**URGENT ACTION ALERT**

The following was sent from the Tea Party Patriots. To view the original message, click here.

DISCLOSE ACT - WE MUST DEFEAT THIS BILL

Dear Fellow Tea Party Patriots,

We have received information from Capitol Hill regarding the “Disclose Act” and we must work to defeat this bill.  The vote is expected to take place tonight or tomorrow.

On April 29, 2010, Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) introduced H.R. 5175, the Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections (DISCLOSE) Act.  The bill is a direct response to Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission  (McCain- Feingold) – a First Amendment victory in which the Supreme Court overturned the prohibition on corporations and unions using treasury funds for independent expenditures supporting or opposing political candidates at any time of the year.  Simply put, the DISCLOSE Act will limit the political speech that was protected and encouraged by Citizens United.

Speaker Pelosi and the House Majority Leadership are making it a priority to pass this bill.  This bill is designed to take away the influence of Tea Party and other conservative groups in the upcoming November election. We feel like this bill will be successfully challenged in the courts, but the ruling will not come before the November election.

An exemption has been carved out for the Labor Unions and other leftist advocacy groups.  The NRA was also exempted so they would not oppose it.

Roll Call Magazine reports today that they have carved out even deeper exemptions in order to assure passage and we believe it clearly shows the intent of the bill is to diminish the effectiveness of  Tea Party groups and other newer conservative advocacy groups.

“Facing wide-ranging blowback from an exemption tailored for the National Rifle Association, House Democratic leaders have decided to expand the carve-out from disclosure requirements in a campaign finance measure they are trying to pass this week.
The new standard lowers the membership requirement for outside groups from 1 million members to 500,000. Those groups would still need to have members in 50 states, have existed for 10 years and can accept no more than 15 percent of their funding from corporate or union sources. The broader bill, called the DISCLOSE Act, comes in response to the controversial Supreme Court decision in January that struck down limits on corporate and union spending in elections. The bill would force groups participating in elections to name their top donors, among other changes.”

We need you to make phone calls, send emails and faxes and urge the Congressmen listed below to vote no on this bill.  If you are a NRA member, we urge that you email the NRA and ask them to oppose this bill.

Together, we can make a difference!