To: The United States House of Representatives and The United States Senate
Expose the Kochs' dirty money secrets
In our democracy, everyone has a right to know know who is trying to influence or buy access to government. Immediately pass the DISCLOSE Act and bring secret political megadonors like the Koch Brothers out into the open.
Why is this important?
Ask yourself, who keeps secrets? The simple answer -- people with something to hide. People who don’t believe your vote is worth as much as theirs, or that free speech rights really matter unless you buy political ads.
A bombshell in the New York Times, citing a new book from investigative journalist Jane Mayer, exposes how the $350 million dollars Charles and David Koch each inherited at birth, included profits their father made helping to build a major refinery instrumental to the Nazi war effort in World War II.
The Koch Brothers have used their family fortune to build a multi-billion dollar network of secret money groups that’s bigger -- and possibly more influential -- than even the Republican Party. The Koch brothers alone will spend nearly twice as much as the GOP in 2016.
But because the Koch’s influence buying happens behind closed doors, there’s no way for you and me to know what candidates and lawmakers are receiving their money -- and what they might be getting in return.
Voters deserve full transparency from everyone who seeks to influence our democracy. That’s why it’s critical that Congress pass the DISCLOSE Act -- and why the Koch Brothers are lobbying against it.
The last time Congress got to vote on the DISCLOSE Act, a few senators killed it with parliamentary trickery. But today’s report proves how necessary disclosure is for our democracy -- to make informed decisions, we need to know exactly who is bankrolling candidates.
This report should be the moment for members of Congress to prove where they stand -- with secret money billionaires like the Kochs, or with voters who deserve full transparency about who is trying to buy elections.
A bombshell in the New York Times, citing a new book from investigative journalist Jane Mayer, exposes how the $350 million dollars Charles and David Koch each inherited at birth, included profits their father made helping to build a major refinery instrumental to the Nazi war effort in World War II.
The Koch Brothers have used their family fortune to build a multi-billion dollar network of secret money groups that’s bigger -- and possibly more influential -- than even the Republican Party. The Koch brothers alone will spend nearly twice as much as the GOP in 2016.
But because the Koch’s influence buying happens behind closed doors, there’s no way for you and me to know what candidates and lawmakers are receiving their money -- and what they might be getting in return.
Voters deserve full transparency from everyone who seeks to influence our democracy. That’s why it’s critical that Congress pass the DISCLOSE Act -- and why the Koch Brothers are lobbying against it.
The last time Congress got to vote on the DISCLOSE Act, a few senators killed it with parliamentary trickery. But today’s report proves how necessary disclosure is for our democracy -- to make informed decisions, we need to know exactly who is bankrolling candidates.
This report should be the moment for members of Congress to prove where they stand -- with secret money billionaires like the Kochs, or with voters who deserve full transparency about who is trying to buy elections.