Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2017
Floor Speech
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Mr. BECERRA. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Secret money is killing our democracy. More and more, our elections are being driven by organizations that are receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in secret donations. We don't know and can't find out who is giving all this money.
These secret organizations use the Tax Code to hide the source of their money by operating under a law meant for not-for-profit social welfare organizations. These organizations get tax-exempt treatment and don't have to report the donors of their dollars.
The result is this: What was meant to be for a social welfare organization, organizations we would recognize, like voluntary fire departments or the NAACP, all those organizations are now being used as cover by other organizations which are using the Tax Code to be able to spend hundreds of millions of dollars driving our elections every year now; so much so that, today, those organizations that are so-called social welfare organizations are spending more money than the political parties, the Democratic political party and the Republican political party, spend combined.
In 2006, these so-called social welfare organizations spent about $1.5 million campaigning, politicking. In 2012, our last Presidential election, these so-called social welfare organizations spent more than $257 million, more than the two political parties spent in 2012 for the Presidential elections.
Mr. Chairman, there is a provision in this bill that would prevent the IRS from giving guidance to make sure that no one is abusing the Tax Code to influence our politics, and I simply have an amendment that would strike that provision, so that the IRS could tell us what is a social welfare organization and what is really a political organization, so we don't give special tax treatment to these so-called social welfare organizations that are really politicking and we don't let them hide behind that particular tax provision to hide the names of their donors.
We have no idea who is giving this money and, Mr. Chairman, it is time for us to have transparency and openness in our election system, not hide this. Secret money is killing our elections.
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Mr. BECERRA. Can the Chairman let me know how much time remains?
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Mr. BECERRA. Mr. Chairman, I yield 45 seconds to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Michelle Lujan Grisham).
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Mr. BECERRA. Mr. Chairman, I yield 45 seconds to the gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff).
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Mr. BECERRA. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Chairman, when you make a contribution to the local volunteer fire department, you know what the money will be used for. When you make a contribution to the League of Women Voters, you know what the contribution will be used for. When you make a contribution to the NAACP, you know what the contribution will be used for.
There are a whole bunch of organizations that we don't understand why they are using their money for something other than social welfare. They are influencing our elections. It has to stop. We can't even find out what the source of the money is. It could be money laundered from some drug sale. It could be money from some foreign government. We don't know where the money from some of these organizations is coming from to influence our elections.
It is time for us to have clarity. This provision in this bill has no reason, no purpose, to be here. It simply keeps secret the dark money that influences our elections. My amendment simply strikes that provision so that the IRS can give us clarity on who can and who cannot use tax-exempt laws to try to be a social welfare organization. It is time for us to have clarity in the law. Get rid of secret money.
Mr. Chairman, I urge Members to vote for this amendment.
I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. BECERRA. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.
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