This is good:
Under strong urging by Democratic leaders, the House on Thursday approved mandatory disclosure by lobbyists who round up campaign donations from others and "bundle" them together for lawmakers.
The most contentious issue involved requiring lobbyists to disclose so-called bundling practices, in which they solicit and collect campaign donations from several sources and deliver them to a favored lawmaker in one package. The long-employed practice is popular with many lawmakers, who find it easier than raising money check-by-check. It also is favored by lobbyists who find it helps them ingratiate themselves to lawmakers without having to divulge the role they play.
Bundling has become a regular practice and a way for individuals to wield substantial power with lawmakers for whom they "bundle" checks totalling $10K, $50K, $200K or more. Disclosure of who they are and how much they've raised is important to openness in our democracy.
And frankly, it will highlight big money's role in politics and make it harder for those profiting under that system to avoid the limelight. Hopefully that makes it more enticing for lawmakers to pass much-needed public financing reform and eliminate the need for constant big-money-driven campaign fundraising altogether.
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