Whitehouse, Pappas, and Colleagues Reintroduce Updated DISCLOSE Act to End Corrupting Influence of Dark Money in American Elections

186 Democrats join effort to empower voters and expose billionaire and special interest control over our government and courts

Updated bill would require disclosure of payments made to digital influencers who promote a candidate and allow flexibility for disclosure on short digital content

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Congressman Chris Pappas (D-NH), House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-MD), and House Administration Committee Ranking Member Joe Morelle (D-NY) today led 182 colleagues in both houses of Congress in reintroducing the DISCLOSE Act, legislation to end the scourge of dark money in our democracy, shine a bright light of transparency on politics, and make government more accountable to the will of voters.

Whitehouse led efforts in the Senate to pass the DISCLOSE Act in September 2022, January 2022 and July 2012; every member of the Republican Caucus in attendance voted to protect dark money, and all members of the Democratic Caucus in attendance voted to be rid of it.

"The Supreme Court's disastrous Citizens United decision opened the floodgates to billions in dark money slime, fouling American politics ever since. The Court's decision, which was based on egregiously false facts, corrupted our political process by allowing billionaires and the wealthiest corporations to spend unlimited money in elections while hiding from public view," said Senator Whitehouse. "We need to pass the DISCLOSE Act to make government respond to ordinary Americans, not creepy billionaires. It's time we shut the dark money floodgates."

"Trust in our government is nearing historic lows, and we need to take action to bring greater transparency to our elections and restore Americans' faith that their voices will be heard in our democracy," said Congressman Pappas. "The DISCLOSE Act would stop billionaires and corporate special interests from secretly buying our elections by requiring dark money groups to disclose who their donors are and shining a light on payments made to social media influencers to promote or attack candidates. It is critical that we pass this legislation to put the power of our democracy back in the hands of the people."

"The Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling flooded our elections with dark money, allowing billionaires to spend unlimited sums without accountability, oversight or disclosure," said Rep. Raskin. "The DISCLOSE Act would unmask the anonymous billionaire donors dominating our elections and expose foreign influence, at least putting more power and information back into the hands of the American people. I'm grateful to my colleagues Senator Whitehouse and Rep. Pappas for leading this important effort alongside me."

"I'm grateful to Congressman Pappas for leading this important effort to root out dark money and corruption in our elections," said Ranking Member Joe Morelle. "The American people deserve to know who is trying to influence their vote, and we cannot allow wealthy hidden interests to drown out their voices."

Since the 2010 Citizens United decision, secret spending in U.S. elections by corporations, ultra-rich ideological extremists, and secretive front groups has exploded. These dark-money expenditures that corrupt our politics increased from less than $5 million in 2006 to more than $300 million in the 2012 election cycle, and topped $1.9 billion in 2024, shattering the previous record of $1 billion in 2020.

The DISCLOSE Act would restore transparency in American elections and restore fairness and accountability in our political system by:

• Requiring super PACs, 501(c)(4) "dark money" groups, corporations, and other organizations spending more than $10,000 in elections and on judicial nominations to promptly disclose donors who contribute more than $10,000;
• Shutting down the use of transfers between organizations to cloak the identity of the original contributor.
• Strengthening prohibitions against foreign actors participating in election spending in the United States, including in state and local referenda;
• Prohibiting the establishment of corporations to conceal election contributions and donations by foreign actors;
• Expanding "stand by your ad" disclosure requirements to online ads and ads that may promote or attack a candidate but stop short of expressly advocating for a vote for or against a candidate; and
• Requiring identification of top funders of outside groups paying for video, text, or audio political ads.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) first introduced the DISCLOSE Act in the wake of Citizens United in 2010, and Whitehouse has led the introduction of the legislation in every subsequent Congress. The bill is sponsored by all 47 senators who caucus with Democrats, and 139 Democrats in the House.

"Americans deserve a government that works for the people-not special interests and dark money. We must shine a light on the groups that are currently thriving in the shadows, corrupting our elections with dark money and subverting the will of the American people," said Leader Schumer. "The DISCLOSE Act is the best kind of disinfectant for our democracy - sunshine that will provide transparency and accountability. I urge our colleagues to not stand in the way of creating a more perfect union and pass this legislation."

"Citizens United gave the green light for corporations and dark money to buy our elections," said Senator Wyden. "Elections should be decided by the American people, not shady dark money groups pushing their own narrow agendas. Our legislation will restore much-needed transparency to America's election systems and ensure the voice of every American is heard."

