Posted on 04/25/2011 4:54:09 PM PDT by jazusamo
Washington (CNSNews.com) – In what the White House calls a push for transparency, a pending executive order would require companies doing business with the federal government to disclose political contributions to independent groups, but would not place the same requirement on public employee unions or federal grant recipients that typically donate to Democrats.
Entitled the “Disclosure of Political Spending By Government Contractors,” the order would implement parts of the DISCLOSE Act, which failed to get through Congress last year. The legislation sought to restrict campaign speech after the landmark Citizens United vs. Federal Elections Commission U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld the right of corporations and unions to donate to campaigns.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney confirmed Monday that work is underway on the draft order, and linked the move to President Obama’s stated commitment to transparency.
VIDEO 1:10 minutes
“We fully acknowledge there is a process underway,” he told CNSNews.com. “A draft is just that. It’s a draft until it makes its way through the process. The president is committed to transparency and he certainly thinks American taxpayers should know where their money is going.”
Government contractors are already required to disclose contributions to political candidates. This executive order would require the disclosure of any donations to independent groups, where conservative groups outspent liberal ones in the 2010 election.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said the executive order would stifle free speech.
“Democracy is compromised when individuals and small businesses fear reprisal, or expect favor from the federal government as a result of their political associations,” McConnell said in a statement last week, after reports of the draft emerged.
“So recent press reports about an unprecedented draft Executive Order raise troubling concerns about an effort to silence or intimidate political adversaries’ speech through the government contracting system,” he said. “If true, the proposed effort would represent an outrageous and anti-democratic abuse of executive branch authority. No administration should use the federal contracting system for campaign purposes.”
The DISCLOSE Act was pushed by Sen. Charles Schumer (D.-N.Y.), and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). Announcing the bill at a Feb. 11, 2010 press conference, Schumer said that its provisions “will make them [corporations] think twice before spending unlimited sums to influence elections. The deterrent effect should not be underestimated.”
Hans A. von Spakovsky, senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, was skeptical of Carney’s assertion that the president was merely committed to transparency.
“If transparency is the true goal, why isn’t the proposed executive order covering any outside entity that gets federal money? It only applies to government contractors, not grant recipients like Planned Parenthood,” he told CNSNews.com. “Public employee unions are also exempt from this order.”
Von Spakovsky, who was the first to report the existence of the draft executive order, on Pajamas Media last week, argued that the move would politicize the federal procurement process.
He is also troubled by the use of an executive order in this instance.
“This threatens the representational system,” he said. “The president wants to implement through the regulatory process what failed in Congress.”
The draft executive order would require government contractors to disclose:
-- “All contributions or expenditures to or on behalf of federal candidates, parties or party committees made by the bidding entity, its directors or officers, or any affiliates or subsidiaries within its control.”
-- “Any contributions made to third party entities with the intention or reasonable expectation that parties would use those contributions to make independent expenditures or electioneering communications.”
Obama has long railed against the Citizens United ruling. During his 2010 State of the Union speech he launched a verbal offensive against the Supreme Court, prompting a visible response from Justice Samuel Alito, who along with his colleagues were seated just feet from the podium.
Hans A. von Spakovsky's article from Pajamas Media.
LEAKED: Obama Executive Order Intends to Implement Portions of DISCLOSE Act
Scumbag Obama trampling on the Constitution, AGAIN!!
Why should anyone obey an executive order from an illigitimate president?
Tell him when he opens all his records, we will take him seriously.
Bonerhead will whimper and do nothing.
Let us first see all the documents you spent so much time and money to hide, there’s your transparency!
Absolutely! It bears repeating.
Question, is this not in violation of the Equal Protection Clause i.e. the 14th a, Admendment if contractors fall under it and Unions do not ?
Executive orders are not law. They are binding only on government agencies that are in the Executive Branch. Nobody else needs to obey them.
Only Congress can make laws.
How is this remotely possible. Where the hell are the voices of FREEDOM
Im Pissed!
I honestly don’t know enough about law to know if it’s a violation of the Equal Protection Clause but it sure seems like it to me.
I strongly believe the Rats (Obama) tried to push this thru as payback to unions but being it was shot down Obama has put himself in the position of doing his own dirty work.
Lets hope this comes back to bite him in the butt.
It’s an Executive Order, only valid in the Executive Branch.
Um, the same White House that received an award for transparency in secret?
There should be no doubt that the wannabe dictator, has been promoted from wannabe to gonnabe. Those with an ear let him hear.
LOL! That was funny when they kept the award presentation secret.
Freep-mail me to get on or off my pro-life and Catholic List:
Please ping me to note-worthy Pro-Life or Catholic threads, or other threads of general interest.
Yes, but isn't the overwhelming majority of contracting done in the executive branch?
Obozo is committed to transparency except when it comes to his birt records, school records, employment records and medical records....
Do as I say and not as I do seems to be the motto of the imposter.
Which happens to be the branch that hires everyone working for the Federal government's departments and agencies.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.