Litigation

Democrats Propose New Political Spending Restraints

By Peter Hardin

Responding to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, two top congressional Democrats Thursday outlined a package of legislative responses to discourage runaway spending by corporations and unions on political advertising.

Sen. Charles Schumer of New York and Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said the legislation they plan to introduce soon will require new steps for greater disclosure of the political spending. They also will propose  new restrictions, including a ban on foreign-controlled companies and businesses getting  government contracts or federal bailout funds from spending money on U.S. elections, according to an article by CNN.

Companies would be required to disclose their political spending within 24 hours on their corporate Web site, and would be required to disclose it to shareholders on a regular basis.

“If we don’t act quickly, this decision will have an immediate and devastating impact on the 2010 elections,” Schumer said in a conference call with reporters, according to The Hill newspaper.

In a related article, a Wall Street Journal commentary by Daniel Henninger examined the  “smackdown” between Justices Antonin Scalia and John Paul Stevens in opposing Citizens United opinions over the status of corporations in America. You can read more about the Citizens United decision in Gavel Grab.

Full post as published by The Gavel on February 11, 2010 (boomark / email).