Sens. Murkowski, Wyden push federal disclosure improvements

U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) have begun the push for improved campaign disclosure, which they discussed in a late-December op-ed in the Washington Post.

The Senators plan on taking to the federal level what their home states have already done: Alaska passed a state level law similar to the proposed Disclose Act, and which the Corporate Reform Coalition called the “most innovative and far reaching” laws since Citizens United. Oregon has instituted near-immediate disclosure of contributions, requiring campaign committees to report large contributions within one week.

Sens. Murkowski and Wyden plan to “[combine] the best elements” of the Alaska and Oregon laws to create a federal campaign finance structure that is “transparent and holds everyone immediately accountable.” The Senators are also accepting public comment via their websites until January 15 (Murkowski’s site here, and Wyden’s site here).

Their outline (available on Senator Wyden’s website) says that the public has a right to know who is contributing large sums of money, and that existing regulatory definitions create ambiguity and therefore loopholes.

Read more:

Washington Post: Our states vouch for transparent campaign financing (Op-ed by Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Ron Wyden)

Huffington Post: Lisa Murkowski, Ron Wyden Propose Campaign Finance Reform