Sen. King: Time to shine light on ‘dark money’

Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) said Wednesday that is was time for Congress to “shine a bright light on the dark money dominating campaigns.”

{mosads}“No matter who you are, or whether you live in a ‘red state’ or a ‘blue state,’ you deserve to know who’s funding the ads on your TV during an election year,” King said. “But tracing the origin of campaign money — so-called dark money — has become nearly impossible.”

King’s comments came a week before he plans to hold a hearing in the Senate Rules Committee on the topic of dark money titled, “Dollars and Sense: How Undisclosed Money and Post-McCutcheon Campaign Finance Will Affect the 2014 Election and Beyond.”

“While this hearing can’t change the way campaign laws work overnight, it is a much-needed first step,” King said. “It’s far past time we shine a bright light on the dark money dominating campaigns.”

King’s hearing comes after the Supreme Court ruling in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, which eliminated campaign contribution caps allowing unlimited donations to individual campaigns.

King opposed the Supreme Court’s decision, saying it will only increase the presence of dark money in political campaigns.