Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act would require electronic finance reports

Just about everything is done online or digitally these days, with the exception of the cassette deck’s retro comeback. But Congress is usually a step or two behind the times when it comes to technology, particularly in the Senate, where Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said he has never sent an email.

Senate candidates also do not have to submit their quarterly campaign finance reports electronically. Instead, many still submit them on paper. In fact, Senate campaign committees are the only federal campaign committees where this is still permitted. Presidential candidates, House candidates, and political action committees (PACs) are required to submit their forms electronically.

To help bring the Senate into the current century, Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) has introduced S. 336, the Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act. “This common-sense bill allows folks to know right away who’s funding political campaigns and reflects the accountability and transparency Montanans expect from our elected officials and candidates for public office,” Tester said.

Why it matters

These reports are important because they list how much money candidates have raised and from which individuals/sources. This transparency in turn can help reveal potential conflicts of interest and indicate which issues an incumbent or potential politician may prioritize while in office. For example, on the presidential race, these numbers have revealed which candidates rely more on Super PACs versus individual donors, or which candidates billionaires have donated to.

The Congressional Budget Office has calculated that the bill would save approximately $500,000 per year through factors such as reduced printing costs.

Some senators voluntarily do it anyway

Tester, first elected in 2006, began voluntarily filing his finance disclosures electronically in 2011. (He also claims to be the first senator ever to post his daily schedule online.)

According to a review by the Center for Public Integrity, only 20 of the 100 senators voluntarily filed their disclosures digitally last year: 17 Democrats, Angus King (an Independent), and two Republicans: Sen. John Cornyn (TX) and Sen. Thad Cochran (MS). Nine other Republicans have cosponsored the bill.

Does anyone oppose transparency?

So who opposes this bill? GovTrack Insider was unable to locate a single senator who has publicly stated their reasons for opposing the bill. A few years ago, the Brookings Institution also came up short. A spokesperson for Tester has said that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) opposes the bill, but McConnell has not responded to requests to reveal why.

Outlook

The bill has been referred to the Senate’s Rules and Administration committee, where it has yet to come up for a vote. A version of the bill has been introduced in every Congress since 2003, but it has never even received a vote from the full Senate, although it has passed out of committee several times. The House has required electronic disclosures since 2001.