Sen. Nelson urges FCC to unmask political ad donors

By Brendan Sasso - 03/12/13 07:31 PM ET

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) urged the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday to use its existing legal authority to force the donors behind political TV ads to reveal themselves.

"As the result of a Supreme Court decision, we have been beset upon in the political sphere with an avalanche of undisclosed, unlimited money," Nelson said during a Senate oversight hearing of the FCC, referring to the court's Citizens United decision.

Nelson noted that FCC regulations currently require TV broadcasters and cable providers to "fully and fairly disclose the true identity" of sponsors of ads.

He argued that the rule means that groups must state more than just a vague name, like the "Committee for God, Mother and Country" on their ads—they must identify their major donors.

Democrats tried to pass legislation, the Disclose Act, to uncover major political donors, but Senate Republicans blocked the bill in 2010.

Of the five FCC commissioners, only Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat, expressed enthusiasm about the novel use of FCC power to force political disclosure. She said the FCC should review its rules and require that ads be as "transparent as they need to be."

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski emphasized that the FCC enacted rules last year requiring TV stations to post data about political ads online. But the FCC's order does not reveal any new information about the donors behind the groups.

Robert McDowell, a Republican commissioner, expressed concern that the Federal Election Commission might be a more appropriate agency to handle political disclosure issues and that the FCC shouldn't use broadcasters to enforce disclosure requirements.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) applauded Nelson for bringing up the issue of political disclosure and said it goes to "the root of democracy."

In a statement earlier this month, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) also urged the FCC to use its power to require more political disclosure.

But during the hearing, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) argued that the Disclose Act was designed to help Democrats win elections and would harm free speech.

He warned the commissioners that if they tried to do an "end-run" around Congress on the issue, they could "undermine the integrity of the commission and imperil the independence of the commission."