WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) renewed his support for the DISCLOSE Act, legislation that aims to combat the corrosive impact of anonymous special interest spending in American politics. The bill would require organizations spending money in federal elections to disclose their donors, allowing the American people to see who is attempting to influence their vote and gain control over their government.

“Elections are the foundation of America’s governmental system, when the American people make their voices heard and hold their leaders accountable,” said Senator King. “That’s why dark money spending isn’t just a threat to one political candidate or another – it’s a threat to our democratic values. Every dollar spent in the shadows adds more noise and confusion around this sacred process, undermining the faith of the American people in both the elections and the eventual victors. To protect our American experiment, we must put an end to dark money’s grip on our politics.”

Citizens United and subsequent Supreme Court rulings 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 – or “dark” – money without being publicly tied to the television attack ads and other electioneering activity the groups carry out. Since Citizens United, spending by corporations, ultra-rich partisans, and secretive front groups has exploded. Dark money in particular has skyrocketed. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, outside spenders—super PACs, dark money groups, and political parties—spent $2.6 billion in federal elections during the 2020 election cycle, nearly double what was spent in the last presidential cycle in 2016.

The DISCLOSE Act would address the rapid rise of dark money by requiring organizations spending money in elections – including super PACs, 501(c)(4), and other dark money groups – to promptly disclose donors who have given $10,000 or more during an election cycle. This will permit Americans to see who is really spending to influence elections.

Today’s announcement represents the most recent example of Senator King’s commitment to and advocacy for campaign transparency to increase voter trust and engagement. Earlier this month he cosponsored the Spotlight Act¸ which would require certain political non-profit organizations to disclose their donors to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), reversing a rule that eliminated the requirement and allowed such organizations to keep their donors secret. In the last Congress, Senator King cosponsored the For the People Act, a sweeping package of legislative reforms that would strengthen anti-corruption laws and address the dominance of big money in politics. He also cosponsored the Sunlight for Unaccountable Non-Profits (SUN) Act, legislation that requires the IRS to publish the names of any donors who give more than $5,000 to tax-exempt political organizations.