Coalition Announces Support for King's Real Time Transparency Act

Press Release

Today, a coalition of 17 organizations committed to greater transparency in U.S. elections came together to announce their support for the Real Time Transparency Act introduced by U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine). In a joint letter submitted to the Senate Rules Committee today, the organizations expressed their concern for the recent Supreme Court McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission decision, which abolished caps on an individual's total donations to federal candidates, parties and some political committees, and called for immediate disclosure of campaign contributions. The Real Time Transparency Act, introduced by Senator King in April, would require that all campaign contributions of $1000 or more be filed with the FEC within 48-hours.

"We have the means, we have the technology, to make real time disclosure a reality," the letter reads. "But to get there, Congress must make it so. This bill is an important step to shining a light on the likely massive hard money contributions that the Supreme Court opened the door to in McCutcheon."

"I am honored to have the support of so many organizations that, like me, are committed to providing the American people with the information they deserve in a timely manner," Senator King said. "As I discussed at today's Rules Committee hearing, Congress has a responsibility to protect the government from being corrupted by the unchecked flow of money to public officials, and the Real Time Transparency Act is part of that important effort."

The letter of support comes on the same day that Senator King led a Senate Rules Committee hearing on the DISCLOSE Act, a bill introduced by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) that would require organizations that spend money to influence elections to disclose their spending as well as their major sources of funding in a timely manner. Senator King is also an original co-sponsor of the DISCLOSE Act.

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