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Rep Anna Eshoo

Washington Post: House Dems to Obama: Require contractors to disclose political donations

July 28, 2011

T.W. Farnham of the Washington Post recently interviewed Rep. Eshoo about the importance of disclosing campaign activity by those who receive federal money. An excerpt of the article is below:

More than 60 House Democrats have signed a letter asking President Obama to issue an executive order requiring federal contractors to disclose political contributions. The proposal is one of a handful floated in the wake of the Supreme Court's landmark Citizens United decision last year, which loosened restrictions on corporate political advocacy.

The letter indicates the strong support among rank-and-file Democratic lawmakers for a measure that has been attacked by Republicans.

"We believe that with public funds come public responsibilities," the letter reads, "and anyone benefiting from taxpayer money has the responsibility to be fully transparent."

Republicans have sponsored several measures that would have prohibited new disclosure requirements, but none of them became law. The order was never signed and has been out of the news for more than a month.

"There is a whole new level, with a tsunami of money that's washing over the country and our political system," said Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (D-Calif.), who wrote the letter and collected signatures on the House floor. "I don't think anyone can say with a straight face, 'This is a terrific system.' It just isn't. When you add to it the Citizens United decision, there is no way that anyone can stand up to those dollars."

To read the full article, please click here.