To: The United States House of Representatives and The United States Senate
Mitch McConnell is risking a government shutdown to keep wealthy donors secret
I’m appalled that lawmakers would use the threat of a government shutdown to get their way -- or to deny voters our right to know who is spending money to influence elections. Congress must pass a bill to fund our government without any ideological policy riders attached.
Why is this important?
Congress has just a few days to pass a continuing resolution (CR) to fund our government -- but a handful of senators led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are holding up negotiations, all so they can keep corporate political spending in the dark.
Everyone has a right to know who is spending money on our elections -- but McConnell and his allies are threatening a government shutdown unless they can insert an provision into the CR that will ban the Securities and Exchange Commission from writing rules that require corporations to disclose their political spending.
That’s right -- they’re so opposed to basic transparency that they’re willing to risk a costly and disruptive government shutdown to prevent it. Voters deserve to know who is trying to influence our votes and our elected officials, but McConnell’s anti-disclosure rider would make it even easier for wealthy special interests to hide their identities.
If anything, Congress should be using this continuing resolution to provide emergency disaster relief to communities in need. But instead, McConnell and his allies are exploiting this crisis to pass unrelated ideological riders that voters would never agree to -- which heightens cynicism and undermines trust in our political process.
We can’t let them get away with this last-ditch attempt to deny voters our right to know who is spending on our elections -- and we must speak out now. Tell your lawmakers to remove this anti-transparency rider and fund our government without ideological carve-outs.
Everyone has a right to know who is spending money on our elections -- but McConnell and his allies are threatening a government shutdown unless they can insert an provision into the CR that will ban the Securities and Exchange Commission from writing rules that require corporations to disclose their political spending.
That’s right -- they’re so opposed to basic transparency that they’re willing to risk a costly and disruptive government shutdown to prevent it. Voters deserve to know who is trying to influence our votes and our elected officials, but McConnell’s anti-disclosure rider would make it even easier for wealthy special interests to hide their identities.
If anything, Congress should be using this continuing resolution to provide emergency disaster relief to communities in need. But instead, McConnell and his allies are exploiting this crisis to pass unrelated ideological riders that voters would never agree to -- which heightens cynicism and undermines trust in our political process.
We can’t let them get away with this last-ditch attempt to deny voters our right to know who is spending on our elections -- and we must speak out now. Tell your lawmakers to remove this anti-transparency rider and fund our government without ideological carve-outs.