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Today the House narrowly passed H.R. 5175, the DISCLOSE Act, a bill by Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee chairman Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), to unfairly silence the political speech of their adversaries while carving out exemptions for their political allies.  Congressman Bill Posey (R-FL) opposed the legislation which, if enacted into law, would set up a double standard based on a group’s political leanings.

 “If this bill is really about having everyone disclose, it begs the question of why it has all the carve-outs for favored friends,” said Congressman Posey. “It doesn’t pass the straight face test. This legislation was written behind closed doors by the chairmen of both the House and Senate Democrat Campaign Committees and is specifically designed to silence their opposition before the upcoming midterm elections. It’s a gross abuse of power and it’s this sort of nonsense that the American people are fed-up with.  It’s unconstitutional and they know it, but as long as a ruling by the court doesn’t come down until after the elections they seem fine with that.”

The DISCLOSE Act would block certain organizations from engaging in political debate before the upcoming elections by requiring them to comply with cumbersome disclosure requirements, complex restrictions and gotcha legal jeopardy.  However, the bill applies a different standard to unions for example, including government unions who have a direct interest in the expansion of the size and scope of government.

In a recent letter in opposition to the bill, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said the DISCLOSE Act would “restrict speech rights in an arbitrary manner, favoring one type of organization over another.” CLICK HERE for the ACLU’s full letter. 

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, labor unions made over $74.5 million in campaign contributions in 2008, with 92% of that going to Democrat candidates. Government unions directly spent $19 million, with 89% of that going to Democrat candidates.

“I believe unions, associations of small businesses and other groups of individuals should have an equal voice in political discussions.  This bill violates that principle of fairness.  Democrats have chosen to give some Americans a louder voice over others when it comes to political speech,” said Posey. “This is unconstitutional because it fails to treat all Americans equally before the law. But getting a court ruling to that effect before the election is unlikely and the Democrats know it. It’s like changing the rules in the middle of the game to gain an unfair advantage.”