Democrats push forward on campaign spending disclosure act

By Mark Arsenault, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON — Facing a difficult climb to the 60 votes needed to overcome resistance by Republicans, Senate Democrats are pushing forward this afternoon toward a vote on legislation that would force more spending disclosure in federal campaigns.

Democrats had hopes that Senator Scott Brown, a Massachusetts Republican, could be persuaded to support the bill, known as the DISCLOSE Act, but Brown’s office confirmed this morning that he remains opposed.

The legislation is the Congressional response to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling last January, which said that corporations and unions must be treated the same as individuals in elections. The court struck down limits on union and corporate campaign advertising, though it upheld disclosure requirements.

The House of Representatives passed a version of the DISCLOSE Act last month.

The legislation would require union heads or corporate CEOs to appear on camera to take responsibility for their political advertising, and would require the names of top donors to appear on the screen. It would ban political ads by many government contractors and companies with substantial foreign ownership.

A vote to overcome a Republican filibuster is scheduled for 2:45 p.m. this afternoon.