In response to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, some Democrats are supporting legislation that would force CEOs to appear on-camera to endorse the political ads their corporations sponsor.
The proposal, unveiled today by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D., Md.), would have CEOs appear as political candidates now do in ads run on their behalf, telling viewers “I’m X and I approved this message.”
The bill would also require that ads with opposing viewpoints get the cheapest possible ad rate to respond to corporate and union-financed ads.
It would ban ads from TARP fund recipients, recipients of government contracts, and companies that are foreign-owned or -controlled from making political ads.
Schumer and Van Hollen were, in 2008, the Democrats’ top men in Senate and House campaign committees, respectively.
A summary of the proposal is here.