The Committee on House Administration, chaired by Rep. Robert Brady (D-PA) held the first hearing on the DISCLOSE Act (H.R. 5175), and has already announced a second hearing on the bill scheduled for May 11. In his opening statement, Brady said, "The DISCLOSE Act recognizes that American voters are at minimum entitled to full and accurate reporting of campaign spending so that voters may know who is attempting to influence their vote."

Republican committee members argued that the bill is meant to protect Democrat incumbents and deter speech. Rep. Gregg Harper (R-MS) said, "This bill is designed to affect the outcome of the 2010 elections and protect the majority's incumbents."

Ranking Republican Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA) contended that the DISCLOSE Act creates special protections for labor unions. The assertion that the bill favors unions has also been made elsewhere. For example, a Wall Street Journal editorial claimed that "unions get a pass from new campaign finance disclosure rules." However, the DISCLOSE Act would subject all corporations, 501(c)(4), 501(c)(5) (which are unions), 501(c)(6) (trade associations), and 527 organizations, to the same disclosure rules. This argument seems to stem from provisions that limit certain corporations, such as those that received funding from the federal Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

One of the witnesses, attorney Donald Simon pointed out during his statement that, "any donor to an organization can restrict the funds contributed by that donor from being used for campaign-related expenditures. If the donor makes such a restriction, the donor will not be subject to any disclosure requirements established by this legislation. Thus, whether a donor is disclosed or not is fully within the control of the donor."

Other witnesses included former U.S. solicitor general Ted Olson, Craig Holman with Public Citizen, U.S. PIRG's Lisa Gilbert, Citizens United President David Bossie, and Public Campaign President Nick Nyhart.

Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA) said, "the concept of letting people know who is giving what to whom is unassailable." You can watch video of the hearing here.

Meanwhile, President Obama weighed in during his weekly radio and Internet address last week, and once again called on Congress to pass the DISCLOSE Act.