ThinkProgress.org

ETHICS — HOUSE LAWMAKERS CAVE TO NRA, EXEMPT THE POWERFUL GUN LOBBY FROM KEY FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE RULES: On Monday, House Democrats succumbed to demands from the National Rifle Association (NRA), exempting the powerful gun lobby from key financial disclosure rules outlined in the DISCLOSE Act. The bipartisan legislation, introduced in April, is a response to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision, which dramatically changed campaign finance rules to allow corporations to “spend unlimited sums” in elections. The DISCLOSE Act’s focus is to increase disclosure requirements for corporations, labor unions, trade associations, and nonprofit advocacy groups that spend money on ads to influence federal elections. The most persistent voice opposing this reform — claiming the bill impinges on the group’s free speech and imposes burdensome regulations — has been, unsurprisingly, the NRA. But under the new “carveout,” groups wouldn’t have to follow the requirements “if they have more than 1 million members, raise no more than 15 percent of their funds from corporations and have existed for more than 10 years.” Campaign finance reform experts said that the only group that really fits these qualifications is the NRA. (Unions are not included in the deal.) Several supporters of the DISCLOSE Act said that they were pulling their support for the bill because of the new exemptions. “It’s hard to take a look at a bill that’s supposed to reduce influence and see a carveout for a huge special interest and still support it,” U.S. PIRG told The Progress Report. The NRA “has given almost $450,000 to congressional candidates for 2010 and the gun group has made about $520,000 in independent expenditures.” The lobbying organization also successfully killed legislation giving D.C. residents the right to vote by convincing the Senate to add an unrelated amendment that would wipe out the District’s tough gun laws.