, then they should be honest with the public about their political spending."

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