March 28, 2014
SEC
I am deeply concerned about the influence of corporate money on our electoral process.
In particular, I am appalled that, because of the Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, publicly traded corporations can spend investors' money in secret.
I am writing to urge the Securities and Exchange Commission to issue a rule requiring publicly traded corporations to publicly disclose all their political spending.
Both shareholders and the public must be fully informed as to how much the corporation spends on politics and which candidates are being promoted or attacked. Disclosures should be posted promptly on the SEC's web site. As a shareholder in several corporations. I take every opportunity to vote in support of resolutions requiring this disclosure. However, a ruling from the SEC would have a much greater effect than the votes of a few small shareholders. And, of course, the voters who may be influenced by such spending in general elections need this information, also.
Please use the power of your office to make this important change.
Thank you for considering my comment.
Sincerely,
Lois Kaufmann