Rep. Slaughter co-sponsored legislation that would create a voluntary public financing system for congressional elections that incentivizes small donations. She was disappointed by the Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission last January that opened the floodgates for special interests to channel money into American politics. In response, on January 21, 2010, she signed a letter with many of her colleagues asking Speaker Nancy Pelosi to include the Fair Elections Now Act in any legislation considered as a result of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.

On June 24, 2010, the House, with Rep. Slaughter’s strong support, passed the Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections (DISCLOSE) Act, by a vote of 219-206.  The DISCLOSE Act would provide additional information to the public about political advertising funded by corporations, unions, and tax exempt organizations.  Corporations, unions, political action committees, and other organizations would be required to “stand by their ad” the same way candidates are currently required to. The Supreme Court has explicitly stated that disclosure requirements “do not prevent anyone from speaking” and further stated that these requirements serve an important role by “providing the electorate with information” about the sources of election-related spending and allowing citizens to “make informed choices in the political marketplace.”  Rep. Slaughter believes it is imperative that Congress take steps to mitigate the effects of money in politics so that legislators can spend less time raising money and more time assisting constituents and addressing the needs of the nation.  The DISCLOSE Act is an important step forward for clean and fair elections.

Rep. Slaughter signed on as an original co-sponsor of the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act, which would close the "soft money" loophole allowing corporations to give millions of dollars to political parties and candidates. It would also prohibit corporations, unions, and other interest groups from funding "issue advocacy" advertisements in the final weeks before an election.

Rep. Slaughter authored the Fairness in Political Advertising Act, which would reduce the cost of elections and level the playing field by requiring broadcasting stations to provide free political advertising time to qualified candidates in even-numbered years. Candidates would submit unedited segments where they speak directly into the camera. The bill would prohibit the license renewal of television broadcasters that fail to comply with the requirements.

On January 26, 2009, Congresswoman Slaughter and Congressman Baird introduced the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, which prohibits, by SEC rule, any members of Congress, Congressional staff, or Executive Agency employee from buying or selling stocks, bonds, or commodities based on nonpublic information they obtain because of their status.

H.R. 682 prohibits, by SEC rule, anyone outside of Congress or the Executive Branch from making investment decisions on nonpublic information received from a Member of Congress, Congressional staff, or Executive Branch employee.  The legislation prohibits, by House Rule, Members or staff from disclosing material nonpublic information to individuals or firms if they believe that information will be used to inform stock trading decisions.

H.R. 682 requires Members of Congress and staff (those subject to financial disclosure requirements) to report the purchase, sale, or exchange of any stock, bond, or commodity transaction exceeding $1,000 within 90 days.  Stocks in blind trust or mutual funds would be exempt from reporting.  Finally, the legislation requires firms that specialize in “political intelligence” to register with the House and Senate, as lobbying firms are required to do.

On July 10, 2009, Congresswoman Slaughter testified before the House Financial Services Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee on hear entitled “Preventing Unfair Trading by Government Officials.”  The hearing examined insider trading by government officials and efforts to prevent unfair trading practices.

The bill has nine cosponsors and was referred to the House Financial Services Committee.  No further action has been taken.

Rep. Slaughter is very interested in ensuring a complete and accurate census in 2010. The Census is a constitutionally mandated obligation of incomparable significance to the preservation of our democracy, representative fairness, and the equitable distribution of an estimated $400 billion in federal funds. A great deal of funding has been provided to the Department of Commerce for planning an execution, but serious mismanagement and contractual issues are adding billions to the process.

The Congresswoman has expressed these concerns to the Secretary in a letter from 66 Members of Congress. The letter urges the Secretary to provide all means necessary to allow the Census Bureau to conduct the census in the most practical and basic ways to ensure the most accurate count. It also demands regular and timely progress reports as well as updates on major decisions regarding contracts, regional census infrastructure, fingerprinting plans and any other problems that arise. It goes on to shun the use of gimmicks and unproven ideas and implores the Department to focus on the fundamental tasks of raising awareness, compiling accurate and complete lists and getting the highest possible response rate. The Census is simply too important for failure.

Rep. Slaughter is supportive of a number of legislative measures that could help guarantee the success of not only the census, but the Congressional districts that it will help determine. She supported recommends that the Secretary of Commerce should use all reasonable measures to ensure that every person is counted in the 2010 census. She also supported legislation that would limit states from carrying out more than one Congressional redistricting after a census and if it is necessary to do so, requires it to be conducted through independent commissions.

Listen to Louise talk about the importance of the census.

Census information affects the numbers of seats our state occupies in the U.S. House of Representatives. People from many walks of life use census data to advocate for causes, rescue disaster victims, prevent diseases, research markets, locate pools of skilled workers and more.

The information the census collects helps to determine how more than $400 billion dollars of federal funding each year is spent on infrastructure and services such as:

• Hospitals
• Job training centers
• Schools
• Senior centers
• Bridges, tunnels and other-public works projects
• Emergency services