Press Releases

ECU Applauds Rep. Crow’s “End Dark Money Act”

Jan 30, 2019

End Citizens United (ECU) Action Fund President Tiffany Muller released the following statement praising Representative Jason Crow for introducing a bill aimed at closing loopholes that allow mega-donors to hide their political spending through phony social welfare organizations:

“For too long, mega-donors and big money special interests, operating under the guise of ‘social welfare,’ have abused this glaring loophole for their own gain. It’s a scheme that’s designed to keep the American people in the dark about who’s trying to buy influence in our elections. Representative Crow’s End Dark Money Act would put an end to this shady tactic. We thank him for his leadership and we look forward to working with him in support of the bill.”

The End Dark Money Act is designed to stem the flood of dark money spending by closing the loophole that allows mega-donors to hide their political contributions through phony social welfare organizations. Currently, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is forbidden from investigating abuse of social welfare organizations by mega-donors who use 501(c)s to hide their political contributions. Crow’s bill would allow funds to be used for the IRS to tackle the abuse and ensure non-profits adhere to their social welfare mission or forfeit their tax-free status.

# # #