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I need your help sharing this:

Citizens United broke open the floodgates of dark money in politics — generating waves of anonymous, unaccountable campaign cash from big corporations and billionaires.

I'm going to ask you to help me spread the word on your social media platform of choice about the For the People Act. But first, let me tell you how this bill takes on Citizens United and puts the people back in charge.

For starters, the For the People Act demands a far more transparent system for campaign donations and disclosures for political spending.

Let's say, for example, that you're the CEO of MegaCorporationInc.

You're concerned about some bill in Congress that would make you or your company pay its fair share in taxes. Or stop you from polluting or ripping off your customers.

But those things are pretty popular, so you don't want the public (or your kids) to see you trying to stop it.

So, you call up your lobbyist pals and they create a fake organization — Citizens for Motherhood & Apple Pie. It's legally a nonprofit organization to "educate the public," so it's not required to report its donors.

You funnel millions of dollars in there, and they hire attack ad specialists to crank up the disinformation campaign with TV ads, direct mail, and digital ads. Mission accomplished.

Even worse, sometimes these lobbyists and political hacks create dozens of these organizations, flowing money all over the place, making it even tougher to track.

NO MORE.

Under the For the People Act:

  • All organizations — including these money-laundering nonprofits — would have to disclose their big donors.
  • No more shuffling money around through multiple organizations to hide the true source of funding.
  • Corporate donations to political organizations would be disclosed to shareholders.
  • Any expenditure of $10,000 or more would be disclosed within 24 hours.

This is one part of the biggest, most important plan to protect every American's freedom to vote and choose representatives who will deliver better wages, more affordable health care, more justice in our communities, and a brighter future for our kids.

Will you join me in promoting this on your social media?

Share this on Facebook and Instagram.

Even better, this is just one part of the For the People Act. Stay tuned for more.

Jeff

Posted on April 19, 2021.

Born in the small town of Myrtle Creek, Oregon, Jeff Merkley has never lost touch with his working class roots.

As a U.S. Senator, he works every day to create opportunity for working families, stop the corruption of our democracy, and tackle the climate crisis.

A workhorse and a progressive champion, Jeff Merkley is leading a movement to get our country back on track.

Meet Jeff

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