Foundations to SEC: Force Corporations to Disclose Political Giving
via NPR
Secret money in politics, especially the corporate variety, has been controversial ever since the Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in the Citizens United case. Now, about 70 charitable foundations are asking the Securities and Exchange Commission to end that secrecy.
“All we’re calling for is disclosure. That’s all,” Stephen Heintz, president of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, told NPR. “We’re not saying to limit it, we’re not saying to eliminate it. We’re just saying, you know, shareholders have a right to know what public companies are spending to influence the political process.”
In Citizens United, the Supreme Court said corporations can engage directly in electoral politics. It also assumed something that has not happened: prompt, online disclosure of corporate spending.
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