WASHINGTON, DC - Today, after Senate Republicans once again voted in lock step to filibuster a major campaign finance disclosure bill, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) said passing the DISCLOSE Act is "essential to reducing the influence of special interests in Washington."

On a vote of 59-39, the cloture motion to begin debate fell one vote short. Sixty votes were needed to advance the bill, which meant at least one Republican would have to vote to halt a filibuster and move forward with the debate. Not a single Republican voted for the campaign finance reform measure, which would shed much needed light on corporate influence of U.S. elections.

"We must not allow narrow interests and corporate campaign funds to drown out the voices of the American people and their ability to convey their hopes and concerns to their elected representatives. That is why I have long fought for meaningful campaign finance reform that reduces the influence of special interests so we can restore Americans' sense of trust in their government and electoral system," said Reed, an original cosponsor of the DISCLOSE Act.

"American citizens who contribute over $250 to a campaign must disclose their identity. But for some reason, Republicans don't think those rules should apply to giant international corporations and special interest groups. The irony is that if these companies and the very wealthy individuals who fund these political ads care so deeply about the issues, why are they ashamed to say they contributed?" stated Reed.

The Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections (DISCLOSE) Act is a response to the Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case last January. That decision overturned a decades-old law limiting special interest influence on our elections.

The DISCLOSE Act would provide reasonable limits by barring foreign-controlled corporations, government contractors, and companies that have received government assistance from TARP from making campaign related expenditures.

"I agree with former-Justice Stevens, who in his dissent warned that the "Court's ruling threatens to undermine the integrity of elected institutions." The Supreme Court's 5 to 4 decision put the interests of corporations above the interests of the American people by allowing corporations and other organizational structures to drown out the voices and views of hardworking, individual Americans," said Reed.

The DISCLOSE Act would also help increase transparency by requiring:

• Corporations, unions, and other organizations that run political ads to report their top donors.

• CEOs to appear on camera at the end of ads to state that he or she "approves this message."

• All campaign-related expenditures made by qualifying corporations, unions, and other organizations to be disclosed on the organization's website with a clear link on its homepage to either the information itself or to the FEC's website page containing the information within 24 hours of reporting such expenditures to the FEC.

• All campaign-related expenditures made by certain corporations, unions, and other organizations to be disclosed to shareholders and members of the organization in periodic corporate financial statements.