Republicans want to keep hiding government contractors money

Here we go again. Recently, I wrote to you about the crazy “Keeping Politics Out of Federal Contracting Act” (KPOFCA), which would keep secret political spending by federal contractors like Northrop Grumman and Academi (formerly Blackwater) in the dark. Now Congressional Republicans are fighting transparency on another front. On a party-line vote, the House GOP stuck language in a must-pass appropriations bill that, unless the Senate takes it out, will block significant new transparency requirements for political ads. Don’t let corporate cronies block political spending transparency. Urge your senators to remove the House GOP’s dark money language and to oppose KPOFCA (S. 1100). What are the transparency requirements that corporations are so afraid of? Well, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently created a new rule that requires TV stations to make the information they collect about political ad spending available on the Internet. This is information the TV stations are already collecting, and the data is already public. However, right now it’s only accessible by physically going to a TV station and requesting the files. The new rule is just a modernizing update to how things work in the 21st Century. If the data is truly public, it should be posted online. The House GOP’s anti-disclosure language in the appropriations bill specifically strips the FCC’s funding to implement the rule. Tell your senators to support the FCC rule and to oppose secret political spending by federal contractors. KPOFCA, meanwhile, has already passed out of the Senate Homeland Security Committee. Backed by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), whose top campaign contributor is General Dynamics (a military contractor that makes fighter jets) and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) whose top contributor is Northrop Grumman (another military contractor), KPOFCA would prevent the government from requiring federal contractors to disclose money they’re spending to influence elections. According to proponents of the bill, keeping political spending by government contractors secret somehow protects the integrity of the contracting process. If this information is not public, their “logic” goes, then politicians won’t know if a corporation receiving government funds for contracts helped get them elected. Here’s how things work in the real world: If a federal contractor’s CEO pours millions into electing a candidate the CEO thinks will reward the corporation with government contracts, then the CEO will find a way to make sure that the candidate knows. All KPOFCA does is keep the public, not politicians, in the dark. Tell your senators to oppose this bill that would keep secret political spending by federal contractors in the dark and to support the FCC’s transparency update. Thanks for all you do, Rick Claypool Public Citizen’s Online Action Team action@citizen.org P.S. For a limited time, a group of longtime Public Citizen supporters will match any contribution, dollar-for-dollar, up to $500,000. Donate now and your gift will go twice as far in support of the work we’re doing together to challenge corporate power.

Visit our Government Reform page to learn more about Public Citizen’s work to rein in the influence of money in politics. Go to http://action.citizen.org/unsubscribe.jsp if you do not want to receive future emails from Public Citizen. © 2012 Public Citizen • 1600 20th Street, NW / Washington, D.C. 20009 • www.citizen.org