Kochs Fight To Keep Their Dark Money Dark

April 28, 2016

Congressional Republicans are pushing legislation to decrease the already limited disclosure of donations to dark money groups. The Koch brothers, continuing their crusade against accountability and transparency, are supporting the effort through their political arm, Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce.

The Ways & Means Committee is expected to consider legislation drafted by Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.)  that would eliminate the requirement for dark money groups to provide non-public disclosures of their donors to the IRS when they file tax forms. These “Schedule B reports” are not publicly released, but allow the IRS to prevent the infusion of money from foreign governments, corporations, or individuals into political activities.

In addition to Freedom Partner’s actions, a number of other Koch entitites have called for adoption of Rep. Roskam’s legislation. Phil Kerpen of the Kochs’ group American Commitment has authored a letter urging Ways & Means to scrap the Schedule B requirements. Brent Gardner, Vice President of Government Affairs at Americans for Prosperity has also sent a letter of support praising H.R. 5053. Philip Ellender, President of Government & Public Affairs for Koch Companies Public Sector praised the act as a “much needed fix to the system“.

In contrast to nontransparent dark money, Rep. Roskan’s motivation to conceal donors is perfectly transparent. He has been a recipient of $50,000 from KochPAC as well as a generous direct contribution from David Koch.

The Kochs–using Americans for Prosperity as their vehicle–pursued nearly identical action in California, suing California’s attorney general to prevent the collection of similar donor information. As with the IRS, California kept donor information confidential and solely used the information to protect taxpayers against fraud. The effort of congressional Republicans to protect their dark money benefactors is a direct outgrowth of the lawsuit in California; Freedom Partners Chairman Mark Holden released a statement citing the California case in calling for the new law.

The Koch brothers wield immense influence in all levels of politics through their use of a web of political front groups; many are funded with nearly untraceable dark money donations. Rep. Roskam’s legislation as well as the legal action in California demonstrate that the Kochs are desperate to hide the extent of their pernicious influence on American politics.

Paid for by American Bridge 21st Century Foundation