Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I rise to offer an amendment with Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Lujan, and Mr. Welch that will make it easier for the American people to figure out who is trying to influence their votes through campaign ads. In today's political reality of nonstop campaigning, our system continues to fail the American people by allowing special interests and shadow groups to flood our airwaves with anonymous ads, with no true disclosure whatsoever. Section 317 of the Communications Act of 1934 requires broadcasters to disclose the true identity of political ad sponsors on air during the ad. The FCC currently relies on an outdated 1979 staff interpretation of this law that does not account for the dramatic changes in our campaign system that have taken place over the last 6 years. This has resulted in a major loophole in which special interests and wealthy donors can anonymously spend limitless sums of money to influence the outcomes of our elections. To be honest, when an ad disclaimer says, ``Paid for by Americans for Kittens and Puppies,'' or ``Paid for by Americans for a Brighter Tomorrow,'' that really doesn't help the American voter understand who may be behind those ads. This is not what Congress intended. Despite having the authority to do so, the FCC has yet to take action to close this loophole. In January, 168 Members joined Ms. Eshoo and me in sending a letter to the FCC to unmask secret sponsors of political ads. They have yet to act.…”