Union Bailout Explained
Jun 9, 2010
House Administration Releases Chart Explaining How the DISCLOSE Act Exempts Unions from Major Campaign Finance Restrictions
Today, the Committee on House Administration’s Republican Office released the following chart outlining Democrats’ preferential treatment of unions over other organizations interested in engaging in political speech before the upcoming elections. Despite public claims by the Democrat proponents of the DISCLOSE Act that the bill will treat unions and corporations equally, this chart clearly shows unions are in fact exempted from restrictive, costly requirements.
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Everyone Else |
Unions
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Under Section 101(a): Government Contracts |
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Banned from engaging in political speech if in a contractual relationship with the federal government to deliver goods or services |
Free to spend unlimited amounts of money to support Congressional candidates despite contractual relationships with the federal government concerning collective bargaining terms
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Under Section 101(b): TARP Recipients |
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Banned from engaging in political speech if recipient of TARP funds |
Free to spend unlimited amounts of money to support Congressional candidates despite representing and receiving dues from employees whose employer is a TARP recipient
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Under Section 102: Foreign Nationals |
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Forced to determine the nationality of every shareholder (direct or indirect) to determine whether at least 80% are U.S. citizens, or banned from political speech |
May spend unlimited amounts of money on political speech without regard to whether any dues are derived from non-citizens (including those not legally in the U.S.)
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Forced to go through a lengthy certification process to certify, under penalty of perjury, the company’s eligibility to spend money on political speech
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Free to spend unlimited amounts of money on political speech without any prior certification |
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Under Section 211: Reporting Requirements |
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Required to report sources of income over $600 to the FEC if engaging in political speech |
Exempt from income reporting requirements because average annual dues are approximately $400 per member; even exempt from reporting transfers from affiliated unions up to $50,000
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Under Section 214: Stand by Your Ad |
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Required to include additional disclaimers in political advertisements identifying any source of income greater than $100,000 |
Exempt from additional disclaimer requirements since members’ individual dues will not exceed $100,000
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For more information, please contact the Committee press office at (202) 225-8281.
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