Maine’s independent U.S. Sen. Angus King is joining forces with a Democratic congressman from Texas to push for faster disclosure on federal campaign donations.
King and U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke announced Wednesday they are reintroducing the Real Time Transparency Act, a bill that has so far failed to gain traction in Congress.
The legislation requires all campaign contributions of $1,000 or more made to federal candidates to be filed with the Federal Election Commission within 48 hours.
“For the health of our democracy, the American people deserve to know who’s trying to influence their vote, and, in 2015, they should have the ability to know in real time — not months after the fact,” King said in a prepared statement. “This bill brings our campaign finance reporting requirements into the 21st century and shines a light on the complex web of money that’s been dominating our campaigns for too long. If the Supreme Court is going to allow unlimited donations, then the least Congress can do is make sure the American people get to know who they’re coming from.”
Under current law, a contribution of $1,000 or more to a U.S. Senate campaign must be filed with the secretary of the Senate on a quarterly basis, and all other political action committee or campaign contributions of $1,000 or more must be filed with the FEC on a quarterly basis. Currently, only contributions made within 20 days preceding the election must be disclosed within 48-hours.
King’s legislation would amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to:
* Require all candidates for federal office to report contributions to the FEC within 48 hours.
* Apply reporting requirements for transfers from Joint Fundraising Committees to candidates, as well as for contributions from individuals directly to candidates.
* Modify the $1,000 threshold to make it cumulative within one calendar year, mandating that any individual who contributes $1,000 or more multiple times per year report each contribution
* Require a “loop back” to a year before the date of enactment, meaning if an individual makes a contribution of $1,000 or more, the candidate must report within 48 hours
King and O’Rourke first introduced the bill in 2014 in response to the Supreme Court decision McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, which abolished caps on an individual’s total donations to federal candidates, parties and some political committees.
King has long advocated for federal campaign finance reform. In 2014, he led congressional hearings examining the influence of dark money on U.S. elections.
He is a co-sponsor of the DISCLOSE (Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections) Act and supported a constitutional amendment that would regulate and limit the raising and spending of money for federal political campaigns.
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