Rep. Van Hollen Sues, Petitions FEC to Increase Campaign Finance Disclosure Rules
A House Democrat seeking to increase the disclosure requirements of third-party political donors and advertisers sued the Federal Election Commission over a 2007 rule change in that area and also petitioned it to open a rulemaking on a related issue. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., filed suit in the U.S. District Court, D.C., alleging the FEC violated administrative procedure in adopting a 2007 rule that eased electioneering communications disclosure rules. Van Hollen also asked the agency to quickly amend its independent expenditure disclosure requirements “that has similarly allowed groups to [raise] millions of dollars … while keeping secret the donors whose funds are used to pay for the ads,” the Campaign Legal Center said in a press release. From 2007 to 2010 Van Hollen was chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
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The complaint and petition for rulemaking were in reaction to the Supreme Court’s 2009 Citizens United decision, said Paul Ryan, an attorney for the Campaign Legal Center which is working with Van Hollen on the matter. The center also supported last year’s DISCLOSE Act, which would have required similar changes to campaign finance disclosure rules, Ryan said. “This is really a separate issue,” from that bill, Ryan said. “We have some disclosure laws on the books that should be implemented more faithfully to their text,” he said.
But the prospects for moving legislation like the DISCLOSE Act, which failed in the Senate last year, through Congress again are not good due to Republican control of the House, said Pillsbury Winthrop attorney Clifford Harrington, who represents broadcasters. And getting the FEC to act “is always hard to do” because it’s split 3-3 between Republicans and Democrats.
It’s not clear how enhanced disclosure rules would affect broadcasters’ ability to sell political spots to third-parties, Harrington said. “I have not heard, from my clients at least, that issue advertising as permitted by the Citizens United case has been a major source of political revenue yet,” he said. Meanwhile, according to the Associated Press, the White House is considering an executive order that would require certain government contractors to disclose their campaign contributions. It reported that White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters about the idea during President Barack Obama’s trip to California.
Requiring more disclosure might not affect political ad spending, because most of the groups that buy political spots are usually identified by the media eventually, said David Oxenford, lawyer for Davis Wright who also represents broadcasters. “Most of that information becomes public sooner or later anyway,” he said.