"Citizens United opened the floodgates to dark money, drowning out the voices of working Americans while billionaires and mega corporations buy influence in the shadows. As President Trump works to seize control of our elections and dismantle independent watchdogs like the Federal Election Commission, we must restore transparency around big money in politics and make it easier for Americans to hold their political leaders accountable. The DISCLOSE Act would make critical reforms to expose dark money and ensure our government reflects the voice of the people - not the powerful groups bankrolling it," said Senator Padilla.

"Since the Supreme Court's disastrous Citizens United decision, huge corporations and deep-pocketed special interests have flooded our political system with massive amounts of dark money - corrupting our democracy and disrupting progress on the American people's priorities. It's past time we pass the DISCLOSE Act to unmask the secret donors spending untold billions to influence voters, an important step toward returning political power in this country to the American people - where it belongs," said Senator Van Hollen.

"Billionaires should not be able to buy our elections-full stop," said Senator Merkley. "Passing the DISCLOSE Act will bring transparency to the dark money poured into our elections and give the power back to the people. We need to get this done to restore the vision of our 'We, The People' republic."

The DISCLOSE Act was last introduced by Senator Whitehouse in 2023. Whitehouse has updated the bill to adapt to the modern political ecosystem. The DISCLOSE Act of 2026 would:

• Capture payments made to social media influencers to promote or oppose a candidate as political spending that must be disclosed and disclaimed;
• Narrow and specify what constitutes threats and harassment to qualify for an exemption to disclosure, and put commonsense guardrails on the process to grant such exemptions; and
• Allow more flexibility for disclaimers for short political ads instead of limiting it to hyperlinks.

Several prominent good-government organizations cheered the bill's reintroduction today, including Campaign Legal Center, Democracy Defenders Action, Public Citizen, Democracy21, End Citizens United, Common Cause, Center for American Progress, and the Brennan Center.

"Our campaign finance system is failing voters, in no small part due to the torrents of anonymous spending aimed at influencing their decisions during election season," said Trevor Potter, President of Campaign Legal Center and former Republican Chairman of the Federal Election Commission. "As the amount of secret spending increases, the need for Congress to pass the DISCLOSE Act becomes ever more urgent. Dark money denies voters critically important information about the sources of election spending, while also leaving our elections vulnerable to corruption and foreign influence. It is beyond time for Congress to come together on a bipartisan basis and pass this commonsense legislation."

"All Americans deserve to know who is trying to influence their voices and their votes. However, when hundreds of millions of dollars in secret political money are spent on elections, Americans are too often left in the dark," said Amb. Norman Eisen (ret.), co-founder and board chair of Democracy Defenders Action. "We commend the leadership of Senator Whitehouse and Representatives Pappas and Raskin for introducing the DISCLOSE Act, which will close loopholes that have been exploited by foreign governments and dark money groups. Democracy Defenders Action urges Congress to immediately pass this important legislation to shine a light on secret, special interest and foreign money so all Americans can get the transparency they deserve."

"We applaud Senator Sheldon Whitehouse for the powerful national leadership he has provided to protect the American people from the flow of corrupting secret, or dark, money in the nation's capital. Unlimited dark money contributions, spent to influence elections and officeholders, are among the most dangerous money in American politics. The absence of disclosure of this money means there is no way to hold accountable influence-buying billionaires and millionaires and influence-selling officeholders. The DISCLOSE act is the key to lifting this shroud of secrecy," said Fred Wertheimer, President of Democracy 21.

"Full disclosure of money in politics is a principle that has overwhelming support among the American public. DISCLOSE 2026 would fulfill the public's demand for this transparency. Yet a significant portion of Congress continues to deny the public an open record of who is paying for what in American elections. This is particularly galling given the increasing wave of dark money flooding into our elections since the disastrous Citizens United decision. Public Citizen applauds all those who back the relentless efforts by Sen. Whitehouse and Reps. Pappas and Raskin and others to provide the transparency of money in politics so demanded by the American public," said Craig Holman of Public Citizen.

"Americans deserve to know who is spending money to influence their elections. Every cycle, billions of dollars move through our political system with little to no transparency, allowing billionaires and powerful special interests to influence and shape election outcomes while working families are left in the dark about who's behind the campaigns," said End Citizens United Action Fund President Tiffany Muller. "The DISCLOSE Act is a commonsense step to bring sunlight back into our elections and restore accountability. We thank Senator Whitehouse and Representatives Pappas and Raskin for their continued leadership to increase transparency and integrity in our elections, and we look forward to working alongside them to build the momentum necessary to get this bill passed."

A summary of the DISCLOSE Act of 2026 can be found here. The bill text can be found here.