House Democrats Introduce Legislation To Compel 'Accessible' FCC Posting on Political Ads
Rep. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., introduced the Fair and Clear Campaign Transparency Act (HR-4179) Thursday with the backing of several other Commerce Committee Democrats. “While certain information about political ad buying is part of the public file with the FCC,…
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that information is not available in a very usable way,” said Luján, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, in a statement. “This commonsense legislation calls on the FCC to take steps to make this information available and more accessible. If we are going to require this material to be publicly available -- as we should -- it should also be available in a way that allows the public to actually use it and evaluate who is trying to influence their vote.” The bill has seven co-sponsors, all Democrats and many prominently pushing for a bigger FCC role in political ad disclosure. Backers include Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., Communications Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky. Pallone raised the issue during Thursday’s hearing on broadcast ownership (see 1512030046). The legislation is referred to Commerce. “Congressman Luján’s proposed legislation simply requires that the FCC disclosure rule conform to today’s digital standards of full transparency,” Public Citizen Government Affairs Lobbyist Craig Holman said in a statement. “This legislation should win the support of every member of Congress who believes in removing barriers to online access to public information.” Luján's news release also showed backing from the New Mexico chapter of Common Cause.