WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) is cosponsoring a bill to improve public faith in government through expanded political donation transparency. The Sunlight for Unaccountable Non-Profits (SUN) Act will require the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to publish the names of any donors who give more than $5,000 to tax-exempt political organizations. As King’s first piece of legislation in the 118th Congress, the bill builds on the Senator’s continued efforts to create more government accountability and strengthen the democratic process.

“The American people deserve a transparent, responsible government that is both by the people and for the people, not special interests,” said Senator King. “The SUN Act will require much-needed disclosures for large political donations and give Maine people confidence that their elected officials are working for them. When you go to a Maine town meeting you have to publicly stand up in front of your neighbors to have your voice heard – it shouldn’t be any different in Washington. This is a commonsense step to restore trust in our government that I hope will receive broad bipartisan support.”

Senator King has been a longstanding advocate for more transparency to increase voter trust and engagement in our democracy. After releasing a discussion draft of proposed Electoral Count Act reforms nearly a year ago, he contributed to the passage of the bipartisan Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act which clarifies ambiguities in the outdated 1887 Electoral Count Act (ECA). He’s also worked on legislation to require that all political contributions of $1,000 or more be filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) within 48 hours and identify the dark money political donors that seek to anonymously shape and influence political debate.