Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise today in support of the DISCLOSE Act and the need to take action to get secret money out of our elections. I want to thank Senator Whitehouse for his leadership on this legislation--and testimony at the Rules Committee hearing I held on it this summer--as well as Leader Schumer for holding this vote. Senator Whitehouse has championed this bill since 2012, and I have been proud to support it alongside him in every Congress. This vote could not come at a more important time, as we are seeing an unprecedented flood of money into our elections. Over $14 billion was spent during the 2020 elections, the most expensive in our country's history. As we approach the general election in November, with 48 days left, this is already the most expensive midterm election ever. One estimate expects that nearly $10 billion will be spent just on political advertising this election cycle, more than double the $4 billion in the 2018 midterm elections. As spending on elections increases, the sources of the spending are less accountable than ever before. One investigation found that more than $1 billion was spent on the 2020 elections by groups that do not disclose their donors at all. Americans know there is way too much money in our elections, and--for our democracy to work--we need to know where this money is coming from.…”