Democratic Caucus passes sweeping For The People Act to clean up Congress, end special interest influence in Washington, and make it easier to vote
Democratic Freshmen and the new Democratic majority in the House are working hard in the first 100 days of the 116th Congress to deliver on their promise to clean up Washington and crack down on the culture of special interest-driven corruption that flourished under the GOP.
H.R. 1 – the For The People Act – carries through on Democrats’ commitment to fix Washington’s broken system by cracking down on corruption, curbing the influence of big money from special interests, and making it easier for Americans to have their voices heard at the voting booth.
“Democratic Freshmen are taking real action to fix the broken system in Washington that only rewards big donors and special interests at the expense of middle-class families,” said DCCC Communications Director Jared Smith. “When our Democratic Majority passed the For the People Act to rein in corruption and make government work for everyday Americans once again, not a single Republican joined us. The difference in our priorities couldn’t be clearer – Democrats want to drain the swamp while Republicans want to let the special interest donors continue rigging the system.”
Here are just a few of the ways Democratic Freshmen are pushing to make Washington work for the people again – not the special interests:
CO-06: CBS Denver: Rep. Jason Crow Sponsors Bill To End Gerrymandering, ‘Dark Money’
By CBS Denver News
Rep. Jason Crow is keeping a campaign promise to end the influence of special interests in politics. Crow represents Colorado’s 6th Congressional District.
He’s among the sponsors of a sweeping reform bill called the “We The People Act.” It creates automatic voter registration and ends gerrymandering.
The bill also eliminates dark money in politics by requiring super PACs to disclose their donors. Crow was one of the first candidates in the 2018 election to refuse corporate PAC money.
“People, overwhelming, across the country are standing up saying ‘We don’t feel the government works for us.’ Trust with their elected officials is at an all-time low right now, and it’s at an all-time low for good reason because of the money in system. I’m going to push hard, we’re going to take a stand, we’re on right side of history here,” Crow said.
CA-25: KHTS: Congresswoman Katie Hill Supports ‘For The People Act Of 2019’
By Michael Brown
Congresswoman Katie Hill, D-Agua Dulce, has voiced her support for House Resolution 1 (H.R. 1), a bill aimed at reforming campaign finance law, cracking down on lobbying and expanding voting rights, according to officials.
…“We just passed H.R. 1 and made history,” Hill wrote in a Facebook post Friday. “We just voted to get big money out of politics, clean up corruption (and) make voting easier.”
… H.R. 1 would also require super PACs and nonprofit organizations that spend money in elections to release the names of donors who contributed over $10,000, under the DISCLOSE (short for “Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections”) Act of the bill.
IA-01: KWWL: Finkenauer amendment preserving Iowa’s nonpartisan redistricting system passes House
By KWWL News
Today, Iowa’s Democratic Congressional delegation, spearheaded by U.S. Representative Abby Finkenauer (IA-01), successfully amended the For The People Act (H.R. 1) to include a provision to preserve Iowa’s current system of nonpartisan redistricting.
The For The People Act, which is expected to pass the House tomorrow, included language requiring states to establish independent commissions to draw Congressional districts to prevent gerrymandering. The U.S. House of Representatives today unanimously voted to approve the amendment to exempt Iowa from this requirement and allow the state to continue to use its current system. If Iowa were to change its nonpartisan system, it would be subject to H.R. 1’s redistricting reforms.
“I will always step up for Iowa and our traditions,” said Rep. Finkenauer, who wrote the amendment. “Republicans and Democrats have disagreed on a lot, but we have always come together on our system for drawing fair districts. In Iowa, we make sure our leaders are accountable to the people who elected them – and that’s something always worth fighting for.”
IA-03: KMA Land: Axne lauds House passage of campaign finance reform bill
By Brent Barnett
Iowa Congresswoman Cindy Axne is among those praising the passage of House Resolution 1 by the U.S. House Friday.
By a 234-to-193 vote, the Democrat-controlled House passed the For the People Act, a historic reform package that focuses on voting rights, campaign finance, and government ethics. Axne tells KMA News she feels the legislation will “help end the culture of corruption” in Washington.
“First, it bring ethics back to Congress,” Axne said. “It makes sure that we look at the opportunity for every voter in this country to have a voice by making sure that we protect voter integrity, and then of course ensures that every taxpayer dollar that we look at is spent wisely and so it holds government accountable to spending those taxpayer dollars well.”
NH-01: Foster’s Daily Democrat: Pappas Op-Ed: H.R. 1 returns power to the people
By Rep. Chris Pappas
In late November, I joined a group of future House colleagues to outline the For The People Act, or H.R. 1, a bill that sets a clear tone for the new Congress. The legislation is the first priority of our history-making freshman class, a group that was elected by focusing on changing the way Washington works.
My first two months in Congress have proved to me that our system is not working the way it was intended. We’ve been through the longest shutdown in American history, witnessed an unconstitutional national emergency declaration that defies the will of Congress and the American people, and seen regular partisan political fights.
…The For The People Act recognizes that we can’t realize action on urgent priorities if we don’t shore up our democracy. Right now, the outsized influence of big money, corporations, and special interests takes power away from everyday Americans. In addition, members of Congress too often act in their own self-interests and seek to use their position as a stepping stone to lucrative careers after politics. To top it off, voting rights are being eroded and too many Americans are encountering barriers to participate in the democratic process.
H.R. 1 is designed to take common sense steps to address these challenges. If we cast aside the influence of big money, ensure that members of Congress are working for you and not themselves, and protect the right to participate in elections, our democracy will be better for it and our system will serve you better.
NJ-03: Burlington County Times: Andy Kim co-sponsors broad voting, campaign finance and ethics bill
By David Levinsky
New Congressman Andy Kim co-sponsored his first bill Tuesday when he signed on as an early supporter of H.R. 1, his party’s sweeping reform package that seeks several changes to election, ethics and campaign finance laws.
…Among its provisions, the bill would make it easier for citizens to register and vote, tighten election security, mandate disclosure of large contributors by nonprofits who participate in political activities and require presidents to disclose their tax returns.
Kim made campaign finance reform a major part of his successful bid for New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District seat. He said co-sponsoring the measure kept a promise he made to voters to support legislation “ending the dominance of big money in politics.”
“As promised, the very first bill I co-sponsored in Congress was H.R. 1, the For the People Act, which makes meaningful reforms to strengthen our democracy by fighting dark money in politics, increasing election security, improving voter registration systems and enacting badly needed ethics reforms,” Kim said in a statement. “The For the People Act will restore the American people’s voice and power in democracy by returning us to a government of, by and for the people.”
VA-07: Culpeper Star-Exponent: HR 1 features Spanberger’s election-security proposal
By Clint Schemmer
A significant chunk of the election reform bill passed Friday by the U.S. House of Representatives sprang from the desk of a freshman Virginia lawmaker, Rep. Abigail Spanberger.
HR 1—the Democratic majority’s For the People Act—aims to tighten election security, guarantee fair elections, curb big money’s role in politics, and enhance ethics standards in government.
The first of its provisions originated with a bill and an amendment that Spanberger, D–7th, introduced Feb. 28 to bolster the integrity of U.S. elections and mitigate foreign threats to the nation’s election infrastructure. Her bill is the Strengthening Elections through Intelligence Act. House leaders incorporated the Henrico County Democrat’s amendment into HR 1.
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