Senator supports financial reporting reform
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Backing up her claim that she wants to be an open and accessible U.S.senator for the people of North Carolina, U.S. Sen. Kay R. Hagan (D-N.C.) has cosponsored a measure introduced by Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.) that would require Senate campaign finance disclosures to be filed electronically and forwarded to the Federal Elections Commission within 24 hours.
Candidates running for the presidency, the House of Representatives and political action committees are required to do so already, but the Senate has continued to employ a laborious and arcane process that can take weeks to be fully completed and costs taxpayers up to $250,000 a year.
“While campaigning for this position, I repeatedly promised to be an open and accessible elected representative for the people of North Carolina,” Hagan said. “Filing these kinds of important documents electronically is a big step in the right direction toward more accountability and disclosure for elected office holders. There is no reason to have one standard for House and presidential campaigns and another, weaker standard for Senate campaigns.”
According to the non-partisan Congressional Research Service, the Senate Campaign Disclosure Disparity Act (S. 482) would require “Senate candidates to file election-related designations, statements, and reports in electronic form.” It would then require the secretary of the Senate to forward electronic copies of the disclosures to the Federal Election Commission within one working day.
In addition to Hagan and Feingold, the Disclosure Act has been cosponsored by a bipartisan group of 32 senators.
