Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) cosponsored the Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections (DISCLOSE) Act of 2023 to end the use of dark money in politics.
“American voters deserve transparency during elections,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “The DISCLOSE Act would eliminate the hold dark money and shady special interests have over our elections and protect the integrity of our democracy.”
The DISCLOSE Act ensures that organizations spending money in elections – including super PACs and 501(c)(4) dark-money groups promptly disclose donors who have given $10,000 or more during an election cycle. In addition to election disclosure requirements, this bill:
- Requires groups that spend money on ads supporting or opposing judicial nominees to disclose their donors;
- Prevents foreign governments and their agents from interfering in U.S. elections, including in state and local ballot measures;
- Cracks down on the use of shell corporations to hide the identity of the donor by requiring companies spending money in elections to disclose their true owners;
- Contains a “stand by your ad” provision requiring organizations to identify those behind political ads – including disclosing an organization’s top five funders at the end of television ads.
Senator Cortez Masto has long supported for Congressional action to crack down on dark money in politics and has pushed for a constitution amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s Citizen’s United v. FEC decision. Cortez Masto cosponsored legislation to guarantee donor disclosure, empower everyday citizens, and strengthen election oversight, and recently called on the FEC to claw back illegal and foreign donations to politicians and PACs.
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