DISCLOSE Act fails again in Senate

POLITICO:

By TARINI PARTI | 7/16/12 7:38 PM EDT


Senate Democrats on Monday lost another attempt to pass legislation forcing donors of groups that bankroll most election ads to be revealed. But Democrats, led by New York Sen. Charles Schumer, pledged to hold the Senate floor hostage and continue the debate well into the night.

The DISLCOSE Act, which was dealt the same fate in the Senate in 2010, failed to overcome a key procedural vote on entirely partisan lines, 51-44. Democrats will push for another vote as early as Tuesday after holding a “midnight vigil” to protest the GOP filibuster of the measure.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was the only Democrat to vote “no” — a procedural move allowing him to bring it up again. Four Republicans and one Democrat did not vote on the bill, which would require unions, nonprofits and corporate interest groups that spend $10,000 or more during an election cycle to disclose donors who give $10,000 or more.

The new, stripped down version of the bill sponsored by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) no longer required sponsors of electioneering ads to have a disclaimer at the end and pushed the effective date to 2013. A discharge petition in the House to bring up the DISCLOSE act was also filed by Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) last week.

The push for the act comes as Democrats are lagging behind Republicans in fundraising. Critics of the bill argued that bringing up the measure was merely a political ploy.

“I just think it’s political theater at a time when we have real problems to solve,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also questioned the timing of the bill and argued that it would chill speech and lead to and potentially invite intimidation of donors whose identities were revealed. He and other Republicans said that although the language in the bill is the same for unions and corporate interest groups, in practice the measure would benefit unions.

“Senate Democrats want us to waste our time on the Disclose Act, a bill that has only two discernible purposes: To create the impression of mischief where there is none and to send a signal to unions that Democrats are just as eager to do their legislative bidding as ever,” McConnell said on the floor before the vote.

Democrats claim McConnell, the most vocal critic of the bill, has flip-flopped on disclosure after seeing how Republicans have benefited from outside spending groups. Schumer and others said the issue deserves continued attention now that voters are seeing and raising questions about the election ads that are taking over the airwaves...

More on Page Two>>