Dear Fellow
Tea Party Patriots,
We have received information from Capitol Hill regarding
the "Disclose Act" and we must work to defeat this bill. The vote is
expected to take place tonight or tomorrow.
On April 29, 2010, Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
introduced H.R. 5175, the Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on
Spending in Elections (DISCLOSE) Act. The bill is a direct response to
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (McCain- Feingold) - a
First Amendment victory in which the Supreme Court overturned the
prohibition on corporations and unions using treasury funds for
independent expenditures supporting or opposing political candidates at
any time of the year. Simply put, the DISCLOSE Act will limit the
political speech that was protected and encouraged by Citizens United.
Speaker Pelosi and the House Majority Leadership are making
it a priority to pass this bill. This bill is designed to take away
the influence of Tea Party and other conservative groups in the upcoming
November election. We feel like this bill will be successfully
challenged in the courts, but the ruling will not come before the
November election.
An exemption has been carved out for the Labor Unions and
other leftist advocacy groups. The NRA was also exempted so they would
not oppose it.
Roll Call Magazine reports today that they have carved out
even deeper exemptions in order to assure passage and we believe it
clearly shows the intent of the bill is to diminish the effectiveness
of Tea Party groups and other newer conservative advocacy groups.
"Facing wide-ranging blowback from an exemption tailored
for the National Rifle Association, House Democratic leaders have
decided to expand the carve-out from disclosure requirements in a
campaign finance measure they are trying to pass this week.
The new
standard lowers the membership requirement for outside groups from 1
million members to 500,000. Those groups would still need to have
members in 50 states, have existed for 10 years and can accept no more
than 15 percent of their funding from corporate or union sources. The
broader bill, called the DISCLOSE Act, comes in response to the
controversial Supreme Court decision in January that struck down limits
on corporate and union spending in elections. The bill would force
groups participating in elections to name their top donors, among other
changes."
We need you to make phone calls, send emails and faxes and
urge the Congressmen listed below to vote no on this bill. If you are a
NRA member, we urge that you email the NRA and ask them to oppose this
bill.
Together, we can make a difference!
