And we’re not the only ones who see the connection. A recent poll of business leaders by the Committee for Economic Development of the Conference Board found 89 percent support increasing transparency of political contributions.
The federal contractor system shouldn’t be about getting a return on investments in politics; it should be about getting a return on investments that ultimately serve the taxpayers.
While President Barack Obama continues to delay signing an executive order that would require federal contractors to disclose every penny they spend in our elections, Congress should strip out provisions in the House Appropriations bill that would protect federal contractors’ dark money. With some of these individual contracts totaling billions of dollars, we should be assured our tax dollars are going to the right business with the right qualifications, not the business that contributed the most money to the chair of the right subcommittee.
A White House executive order would shine a light on dark money in politics and would help clean up the entire federal contractor system. And would increase transparency in 70 percent of the top Fortune 100 businesses in the world. Congress should be encouraging transparency in government not supporting efforts to keep their constituents in the dark.
By removing the option for the president to improve campaign disclosure laws, Congress will hurt the longevity of the federal contractor system.
We need to fix the federal contractor system to make it more sustainable. To help businesses grow, not make them feel obligated to spend more money as the costs of elections continue to rise.
With the 2016 election rapidly approaching, both Congress and the president must decide what their legacy will be on campaign finance. Will they sit idly and let money drown out the voices of the American public, or will they see through their Stockholm-esque delusion that money doesn’t matter and get to work?