Republicans, liberal groups oppose proposed campaign-finance exemption for NRA

[Ed Barrow]

Source: Washington Post

A proposed campaign-finance deal aimed at mollifying the National Rifle Association came under attack Tuesday from Republican opponents and some liberal advocacy organizations, who say they object to exempting a few large groups from having to disclose their top political donors.

House legislation proposed by Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) would require most nonprofit groups, corporations and unions to identify top donors and other information related to spending on advertising and other political activities. The bill is aimed at pushing back against a Supreme Court ruling that opened the way for corporate and union spending for elections.

But under a proposed exemption announced Monday, longstanding national groups that have more than 1 million members and that receive 15 percent or less of their funding from corporations would not have to abide by a key requirement to disclose top donors. The proposal was aimed clearly at the NRA -- which signaled it would oppose the legislation otherwise -- but legislative aides said the exemption could also apply to a handful of other large organizations, including the AARP seniors group and the Humane Society of the United States.

Several key reform groups immediately backed the agreement as an unsavory but necessary way to move ahead with the legislation, including the Campaign Legal Center, the League of Women Voters, Common Cause, Public Citizen and Democracy 21. But others on the liberal end of the political spectrum cried foul, saying they would oppose the legislation with the NRA language as an unfair giveaway to a large lobbying group.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/15/AR2010061503982.html?hpid=topnews