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Advocacy Blog
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
"Diverse Nonprofit Groups Condemn Ensign Amendment Obstructing Passage of Senate Electronic Disclosure Bill"
The Campaign Finance Institute has issued a press release announcing an effort led by OMB Watch which culminated in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) urging them to drop the Ensign Amendment to S. 223, the Campaign Disclosure Parity Act. The unrelated amendment would require charities, religious organizations, and civic nonprofit organizations to disclose all of their donors who contributed $5,000 or more when they file an ethics complaint against any Senator. This is clearly meant to defeat a bill that has no public objection. The bill would simply require electronic disclosure of Senate campaign contributions.
Our letter stated; "Its unmistakable purpose is to discourage organizations from taking action to keep government accountable. Its retaliatory nature is counter to donors' privacy rights and the First Amendment rights of association and speech, and raises significant constitutional questions."
Letter in the News: BNA Money and Politics ($$) reported; "Signatories of the letter to Reid and McConnell included organizations ranging from the liberal Alliance for Justice and OMB Watch to the American Conservative Union and James Bopp, general counsel of the James Madison Center for Free Speech."
Posted by Amanda Adams
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