We've obtained a witness list for Wednesday's Rules and Administration Committee hearing on the Senate electronic filing bill. According to Sen. Dianne Feinstein's office, the witnesses include:

• Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) – the bill's sponsor
• Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) – the principle Republican cosponsor
• Nancy Erickson – Secretary of the Senate
• Steve Weissman – head of the Campaign Finance Institute
• Thomas Mann – Brookings Institution Congressional scholar
• someone from the Federal Election Commission

All of these witnesses are in favor of the bill, which is a very good thing. We still need to make sure that this bill is supported in committee and reported out clean, with no amendments attached. Call your Senator and let them know you want them to support this bill. In 2004, $53 million in campaign contributions went unreported before election day because of the Senate's refusal to file electronically. This is an important step to further transparency in our political system.