House Passes Historic Democracy Reform
FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE | March 4, 2021
“The bottom-line choice is clear: either the Senate votes to meet the urgent need of the American people to repair our democracy and protect the sacred right to vote, or the Senate maintains without exception the filibuster that has been serially abused for years by Senator Mitch McConnell and his Republican colleagues.”
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1, historic democracy reform legislation to repair our broken political system and fix our corrupting campaign finance system.
Unlike 2019 when the House first passed H.R. 1 and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked Senate consideration, this time the Senate will consider the legislation under the leadership of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
The Senate should move quickly to consider and pass this sweeping reform legislation.
H.R. 1 provides Congress with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to enact landmark reforms to repair our democracy. The reforms address Washington political money corruption, voter suppression and discrimination, secret money spent in federal elections, extreme partisan gerrymandering, conflicts of interest and self-dealing by government officials, election security, and foreign intervention in U.S. elections.
Recognition and thanks are in order for every House Member who voted for the landmark democracy reforms in H.R. 1.
Special recognition is due to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, chief sponsor Representative John Sarbanes (D-MD) and House Administration Chair Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) for the superb skillful and relentless, strategic leadership they provided to pass the most consequential democracy reform measure since the Watergate reforms of the 1970s.
Special recognition is also due to House Administration Chief of Staff Jamie Fleet and Rep. Sarbanes’ Deputy Chief of Staff Raymond O’Mara for the critically important and valuable role they played in the House passage of H.R. 1.
The battle now moves to the Senate, where the effort on behalf of S. 1, the Senate companion to H.R. 1, will be led by Senate Majority Leader Schumer, chief sponsor Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Senate Rules Committee Chair Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).
The need for quick action in the Senate on S. 1 is starkly shown by the new restrictive voting laws being pursued across the country in Republican-controlled legislatures that would suppress mail-in and early voting, and disenfranchise massive numbers of voters, particularly voters of color.
These anti-democratic efforts in the states are antithetical to our system of representative government.
H.R. 1 and S. 1 build on the record voter turnout that occurred in the 2020 elections, without any evidence of meaningful fraud, by codifying the voting rules that led to this success. The legislation establishes a baseline of fair and secure voting in federal elections for all eligible citizens, and ensures that the voting rules in federal elections are the same for all citizens, regardless of state or zip code.
In establishing the rules for citizens to vote easily and safely in federal elections, H.R. 1 and S. 1 will supersede new state laws that would suppress voting and disenfranchise voters.
The bottom-line choice is clear: either the Senate votes to meet the urgent need of the American people to repair our democracy and protect the sacred right to vote, or the Senate maintains without exception the filibuster that has been serially abused for years by Senator Mitch McConnell and his Republican colleagues.
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