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January 20,2016
57
The Honorable Tom Wheeler, Chairman
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20554
Dear Chairman Wheeler,
We write to respectfully request that you ensure the full disclosure of the sponsors of political
advertisements, as required by Section 317 of the Communications Act of 1934. In today's
political reality of non-stop campaigning, our system continues to fail the American people by
allowing special interests and shadow groups to flood our airwaves with anonymous ads, with no
disclosure whatsoever. We believe the Federal Communications Commission has the
responsibility and legal authority to require disclosure of the actual donors behind these ads.
Section 317 and the associated FCC regulations require broadcasters to ensure that the "true
identity" of the sponsors of political advertisements be disclosed on the air during the ad.
However, for decades the FCC has failed to engage in any meaningful enforcement of Section
317. This is because the FCC currently enforces these regulations under a staff interpretation
from 1979 which deems the organization that claims "editorial control" over the ad to be the true
sponsor. In the new era of non-disclosing political organizations with intentionally opaque
names, this interpretation is woefully out of date. While a non-disclosing organization may in
fact have had editorial control over the advertisement, the true sponsors of the advertisement are
those who contributed the money to pay for it.
An overwhelming majority of the American public believe that groups spending money to
influence our elections should be required to publically release their donors. The Supreme Court
has repeatedly upheld disclosure requirements. In fact, the Citizens United and McCutcheon
decisions both discuss the importance of disclosure to protect the public from corruption, real or
perceived. Strong enforcement of Section 317 will ensure a level of honesty currently missing
from campaign discourse and improve transparency in our political system.
We therefore urge you to use the statutory authority granted to you in the Communications Act
to require disclosure of the true sponsors of political advertisements so that the American public
knows exactly who is trying to influence them over the public airwaves.
We thank you in advance for your cooperation and we look forward to your timely response.
Sincerely,
~P~rP-
Anna Gfishoo
~r of Congress
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Page 1 Dina Titus
Mike Doyle
Michael E. Capuano
. Diana DeGette
Robert A Brady
Janice Hahn
John Delaney
John C. Carney, Jr..
Gerald Connolly
Page 2 Adam B. Schiff
Mark DeSaulnier
SamFarr
Ted Deutch
Louise M. Slaughter
Paul D. Tonko
NitaLowey
Doris Matsui
Mike Thompson
Page 3 Tony Cardenas
Jim McDermott
Richard M. Nolan
Marcy Kaptur
Debbie Dingell
AIcee Hastings
Jim Himes
Andre Carson
Ami Bera
Page 4 Rick Larsen
Chaka Fattah
Lloyd Doggett
Alan Grayson
Joaquin Castro
Steve Israel
Luis V. Gutierrez
Steny Hoyer
Eliot Engel
MarkTakai
Katherine Clark
Julia Brownley
Ann M. Kuster
David N. Cicilline
Cheri Bustos
Donna F. Edwards
Elizabeth H. Esty
Ann Kirkpatrick
Joseph P. Kennedy, III
Ben Ray Lujan
Susan Davis
Gene Green
Michael M. Honda
John Garamendi
Lois Capps
James P. McGovern
David Price
AI Green
Peter DeFazio
Xavier Becerra
Donald S. Beyer, Jr.
Matt Cartwright
Joseph Crowley
Joe Courtney
Keith Ellison
Jared Huffman
Gregory W. Meeks
Hakeem Jeffries
Suzanne Bonamici
Bonnie Watson Coleman
Karen Bass
Janice Hahn
Marcia L. Fudge
Yvette D. Clarke
Joyce Beatty
Page 5 Daniel Lipinski
Robin L. Kelly
G.K. Butterfield
Elijah E. Cummings
Henry Cuellar
Hank Johnson
David Scott
Tammy Duckworth
Earl Blumenauer
Page 6 Denny Heck
Jim Cooper
Juan Vargas
Marc Veasey
Donald M. Payne Jr.
Stephen F. Lynch
Dan Kildee
Frederica S, Wilson
Jerry McNerney
Page 7 Tim Ryan
Bill Pascrell Jr.
Richard E. Neal
JohnP. Sarbanes
Niki Tsongas
Ed Perlmutter
C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger
Charles B. Range!
Gwen S. Moore
Page 8 Lucille Roybal-Allard
Brian Higgins
William R. Keating
Steve Cohen
Jackie Speier
John Lewis
Sanford Bishop
Cedric Richmond
Chris Van Hollen
Kurt Schrader
Jim Costa
Derek Kilmer
Ruben Hinojosa
Pete Aguilar
John Conyers, Jr.
Brad Ashford
Lois Frankel
Sheila Jackson Lee
Donald Norcross
. Eric Swalwell
Filemon Vela
Jobn B. Larson
Frank Pallone
Dave Loebsack
Brenda L. Lawrence
Raul M. Grijalva
Peter Welch
Betty McCollum
Chellie Pingree
Linda T. Sanchez
Jerrold Nadler
Beto O'Rourke
Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Norma J. Torres
Ted W. Lieu
Grace F. Napolitano
RaulRuiz
Collin C. Peterson
Mark:Takano
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ZoeLofgren
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Patrick Murphy
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Danny K. Davis
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Page 9 Albio Sires
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Carolyn B. Maloney
Nydia Velazquez
. Robert C. "Bobby" Scott
Barbara Lee
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Scott Peters
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10
Seth Moulton
Michelle Lujan Grisham
Brad Sherman
Timothy J. Walz
Loretta Sanchez
Alan Lowenthal
Grace Meng
Sander M. Levin
Terri Sewell
Ron Kind
Kathleen Rice
Sean Patrick Maloney
Jared Polis
Adam Smith
JudyChu
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