Bloomberg News article: Republican Donor Simmons Seeks Rule to Fill Texas Dump

Republican Donor Simmons Seeks Rule to Fill Texas Dump By Julie Bykowicz April 4, 2012 Harold Simmons built a West Texas dump for radioactive waste that is bigger than 1,000 football fields and he can’t fill it. To turn it into a profitable enterprise, the Texas billionaire hired lobbyists to urge the Obama administration to […]

MSNBC interview with Fred Wertheimer on ending candidate-specific super PACs

Fred Wertheimer, President of Democracy 21, appeared on MSNBC this morning to discuss his op-ed “How to stop super PACs” which was published yesterday by The Washington Post.  The op-ed explained how candidate-specific Super PACs like the ones currently operating in the 2012 presidential election are vehicles for corruption and are returning the nation to a system […]

The Washington Post op-ed by Fred Wertheimer: How to stop super PACs

How to stop super PACs   By Fred Wertheimer Here is the only good news about the super PACs flooding the 2012 presidential race with negative ads funded by huge contributions from the super rich: These vehicles for corruption can be eliminated. Congress can pass legislation to end these candidate-specific super PACs that is well within […]

Federal District Court Strikes down FEC Regulation that Gutted Disclosure Requirement, DISCLOSE Act Still Essential to End Secret Money in Federal Elections

 By Fred Wertheimer, President, Democracy 21 Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) won an important campaign finance disclosure victory in federal district court on Friday, March 30, 2012 in the case of Van Hollen v. Federal Election Commission.   Judge Amy Berman Jackson in her opinion struck down as contrary to law an FEC regulation that gutted […]

Federal District Court Strikes FEC Regulation that Gutted Contribution Disclosure By Outside Spending Groups as Contrary to Law in Lawsuit by Representative Van Hollen

A federal district court in Washington, DC today struck down a regulation issued by the Federal Election Commission in 2007 that gutted the contribution reporting requirements that apply to groups which make electioneering communications. “Electioneering communications” are defined in the law as broadcast ads that mention a candidate 60 days before the general election and […]

Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer Urges Support for the DISCLOSE Act of 2012 in Senate Testimony Today

In testimony before the Senate Rules Committee this morning, Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer urged enactment of the DISCLOSE Act of 2012 and made the case for why this is essential disclosure legislation. According to the Wertheimer testimony: The legislation restores a cardinal rule of campaign finance laws:  citizens are entitled to know who is […]

FEC Reminded it has No Authority to Strike Down Contribution Limits in Filing by the Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21

The Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21 filed comments today with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), reminding the commission that it has no authority to strike down statutory aggregate contribution limits, or any other laws passed by Congress, as requested by Advisory Opinion Request (AOR) 2012-14.  The AOR filed on behalf of Shaun McCutcheon asks […]

AOR 2012-14 McCutcheon

D21_and_CLC_Comments_on_AOR_2012-14_McCutcheon_March_26_2012(1).pdf