Voters Deserve the Truth, the Whole

By: Nikki Willoughby

May 18, 2011

 It hardly seems like a moral dilemma. Should companies that compete for million- (or billion-) dollar contracts with the federal government be able funnel secret money into electing the officials who grant those contracts?

No. It’s not transparent, it’s full of suspicion, and it contributes to the erosion of public trust in our government. Those same companies are already required to disclose their direct spending, so why are we allowing them to get away with secret spending through front groups that hide the sources of their funding from voters?

Tell President Obama that Americans deserve to know who is doing business with the government while also spending money to affect the outcome of elections. Like our comment on The White House Facebook page, add your own comment, and share this with your Facebook friends.

Reform groups (including Common Cause) think voters should know who is doing business with the government while also spending money to affect the outcome of elections, as a proposed executive order would mandate. Many leading corporate citizens agree with us.

On Wednesday, May 18, join our day of action.

• We posted a direct message to President Obama on The White House’s Facebook page. Like our comment, add your own message, and share it with your Facebook friends. The greater the number of comments and Likes, the more attention President Obama will have to pay to our collective voices.
• Tweet @BarackObama and @WhiteHouse at 12 p.m./noon exactly in your local time zone and tell them you can handle the truth. Use the hashtag #discloseEO.

Wondering who doesn’t agree, and thinks government contractors should be able to spend in secret?

• Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform: “If authorized, the proposed executive order will mark a dramatic shift in procurement policy. Contracts could potentially be awarded on a basis other than the merits of a proposed bid and the competitiveness of the cost to U.S. taxpayers.
• Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), member of the Senate Appropriations, Commerce, Intelligence and Rules Committees: “Federal contracts should be awarded to the most qualified bidder. Cost, quality, and value should be the criteria for government contracts – not who you support politically.” (Politico)
• Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.), Chairman, and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Ranking member, Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee; Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Chairman, and Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight, all of whom signed on to a letter saying that requiring disclosure of political expenditures “creates the appearance that this type of information could become a factor in the award of federal contracts” and that such disclosure would “create new, unnecessary burdens” for federal government workers.

So, the people you elected to oversee government reform and federal contracts would like to maintain the status quo and continue allowing companies to spend in secret. They don’t think you should know how companies benefit from their politicking. Show them they’re wrong.
Still fired up? Keep going!

• Talk directly to the companies that want to keep their spending secret and tell them that, as their boss on federal contracts, you deserve to know who is paying and what they’re buying. Tweet to them, use the hashtag #discloseEO.
• Tweet to Rep. Darrell Issa (@DarrellIssa), Sen. Roy Blunt (@RoyBlunt), Sen. Joseph Lieberman (@JoeLieberman), Sen. Susan Collins (@SenatorCollins), Sen. Claire McCaskill(@ClairCMc), and Sen. Robert Portman (@RobPortman) and tell them you want them to support disclosure that gives the voters the information we need. Use the hashtag #discloseEO.