Informative Materials on H.R. 1, the For the People Act

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H.R. 1, the For the People Act, sponsored by Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD) and cosponsored by 234 Representatives, is on the floor of the House starting today.

The bill is unprecedented democracy reform legislation that addresses campaign finance, voting rights, partisan redistricting and government ethics problems.

Enclosed for your information is a series of materials addressing the legislation that have previously been distributed. They include the case for a new small donor, public matching funds system; the case for ending individual-candidate Super PACs; a rebuttal of attacks on dark money disclosure requirements in H.R. 1; and a letter from 71 organizations that belong to the Declaration for American Democracy coalition urging Representatives to vote for the legislation.

H.R. 1 will be paid for entirely by lawbreakers. The legislation provides that the costs of H.R. 1 will be financed entirely from a new de minimis assessment on federal fines, penalties, and settlements for certain tax crimes and corporate malfeasance. Fines, penalties, and settlements paid by natural persons will not be subject to the assessment, except for those paid by certain executive-level officers or equivalent officers of organizational defendants.