A group of 65 House members has urged the White House to require political expenditure reports in the contracting industry to promote transparency across federal acquisition programs.
“An Executive Order (EO) requiring federal contractors to disclose their political spending would go a long way to rectifying the perception or, in some cases, reality of the corrupting influence of corporate donations to elected officials,” the lawmakers told President Biden in a letter.
They said issuing such a directive would assure the public that dark money in politics has nothing to do with the process of awarding lucrative contracts.
“It would serve the public interest by increasing transparency and helping government watchdogs as they investigate potential instances of corruption and graft,” added the members of Congress.
The letter, released Thursday on the official website of Rep. Andy Levin, D-Mich., noted corporate political action committees involving the 10 largest U.S. contractors poured nearly $25 million into activities related to the 2020 election.