A recent Supreme Court decision overturned decades of election law, dealing a huge blow to efforts to rein in the influence of corporate money on elections. Big corporations—even foreign-controlled ones—are now free to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence elections throughout the country. They can fund millions of dollars worth of TV ads without ever revealing who is actually paying for them, and shadow groups are already raising money to influence elections.

Democrats have fought to limit the influence of special interests and have proposed tough disclosure rules that would bring these shadow groups into the light by:

• Establishing tough new disclosure requirements for corporate campaign spending;
• Preventing foreign-controlled corporations and government contractors from spending money on elections; and
• Prohibiting political spending by companies that received government bailout money.

But, to date, Republicans have prevented these reforms from even coming to a vote in the Senate. They’ve instead chosen to defend big corporations and special interests at the cost of open and fair elections.

The American people have the right to know the names and motives of those trying to influence the election of leaders who represent them. Transparent elections are the hallmark of a free society, and Democrats are committed to a democracy in which all of us have an equal voice.