{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/king-votes-for-cleaner-elections-and-clearer-campaign-ads-to-improve-democratic-process", "King Votes for Cleaner Elections and Clearer Campaign Ads to Improve Democratic Process", "2022-09-22", "2022", "2022-09", "Independent", "Senate", "ME", "Angus S. King, Jr.", "K000383", "www.king.senate.gov", "angusking", "https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/table", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), today voted for the DISCLOSE Act, comprehensive legislation to strengthen the democratic process by creating more transparency in political spending and elections. The legislation, which failed to gain any Republican votes and reach the necessary sixty-vote threshold, would require organizations spending money in federal elections to disclose their donors, help get foreign money out of elections, and require all election ads to state by whom they are funded. The effort was cosponsored by Senator King, and builds on his continued efforts to create a more transparent, fair democratic process.\n\n\u201cThe foundation of American democracy is that everyday people can make their voices heard and hold their leaders accountable. Dark money is a real and present threat to these democratic values \u2013 it removes accountability from our political process, and drowns out the voices of voters with those of anonymous special interests,\u201d said Senator King. \u201cNot only are incessant ads paid for by \u2018Americans for Green Grass\u2019 frustrating, they\u2019re a real threat our democratic principles. If a nurse in Stonington donates $75 dollars to their political candidate it\u2019s disclosed, but if a billionaire wants to pour millions into an election they can do it anonymously \u2013 it simply makes no sense, and it\u2019s not fair.\n\n\u201cThe DISCLOSE Act would have ended this disparity and brought long overdue transparency to our political process by requiring dark money groups to finally disclose who is backing them. It also would have taken a much-needed step to keep foreign money out of American elections,\u201d Senator King continued. \u201cSunlight is the best disinfectant, especially for dark money\u2019s corrosive effects on our democratic process. I\u2019m disappointed that my Republican colleagues didn\u2019t support this commonsense effort; I honestly don\u2019t understand why it could be even slightly controversial.\u201d\n\nCitizens United and subsequent Supreme Court rulings currently permit super PACs and certain types of tax-exempt groups, such as 501(c)(4) nonprofits, to spend unlimited sums in elections. Many of those groups are not required to disclose their donors, allowing wealthy corporations and individuals to spend unlimited, undisclosed \u2013 or \u201cdark\u201d \u2013 money without being publicly tied to the television attack ads and other election activity the groups carry out.\n\nThe Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections (DISCLOSE) Act includes provisions to:\n\nStrengthen Dark-Money Disclosure\n\nRequires super PACs, 501(c) \u201cdark money\u201d groups, corporations, and other organizations spending more than $10,000 in elections and on judicial nominations to promptly disclose donors who contribute more than $10,000.\n\nShuts down the use of transfers between organizations to cloak the identity of the source contributor.\n\nAllows organizations to establish a segregated fund from which to pay for election spending, in which case only donors to the fund would need to be disclosed.\n\nClose Loopholes in the Foreign Money Ban\n\nStrengthens prohibitions against foreign actors participating in election spending in the United States, including in state and local referenda.\n\nProhibits the establishment of corporations to conceal election contributions and donations by foreign actors.\n\nPromote transparency in Election Ads\n\nExpands \u201cstand by your ad\u201d disclosure requirements to online ads and ads that may promote or attack a candidate but stop short of expressly advocating for a vote for or against a candidate.\n\nRequires identification of top funders of outside groups paying for video, text, or audio political ads.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T03:08:33Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/king-votes-for-cleaner-elections-and-clearer-campaign-ads-to-improve-democratic-process"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.138192066922784, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}