Legislation & policy analysis

Reps. Mia Love (R-UT) and Michael Capuano (D-MA) sponsor Honest Ads Act


Today, Reps. Mia Love (R-UT) and Michael Capuano (D-MA) joined in sponsoring the bipartisan, bicameral legislation to begin protecting U.S. politics from foreign interference. This brings the total number of sponsors of the bill to 24.

“Bipartisan momentum continues to grow behind solutions to safeguard our political system from foreign interference,” said Issue One Executive Director Meredith McGehee. “This legislation is long overdue for a hearing and the vigorous debate that comes with it.”

The Honest Ads Act is a carefully crafted first step to combat hidden foreign disinformation campaigns in our political system by implementing a disclosure system for paid, online political advertising that is closely modeled on longstanding Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules for paid political advertising on television and radio. 

The Honest Ads Act (H.R. 4077) list of 24 current sponsors includes:

Republicans Democrats
Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA)
Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO) Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA)
Rep. Ryan Costello (R-PA) Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL)
Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) Rep. Elizabeth Esty (D-CT)
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA)
Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA)
Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-NY)
Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ) Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD)
Rep. Mia Love (R-UT)  Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL)
Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY) Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-OR)
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ)
Rep. David Young (R-IA) Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY)

 

In June, more than 100 former members of Congress — all members if Issue One’s ReFormers Caucus — sent a letter to the 115th Congress strongly urging them to co-sponsor the bipartisan, bicameral Honest Ads Act. The legislation has also been endorsed by tech giants Facebook, IBM, Microsoft and Twitter.

To learn more about the Honest Ads Act, visit www.issueone.org/honest-ads-act.