TRANSPARENCY IN ELECTIONS

On 2026-06-10, Representative Kevin Mullin (D-CA-15) delivered a floor speech titled "TRANSPARENCY IN ELECTIONS" in the House.

TRANSPARENCY IN ELECTIONS

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 98 (Wednesday, June 10, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 98 (Wednesday, June 10, 2026)] [House] [Page H4064] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] TRANSPARENCY IN ELECTIONS (Mr. Mullin of California was recognized to address the House for 5 minutes.) Mr. MULLIN. Mr. Speaker, Americans are fed up with this government. They are fed up with money in politics. They are fed up with not knowing who they can trust. Corporations and billionaires are spending more than ever in an effort to influence our elections, and we are seeing more and more campaigns paying social media influencers to promote their candidates. Voters deserve to know who is getting paid. They deserve to know where corporations are spending their money and which billionaires are buying elections and how. When someone sees a video or endorsement, they should know whether it is actually an advertisement and who is paying for it. In recent years, we are seeing social media influencers with hundreds of thousands and sometimes even millions of followers promoting campaigns and candidates. Now, everyone has a right to their opinions, but if they are being paid to create this content and promote a candidate, then they should be disclosing it to their viewers. A semi-famous influencer with even a modest following can have an enormous impact on a close election that is decided, in some cases, by a few thousand votes. A social media personality with a large following can drive a campaign narrative sometimes more effectively than TV, radio, or any other media. They can do it all without ever disclosing their connection to the campaign or candidate they are supporting or even if they are being paid by the campaign itself. This is wrong. Voters deserve to have basic information about the conflicts of interest, incentives, and who is paying for political ads. Social media influencers must be required to disclose their paid affiliations with a candidate or campaign. In the California State Assembly, where I served as speaker pro tempore, I was proud to author the first-in-the-Nation DISCLOSE Act to require candidates, campaigns, and super-PACs to publicly disclose their largest donors in political ads. That is now law in the largest State in the land. Now, in Congress, I am working on ways to address this now and for future elections. Congress has tools to ensure transparency in our elections--who is paying for what and who is getting paid. Transparency is the least, the very least, we can do to safeguard our elections. We can and must do better. ____________________