Lawmakers are urging Congress to move swiftly to put restrictions on corporate and union sponsorship of political campaign ads. They are seeking to counteract a January ruling by the Supreme Court which upheld the First Amendment rights of such groups to spend money on ads, greatly increasing their ability to influence federal elections. Lawmakers are pushing legislation requiring that political ads reveal their top funding sources and that the CEO of the company paying for the ad appear in it with an "I approve this message" statement. The Democratic-led supporters say their goal is to pass the legislation by July 4, the time frame that is necessary if a new law were to be in effect for the November midterm elections.
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