Public Citizen release via email:

In the midst of a close national election, the Republican leadership in Congress is risking a government shutdown to keep corporate political spending in the dark – raising obvious questions about just how much dark money is flowing into Republican campaign coffers and whether Republicans in Congress are doing the bidding of their corporate donors instead of serving the American people.

In the midst of final negotiations between Congress and the White House over the details of a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is demanding the inclusion of a rider that would block the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from working on a rule to require publicly traded companies to disclose their political spending. This rider is one of the main sticking points standing in the way of a deal.

It is highly irregular and profoundly inappropriate for a continuing resolution (CR) – which simply extends status quo funding levels – to include significant policymaking provisions of any kind. With the deadline for a deal only a week away, it is imperative that Congress set aside any poison pill policy riders – including the SEC rider – to avoid a disruptive and costly government shutdown. McConnell’s push to include the rider in the CR is a real marker of its importance, and even if it remains in the CR for the next two months, it must be taken out of the omnibus funding package to be negotiated later in the year.