Tester statement on vote against secret campaign spending

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Senator Jon Tester today released the following statement after voting in favor of advancing legislation to restore transparency to political campaign spending in the wake of the controversial U.S. Supreme Court Decision Citizens United v. FEC, which allows corporations—even foreign-owned corporations—to spend unlimited money on American political campaigns without disclosure:

“My vote for this important measure was a vote for transparency, and it was a vote for the very notion that our government is run by people, not special interests.  Montana led the charge in fighting corporate influence over American elections nearly 100 years ago, and it’s incredible to me that we are forced to fight this fight again.  But I’ve got a lot of fight in me, and I look forward to future opportunities to restore transparency and sunshine to federal campaign spending.”

With a vote of 59-39, the Senate fell short of the 60 votes needed to bring the DISCLOSE Act to a final vote.

The DISCLOSE Act would:

• Require most organizations, including corporations, unions and non-profit organizations to disclose political campaign expenses,
• Prevent influence over American political campaigns by foreign-owned corporations,
• Ban “pay-to-play” by preventing government contractors and government bailout recipients from spending money on elections.

More information about the DISCLOSE Act is available online HERE.