Small Business Vote Alert on "DISCLOSE"

Today, the United States Senate will vote on whether to start debate on Senate bill 3628, the so-called "Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections Act" (DISCLOSE Act). The Small Business & Entrepreneurship (SBE) Council is opposed to the legislation and sent a letter (full text below) to all U.S. Senators urging a no vote on the bill. A similar bill already passed the U.S. House. The legislation protects the free speech rights of certain organizations while clamping down on others.

Groups like labor unions and several others that provide lots of money and cover for incumbents received an exemption from the legislation. They will be free to partake in as much political and election-year activity as they wish. Meanwhile, small business associations like SBE Council and government contractors will have prohibitions placed upon our activities. In fact, the DISCLOSE Act places a blanket prohibition on all election-related speech activity by government contractors. Does this sound constitutional and fair to you?

If it doesn't, please call your U.S. Senators at (202) 224-3121 and urge them to vote against this assault on free speech.

SBE Council's KEY VOTE Letter to the United States Senate
To the Members of the United States Senate:

On behalf of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council), I strongly urge your opposition to Senate bill 3628, the "Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in the Elections Act" (DISCLOSE ACT). The legislation will muzzle the voice of the small business community. It is unconstitutional, discriminatory, onerous and politically motivated. The DISCLOSE Act protects the free speech rights of certain groups, while clamping down on small business associations and our allies in the broader business community.

SBE Council will KEY VOTE the "DISCLOSE Act" as a vote against the interest of small business owners in our forthcoming Ratings of Congress.

The clear intent of the bill is to muzzle the voice and speech of businesses and business associations in the upcoming elections. Small business owners and entrepreneurs already feel their voice is being dismissed and ignored in the legislative process as Congress continues to tax, regulate, mandate, intrude and spend against their interests. S. 3628 is simply another tool to shut small businesses out of the political process.

It's hard to imagine how this legislation's title—"Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections Act" (DISCLOSE Act)—could possibly be more misleading. After all, it threatens the First Amendment rights of the business community, including small businesses. A more apt title might be the "Silencing the Voice of Small Business Act."

Indeed, the intent of [the bill] is to stop American businesses and the voluntary associations that represent so many parts of the business community from weighing in on issues of importance leading up to elections. Why exactly is Congress looking to limit the speech of entrepreneurs and small businesses? Meanwhile, the free speech rights of labor unions and select others are effectively left intact.

For example, blanket restrictions on election-related speech, such as independent expenditures, would be placed on government contractors, but effectively not unions under government contract. In addition, the act's ban on political speech by so-called "foreign-controlled domestic corporations" reaches to businesses with domestic ownership levels reaching 80 percent. Again, there is no application of foreign membership or control levels for labor unions.

Of course, all of this flies directly in the face of the kind of speech most clearly and fully protected under the First Amendment (i.e., speech related to politics, elections and policy). The U.S. Supreme Court has been clear in its decisions that such speech warrants protection, and any differential treatment of speakers based on identity or content violates the First Amendment.

Make no mistake, the effect of the DISCLOSE Act would be to limit views and opinions from the business community, while protecting the political, election-related and policy speech of labor unions.

Again, a glaring question looms large: Why are certain members of Congress trying to limit free speech and political debate in the United States of America at all? The only logical answer is to achieve a political advantage by limiting the business community's right to speak out. No matter where one happens to fall on the philosophical and political spectrum, that is nothing less than shameful.

America's small business owners—the engines of economic growth and job creation—should be allowed to have their voices heard and their speech protected. The DISCLOSE Act would achieve the exact opposite.

SBE Council urges your opposition to the DISCLOSE Act. A vote for H.R. 5175 is most certainly a vote against small business.

Please feel free to contact SBE Council with additional questions, or if we can be of any assistance.

Sincerely,

Karen Kerrigan, President and CEO

For more information, visit www.sbecouncil.com.