CONGRESSMAN CHRIS VAN HOLLEN
Maryland’s 8th District
For Immediate Release
June 9, 2015
CONTACT: Bridgett Frey – 202-225-5384
Ian Jannetta – 202-225-1527
Van Hollen Applauds FEC Commissioners Petition to Force Agency to Do Its Job
Washington, DC –Today Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen issued the following statement applauding Federal Election Commissioners Ann Ravel and Ellen Weintraub for filing a petition to try to force the agency to break its long-standing deadlock and finally act:
“I applaud Commissioners Ravel and Weintraub for taking the courageous step of filing a petition with their own agency to compel it to perform its job. The state of affairs at the Federal Election Commission (FEC) is truly unbelievable. In the face of total gridlock and dysfunction, their petition is designed to start the process of rewriting the rules of the FEC to help to curtail the flood of secret political money flowing into campaigns and to scrutinize candidate-friendly Super PACs that undermine the independence of such Political Action Committees that is required by law. Hopefully, this action will help finally break the deadlock that prevents the agency from serving its critical function of maintaining the integrity of our system of financing campaigns.”
Congressman Van Hollen is the author of the DISCLOSE Act, which has been the primary legislative vehicle in Congress to bring increased transparency to outside spending in our elections. He and Congressman David Price (D-NC) have also introduced the Stop Super PAC-Candidate Coordination Act. Additionally, Van Hollen leads the effort to increase disclosure in several lawsuits that are pending on the federal level.