Bellows Endorses Newly Introduced 'DISCLOSE Act' to Get Money Out of Politics, Calls on Collins to Join Her
Press Release
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Shenna Bellows today endorsed the newly introduced Senate version of the DISCLOSE Act to make big money in politics more transparent. The bill, introduced today by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and cosponsored by Sen. Angus King and 49 other senators, requires groups that spend more than $10,000 in an election cycle to disclose major funding sources and major expenditures a timely way.
Bellows called on her opponent, Republican Susan Collins, to support the bill. As Politico reported on July 17, 2012, Collins and other Republicans filibustered that year's version on "a strictly partisan 53-45 vote."
Senate Democrats' second attempt in less than 24 hours to advance the campaign finance bill failed Tuesday -- even after at least 16 senators held the floor for six hours Monday night in support of the measure. [. . .] Prior to the vote, Democrats called upon Republicans who have previously spoken in favor of greater transparency and campaign finance reform to vote 'yes' on the bill today. Those targeted Republican senators such as Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Scott Brown (R-Mass.), John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), all voted against the DISCLOSE Act both times.
The Center for Responsive Politics found that more than $310 million was spent on undisclosed election activities in the 2012 campaign cycle, with about 85 percent coming from groups aligned with the Republican Party. The spending figure is up from $69 million in 2008. The unpopular Citizens United Supreme Court decision, which opened the door to unprecedented big money in politics, was handed down in January 2010.
"I'm running a grassroots campaign with small-dollar donations and no corporate PAC money because individual voices need to be heard in Washington, not drowned out by anonymous checks and back-room political deals," Bellows said. "The public should have the right to know who is funding Washington politicians behind the scenes. The DISCLOSE Act is an important first step in ending the influence of secret money in our politics, and I call on Republican Susan Collins to join me and Sen. Angus King in supporting this bill."
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