ECU President Tiffany Muller released the following statement on the IRS 501(c)(4) rule change, GOP efforts to repeal the Johnson Amendment, and House Republicans’ rejection of the DISCLOSE Act:
“It shouldn’t be a surprise that the American people believe the system is rigged in favor of Big Money special interests. Over the past week, President Trump, the IRS, and House Republicans have all taken steps to make it harder for voters to learn who is spending money in elections. Voters deserve more disclosure, not less.
“As our intelligence agencies work to connect the dots to uncover whether Russia used dark money to support President Trump in the 2016 election, the national security need for transparency has never been more apparent. Meanwhile, the IRS is making it virtually impossible to determine how secret money groups are funded, opening the door for criminal enterprises and foreign governments to exploit our campaign finance system. And in Congress, Republicans are seeking to manipulate churches and charities for big donors to secretly funnel money into elections. At the same time, they voted down an effort to require any group that spends money on elections from reporting the source of its funding.
“In the end, we’re left with a system where mega-donors and special interests can secretly buy influence and access to elected officials. These politicians are beholden to their big donors and they stack the deck at the expense of the American people. Now more than ever we need to kick out the members who are rigging the system, and elect reformers to Congress so those who write the biggest checks no longer have the biggest say.”
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