House Committee Adds Waivers For TV, Radio Ads to DISCLOSE Act

The House Administration Committee marked-up the DISCLOSE Act (HR 5175) and amended the bill to allow for hardship waivers of disclosure requirements for political ads on radio and TV.

The Democracy is Strengthened by casting Light On Spending In Elections would tighten disclosures of the corporations and unions backing those ads and require more explicit, and potentially longer and more extensive, disclaimers on all TV ads funded by special interests.

After the committee approved the bill, President Barack Obama said the bill would "establish the toughest-ever disclosure requirements for election-related spending by big oil corporations, Wall Street and other special interests. It would prohibit foreign entities from manipulating the outcome of U.S. elections, and it would shine an unprecedented light on corporate spending in political campaigns so that the American people can clearly see who is trying to influence campaigns for public office. These changes are particularly urgent in the aftermath of the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, and I encourage the full Congress to give this strong, bipartisan legislation the swift consideration it deserves."