The latest iteration of the debate over which corporations, unions, and other groups should be permitted to spend funds on political ads, and how so, was renewed on January 21, 2010, when the U.S. Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (FEC) . The DISCLOSE Act, "Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections," which the Committee on House Administration reported, as amended, on May 25, 2010, is the most prominent legislative response to Citizens United to date. This report is designed to provide an overview and analysis of (1) major policy issues addressed in Citizens United and the DISCLOSE Act; (2) major provisions of H.R. 5175 , S. 3295 , and S. 3628 compared with current federal campaign finance law, as shown in Table 1 at the end of this report; and (3) selected issues for congressional consideration and potential implications of enacting or not enacting the DISCLOSE Act. Representative Van Hollen introduced the House measure, H.R. Senator Schumer introduced S. 3628 , a second version of the DISCLOSE Act—apparently intended to supersede the other Senate measure—on July 21, 2010. 5175 on May 25, the House of Representatives passed the bill, with additional amendments, on June 24, 2010, by a 219-206 vote. The versions of the bill as introduced in the House and as passed by the House were generally similar. 5175 as Passed by the House, S. 3295 as Introduced, and S. 3628 as Introduced

Despite some differences (discussed below), these versions of the DISCLOSE Act would generally expand the current definitions of independent expenditure and electioneering communication , thereby mandating expanded disclosure and disclaimer requirements for certain political communications run by corporations, unions, and certain tax-exempt § 527 and § 501(c) organizations ( covered organizations ), and broadening the kind of communications that may be subject to FECA prohibitions; require covered organizations to report to the FEC information about their donors (including transfers) and spending for certain independent expenditures and electioneering communications; require corporate chief executive officers or other high-ranking officials in covered organizations to state their approval for advertising content, similar to current "stand by your ad" requirements for candidate ads; prohibit certain government contractors from making independent expenditures and electioneering communications in federal elections; prohibit TARP recipients from making contributions, independent expenditures, and electioneering communications in federal elections; and prohibit corporations subject to certain control or ownership by foreign nationals (e.g., U.S. subsidiaries of foreign corporations) from making contributions, independent expenditures, and electioneering communications in federal, state, and local elections; and remove existing limits on coordinated party expenditures if a candidate or candidate campaign does not control the expenditure. Indeed, the provisions of the bills appear to be aimed primarily at non-campaign actors, particularly corporations, unions, and tax-exempt organizations. The bills do not increase contribution limits for candidate campaigns; they also generally do not address other political committees—parties and PACs. A notable exception, discussed below, would permit parties to make additional coordinated expenditures supporting their candidates. This is the only instance in which the bills explicitly allow for more political spending than would be possible under the status quo. The disclosure and disclaimer provisions could, however, provide the public and regulators with additional information about the sources of that advertising.
As it has periodically for decades, Congress is again considering how or whether to regulate campaign financing. The latest iteration of the debate over which kinds of groups should be permitted to spend funds on political advertisements, and how so, was renewed on January 21, 2010, when the Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. Following Citizens United, corporations and labor unions may now fund political advertisements explicitly calling for election or defeat of federal candidates—provided that the advertisements are not coordinated with the campaign. The legislative response receiving the most attention to date—and the emphasis of this report—is the DISCLOSE ("Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections") Act. The House measure, H.R. 5175, sponsored by Representative Van Hollen, was reported, as amended, by the Committee on House Administration on May 25, 2010. The House of Representatives passed the bill, with additional amendments, on June 24, 2010, by a 219-206 vote. Senator Schumer's companion legislation that was first introduced in the Senate, S. 3295, is generally similar to the bill passed by the House. The same is true for S. 3628, a second measure—apparently intended to supersede S. 3295—that Senator Schumer introduced on July 21, 2010. There are, however, some important differences across the three bills, as discussed in this report.
The bills appear to be aimed primarily at non-campaign actors, particularly corporations, unions, and tax-exempt organizations. The bills propose a combination of disclosure provisions and disclaimer provisions (which are sponsorship information included within a communication) that would apply to these entities and are designed to give regulators and the public additional information about political advertising that could emerge following Citizens United. The legislation also prohibits certain government contractors, foreign-controlled or owned corporations (including some U.S. subsidiaries of foreign corporations), and prospective recipients of Temporary Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds from making certain political expenditures.
The bills do not increase contribution limits for candidate campaigns; they also generally do not address other political committees—parties and PACs. A notable exception would permit parties to make additional coordinated expenditures supporting their candidates. This is the only instance in which the bills explicitly allow for more political spending than would be possible under the status quo.
This report provides an overview and analysis of (1) major policy issues addressed in the DISCLOSE Act, which responds to Citizens United; (2) major provisions of H.R. 5175, as passed by the House, and S. 3295 and S. 3628 as introduced in the Senate, versus current federal law; and (3) issues for congressional consideration and potential implications of enacting or not enacting the DISCLOSE Act.
The report will be updated as events warrant.