June 11, 2015
To: Mary Jo White, the Chairperson of the SEC
I urge you to require corporations to disclose their political campaign donations. Shareholders, who are the owners of the companies, should have the right to be informed about what is being done with their company's money. The SEC has the power to protect shareholders by requiring spending transparency. They can create a rule that requires corporations to disclose to their shareholders whether and how much they are spending to influence voters.
In fact the Supreme Court justices said it was up to Congress and the regulators to require that corporations disclose their political spending. Regarding his Citizens United decision, Justice Anthony Kennedy claimed that transparency is the best "disinfectant" to the corrupting effects of money in politics. Justice Kennedy described the importance of transparency in our political system, saying it “permits citizens and shareholders to react to the speech of corporate entities in a proper way.”
The SEC has the power to require this transparency. I urge you to enact requirements that publicly-held companies disclose their political spending.
Thank you,
Suzanne Cook