The Senate Battle for Reforms Is On

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FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE | March 14, 2019freadshot

“The President and his administration have engaged in innumerable ethics abuses that have made the system in Washington far worse.”

Following the passage last week in the House of H.R. 1, unprecedented democracy reform legislation, the effort now switches to the Senate.

Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) will introduce the Senate companion bill to H.R. 1 when the Senate returns from its recess next week. The bill is expected to have more than 40 cosponsors.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he won’t allow any vote on the legislation in this Congress.

But that is not an issue for us, as we have a three-to-five year strategic plan to pass H.R. 1.

Some have mistakenly thought that H.R. 1 is a message bill for this Congress. It is not. It is a marker bill that lays out the blueprint for the reforms that are essential if we are going to repair the rules of democracy.

The Declaration for American Democracy coalition, consisting of more than 130 organizations, will next inject democracy reform issues into the 2020 presidential and congressional elections.

We will stress the essential need to end Washington corruption and truly “drain the swamp,” which President Trump promised to do in his 2016 campaign but has not lifted a finger to accomplish.

Instead, the President and his administration have engaged in innumerable ethics abuses that have made the system in Washington far worse.

We will focus on building Republican support in the country and in Congress for reforms that are not partisan, but are a prerequisite to actually repairing the rules of our democracy.

For example, there is no way to end Washington corruption without providing candidates with an alternative way to run for office without being dependent on big money funders. Such an alternative financing system is provided by H.R. 1’s small donor, matching funds system.

Anyone who says we can effectively fix the system without providing the kind of alternative financing that is provided in H.R. 1 simply doesn’t understand how Washington works and how officeholders are currently trapped by the existing corrupting, influence-money system.

The fight goes on.

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Fred Wertheimer is the Founder and President of Democracy 21, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works to strengthen our democracy and ensure the integrity and fairness of government decisions and elections. See previous Notes from Fred here.