The House minority’s second-in-command, Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., has come out against a proposal by President Barack Obama to force federal contractors to report all of their political contributions, the Washington Wire blog of
The Wall Street Journal reports. Hoyer’s criticism of the draft policy, which the business community sees as political bullying, drew immediate agreement from House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va.
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| Rep. Steny Hoyer |
“I don’t know if there is any precedent to require individuals seeking to do business with the government to disclose their political contributions,” Cantor said, adding, “I would look to work with the Democratic whip [Hoyer] on that.”
Hoyer told the Journal that the executive order would, if implemented, raise “serious questions” about the integrity of government contracting “if we consider political implications in the context of awarding contracts.”
“All people ought to be exempt” from the reporting requirement, Hoyer said.
The White House proposal could apply to more than 138,000 firms, according to a Los Angeles Times tally, that would have to disclose contributions not just to candidates but to outside groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
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