On the recordJune 2, 2011
I thank the Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to speak about what I think is a very, very important undertaking. It deals with our democratic system and what works against it. My amendment would require that anyone that receives an appropriation, a contract, doing business with the Federal Government produce full disclosure relative to political expenditures. I raised this because I think there is a dark corner of our system that is not being addressed, and it is an issue that is as much about deficit reduction as it is about our democracy. We know that there are political expenditures that are made. Some are disclosed; some aren't. I think it's important to state that I think, I really believe, that this could have been a bipartisan agreement. It's important to remember that our Republican colleagues were for disclosure before they were against it. In 2000, Senator Mitch McConnell asked, ``Why would a little disclosure be better than a lot of disclosure?'' In 2007, on Meet the Press, Speaker John Boehner said, we need ``full disclosure of all the money that we raise and how it's spent. And I think sunlight is the best disinfectant.'' I agree with what the Speaker said in 2007, but since then our colleagues have changed their minds. Not a single Republican voted for the DISCLOSE Act. And when I offered an amendment similar to this one in February, it wasn't even allowed to be brought up for a vote.…
