Any corporation or organization seeking government contracts would have to disclose its campaign contributions under a new regulation proposed by the Federal Election Commission. The change is an attempt by the Obama administration to mitigate a U.S. Supreme Court decision (Citizens United) last year that nullified spending limits for businesses and labor unions, resulting in higher spending on races without disclosure of big political donors.

 

Companies, their subsidiaries and directors would have to reveal donations made to any group campaigning in federal races, if they want to be eligible for government work. The regulation would include contributions to nonprofit organizations that don’t have to reveal the source of the funds. Democrats are particularly keen to make public donors to the Crossroads GPS, a conservative group founded by Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie that spent a whopping $16.7 million on the 2010 election.

 

President Barack Obama sought legislation last year that would have required similar disclosure, but Congress failed to adopt it.

 

Businesses affected by the new rule would include General Electric, Exxon Mobil, JPMorgan Chase, and Koch Industries, which are just some of the 33 companies or banks listed in the top 100 campaign contributors over the past two decades that have received government contracts.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Draft Executive Order On Outside Spending Disclosure Would Have Sweeping Reach (by Paul Blumenthal, Sunlight Foundation)

Draft Policy Would Disclose Contractors' Political Ties (by Sarah Chacko, Federal Times)

Executive Order (White House)

40% of Outside Campaign Money was Made Possible by Supreme Court Ruling (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)