Van Hollen Condemns GOP Obstruction of Senate Vote on DISCLOSE Act

Statement

Today, Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen, Assistant to the Speaker, issued the following statement on today's cloture vote in the Senate on the DISCLOSE Act:

"Today, Senate Republicans once again voted to protect powerful special interests instead of Americans -- this time voting for what amounts to a corporate takeover of our elections. Despite widespread Republican support for increased transparency and disclosure in the past, their opposition to the DISCLOSE Act ensures that voters will be left in the dark as unlimited corporate money is spent by shadowy groups seeking to mislead Americans.

"Voters have a fundamental right to know who is trying to influence their votes, and the DISCLOSE Act would have provided that information. If you had nothing to hide, you had nothing to fear. But special interests groups from every end of the spectrum wanted to keep their campaign spending secret, and they waged an unprecedented effort against this common sense reform. Apparently, that secrecy is more important to Washington Republicans than making sure that American voters have the information they need to make informed choices. They want to allow companies like BP to funnel millions of dollars into a group like "Americans for Clean Oceans' to secretly fund ads against those who try to hold the company accountable. Senate Republicans have voted against providing more information to voters and in favor of making disingenuous and misleading advertising the norm.

"As President Obama said yesterday, "Millions of Americans are struggling to get by, and their voices shouldn't be drowned out by millions of dollars in secret, special interest advertising.' At a time when big money special interests already have far too much influence over our system, this legislation would have represented an important victory for Americans. In the end, it will be voters and our democratic process that will pay the price of failing to pass this bill. I want to commend Senator Schumer and Majority Leader Reid for their tireless work on this issue, and I hope the Senate continues to bring this bill up for a vote until Washington Republicans get the message that our democracy is not for sale."

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