The Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FECallowed corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence American politics. But, the American public is kept from understanding the full impact of new corporate money in politics because of the explosion of secret political spending and the failure to adopt common sense disclosure requirements.
Since Citizens United, more than $600 million in dark money has been spent in U.S. elections through 501(c)(4) and (c)(6) organizations that do not have to disclose their funders. Secret corporate political spending threatens the integrity of our democratic self-government, as those with the deepest pockets can overwhelm other voices. This financial influence leads to the needs and wants of corporations being prioritized and can skew important public policy outcomes, often in ways that perpetuate racial inequities. But while politicians typically know who is spending money to support their political fortunes, the public is denied the ability to properly assess when “elected officials are ‘in the pocket’ of … moneyed interests.”1
Many have called for measures that would pull back the curtain on corporate political spending. Greater transparency of such spending is particularly needed with respect to government contractors, who are given taxpayer dollars to do the people’s business.2These contractors often turn around and engage in political spending to influence policies that preserve their profits at the public’s expense, or affect contracting decisions. Government contractors often heavily advocate for, and profit when the federal government adopts, policies that disproportionately harm people of color and other traditionally disenfranchised populations. An executive order requiring government contractors to disclose their political spending would help the public hold government contractors accountable for political spending that benefits their bottom lines while entrenching structural racism in our country.