This week has showcased a dire need, a need to spotlight the unregulated money overwhelming our democracy. Reform groups, investors, state elected officials and more have 
demanded that Congress and federal agencies do their jobs and make elections transparent to the people voting in them.
First, on Monday morning organizations and investors gathered to urge the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to require publicly-traded companies to disclose contributions when they engage in electoral politics. Today, the DISCLOSE Act will come up for a hearing in the United States Senate.
Both SEC rules and congressional action are critical to closing the gaping loopholes in our system left by the Citizen United v. Federal Election Commission (FEC) decision and ineffective FEC regulations on the disclosure of political spending.
Polls show the public overwhelmingly supports disclosure. According to a New York Times article on a New York Times/CBS News poll released on October 28, 2010, Americans significantly, “favor full disclosure of spending by both campaigns and outside groups.”
