Disclose Act: Super PAC Transparency Legislation To Be Introduced By House Democrats

[Tx4obama]

WASHINGTON -- Amid growing concern over the growing influence of super PACs, congressional Democrats are set to introduce new legislation designed to bring an increased level of transparency to campaign-related expenditures.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) will introduce in the coming weeks an updated version of the DISCLOSE Act, the legislation aimed at increasing transparency in election spending that failed to pass Congress, in September 2010, by a single Senate vote. Senate Democrats will introduce their own version of the legislation after the House moves first. The two bills are likely to differ slightly in language, though those differences aren't immediately known.

"There is still work being done on a bill in the Senate," said one Senate Democratic aide. "It will be high on our priority list," added another.

The bill has been redesigned to account for the rise of super PACs and to make more transparent what is widely regarded as a dangerous proliferation of largely anonymous spending during the 2012 election cycle. According to ProPublica, super PACs have so far spent nearly $20 million on campaign activities in the first four presidential primary states alone. That total does not take into account the money spent that super PACs neglected to report.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/25/disclose-act-super-pac-chris-van-hollen_n_1232008.html