[GPSCC-chat] Fw: The Solution for a Broken Campaign Finance System

[Caroline Yacoub]

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Congresswoman Anna Eshoo <Congresswoman.Eshoo at address-verify.com>
To: carolineyacoub at att.net
Sent: Tue, February 14, 2012 10:01:02 AM
Subject: The Solution for a Broken Campaign Finance System


 
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Dear Friend, 
 Two years ago, the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision cast aside a 
century of settled law and dealt a serious blow to our electoral process. In a 
shocking 5-4 decision, the court held that corporations and unions are entitled 
to the same First Amendment rights as people -- a ridiculous notion that Justice 
John Paul Stevens wisely called "a rejection of the common sense of the American 
people."

I support legislation for Congress to pass a Constitutional amendment to 
override Citizens United, but this could take years. In the near term, there's 
one critical tool to fight back: full disclosure. Even the author of the Court’s 
decision, Justice Anthony Kennedy, described the importance of transparency in 
our political system, saying it "permits citizens and shareholders to react to 
the speech of corporate entities in a proper way."

In response to the Court’s decision, and with my full support, Congress 
attempted to pass comprehensive legislation called the DISCLOSE Act. It 
prohibited foreign influence in federal elections, banned government contractors 
from political expenditures, and established requirements for election spending. 
The DISCLOSE Act passed the House in 2010, but unfortunately fell short in the 
Senate. I’m pleased to be an original cosponsor of the recently-reintroduced 
DISCLOSE 2012 Act.

After the original DISCLOSE Act failed, I led more than 60 of my House 
colleagues in calling on President Obama to issue an Executive Order to require 
every company that does business with the federal government to fully disclose 
its political contributions. With federal contract spending totaling more than 
$500 billion each year, and roughly one-quarter of all Americans employed by a 
firm doing business with the government, I think my proposal would be a major 
victory for reform, making transparency the norm rather than the exception. With 
public dollars comes public responsibility.

I've taken to the floor of the House repeatedly over the last year offering 
amendments to secure this critical disclosure, only to have them blocked from 
consideration each time at the behest of powerful business and lobbying groups. 
The good news is the President can accomplish this on his own. The bad news is 
he hasn’t yet.

The threat of undue corporate influence over America's political system is 
neither idle nor new. In 1905, President Teddy Roosevelt demanded campaign 
finance reform. He signed the Tillman Act banning corporate contributions in 
1907, and the first disclosure rules in 1910. Since that time, Congress has 
repeatedly supported a ban on anonymous and unlimited campaign spending, 
culminating in the landmark McCain-Feingold law in 2002, which I was proud to 
support.

Californians already know the power of disclosure. During the campaign on 
Proposition 23 (the ballot initiative to roll back greenhouse gas emissions 
rules), advertisements had to disclose the sponsors. When voters heard that 
major oil companies were funding the entire campaign, the proposition was 
overwhelmingly rejected.

Sunlight is the best disinfectant, and two years after Citizens United, 
disclosure remains the best available weapon to combat the corrosive effects of 
the Court's decision. Corporations are not people and shouldn't be treated like 
them. The President can and should use his authority and issue the long-awaited 
Executive Order straight away. Disclosure puts voters in the driver's seat, and 
it's time to hand over the keys. 


Let me know what you think. I look forward to hearing from you.    
Sincerely,

Anna G. Eshoo
Member of Congress

P.S. You can follow my activities and legislative work online at my Facebook and 
Twitter pages. Electronic communications save a considerable amount of taxpayer 
dollars and are environmentally-friendly.   

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