U.S. Senate Nominee Alexi Giannoulias’ statement on today’s Republican maneuver to block a vote on the DISCLOSE Act

“Today’s (September 23) vote in the U.S. Senate shows two fundamental problems with our government — it is far too beholden to corporate special interests, and empty Republican obstructionism requires a supermajority vote to pass anything out of the Senate.

“It is a national embarrassment that the DISCLOSE Act can’t come to floor for a vote, even with 59 votes. This bill serves one purpose: to close the special interest floodgates so that unlimited corporate spending can’t flood the democratic process.  A majority of the Senate wanted it, but the Republican party decided that saying ‘no’ was better than working toward a solution.

“As a U.S. Senator, I will fight for sweeping campaign finance reform, and I will push to amend Senate rules and fix our broken filibuster system.  Illinoisans want a Senator who stands up for these commonsense reforms, not another ‘no’ vote like Congressman Kirk who has taken record corporate cash and continues to oppose the commonsense DISCLOSE Act.”