Fight Over Political Donations Complicates U.S. Spending Bill
- Republicans want to bar SEC from passing disclosure regulation
- Interest groups have sought rule on corporate campaign giving
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A provision that blocks regulators from making companies disclose their political contributions is threatening to complicate the passage of a bill funding the U.S. government after Democratic lawmakers said they were outraged it got in the legislation.
Slipped in by Republicans, the measure would bar the Securities and Exchange Commission from working on a rule that forces public corporations to reveal their campaign donations, according to a version of the spending bill released Wednesday. While interest groups and liberal lawmakers have repeatedly urged the SEC to approve a regulation on political giving, it hasn’t been a priority for Chair Mary Jo White, who pulled the item from the agency’s agenda in 2013.