Broad Coalition Opposes Targeted Attack on First Amendment
WASHINGTON, June 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, Americans for Tax Reform, accompanied by over fifty other groups, sent a letter to the United States House of Representatives urging members to oppose H.R. 5175, the DISCLOSE Act. These groups ask Congress to reject this bill on behalf of millions of taxpayers and concerned citizens whose rights to free speech are significantly threatened by the DISCLOSE Act. The coalition wrote:
H.R. 5175 is being sold to the public as a "response" to the Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v. FEC. However, this bill uses the ruling as an excuse to expand the scope of campaign finance regulations to strangle free speech.
The bill shifts the regulatory paradigm away from those who are actually funding advertisements and targets, for the first time, individual membership in a group. This inclusive treatment of organizational funding reveals that the intent of this legislation is not true disclosure – it is the intimidation of speech. It also marks a stark departure from the traditional treatment of corporations and unions by applying punitive measures to associations in the corporate form, but not to labor unions, even though these groups have traditionally been treated similarly in campaign finance law.
The DISCLOSE Act, while cleverly named, aims to silence political speech by intimidation and onerous regulation. Such efforts should be rejected swiftly. Thus, on behalf of the millions of Americans we represent, we urge you to reject this assault on free speech and to vote against H.R. 5175.
The letter in its entirety can be found here.
The full list of signatories is as follows:
60 Plus Association |
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American Conservative Union |
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American Council for Health Care Reform |
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Americans for Limited Government |
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Americans for Tax Reform |
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American Grassroots Coalition |
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American Target Advertising, Inc. |
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Business Coalition for Fair Competition |
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CatholicVote.org |
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Center for Individual Freedom |
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Center-Right Coalition of Florida |
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Citizen Link, Tom Minnery |
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Citizens for Limited Taxation (MA) |
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Citizens United |
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ClearWord Communications Group |
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Coalition for a Fair Judiciary |
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Center for Competitive Politics |
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Competitive Enterprise Institute |
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Committee for Justice |
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Concerned Women for America |
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ConservativeHQ.com, Inc. |
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Council for America |
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Council for Citizens Against Government Waste |
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Eagle Forum |
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Faith and Freedom Coalition |
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Family Research Council Action |
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Freedom Action |
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Free Speech Coalition |
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Gun Owners of America |
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Hispanic Leadership Fund |
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Home School Legal Defense Association |
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Let Freedom Ring |
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Liberty Counsel, Mathew Staver |
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Liberty Guard, Bob Barr, Chairman and Joe Seehusen |
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Management Association for Private Photogrammetric Surveyors (MAPPS) |
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Maryland Center-Right Coalition |
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Morgan, Meredith & Associates |
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National Right to Life Committee |
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National Tax Limitation Committee |
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National Taxpayers Union |
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NetworkGeorgia LLC |
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Pioneer Institute |
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Property Rights Alliance |
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Renewing American Leadership-Action |
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Republican National Lawyers Association |
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RepublicanPAC.com |
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RightMarch.com |
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Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council |
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Smart Business Hawaii, Samuel M. Slom |
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Students for Life of America |
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Tea Party Express |
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Tea Party WDC |
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The American Civil Rights Union |
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Tradition, Family, Property, Inc. |
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Traditional Values Coalition |
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Americans for Tax Reform is a non-partisan coalition of taxpayers and taxpayer groups who oppose all tax increases.
For more information or to arrange an interview please contact John Kartch at (202) 785-0266 or by email at [email protected].
SOURCE Americans for Tax Reform
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