HR1 For the People Act

=<div>621 promote primary, do or die for democ</div><div>
<div>schumer and R r boost --> S1</div><div>bak 10 22</div><div>
</div><div><div></div><div><a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1">https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1</a></div><div>
</div><div>pass fouse 3/21</div><div><ul class="tabs_links" style="margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style: none; display: flex;"><li style="-webkit-box-flex: 0; flex: 0 0 auto; border-width: 1px 1px 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247); text-align: center; margin-right: 5px;"><h2 style="margin: 0px; height: 27.9875px;"><a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1/text" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: normal; padding: 6px 10px; display: block; box-sizing: border-box;">Text (3)</a></h2></li><li style="-webkit-box-flex: 0; flex: 0 0 auto; border-width: 1px 1px 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247); text-align: center; margin-right: 5px;"><h2 style="margin: 0px; height: 27.9875px;"><a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1/actions" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: normal; padding: 6px 10px; display: block; box-sizing: border-box;">Actions (85)</a></h2></li><li style="-webkit-box-flex: 0; flex: 0 0 auto; border-width: 1px 1px 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247); text-align: center; margin-right: 5px;"><h2 style="margin: 0px; height: 27.9875px;"><a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1/titles" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: normal; padding: 6px 10px; display: block; box-sizing: border-box;">Titles (103)</a></h2></li><li style="-webkit-box-flex: 0; flex: 0 0 auto; border-width: 1px 1px 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247); text-align: center; margin-right: 5px;"><h2 style="margin: 0px; height: 27.9875px;"><a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1/amendments" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: normal; padding: 6px 10px; display: block; box-sizing: border-box;">Amendments (9)</a></h2></li><li style="-webkit-box-flex: 0; flex: 0 0 auto; border-width: 1px 1px 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; text-align: center; margin-right: 5px;"><h2 style="margin: 0px; height: 27.9875px;"><a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1/cosponsors" style="text-decoration-line: none; padding: 6px 10px; display: block; box-sizing: border-box;">Cosponsors (222)</a></h2></li><li style="-webkit-box-flex: 0; flex: 0 0 auto; border-width: 1px 1px 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247); text-align: center; margin-right: 5px;"><h2 style="margin: 0px; height: 27.9875px;"><a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1/committees" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: normal; padding: 6px 10px; display: block; box-sizing: border-box;">Committees (11)</a></h2></li><li style="-webkit-box-flex: 0; flex: 0 0 auto; border-width: 1px 1px 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247); text-align: center; margin-right: 5px;"><h2 style="margin: 0px; height: 27.9875px;"><a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1/related-bills" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: normal; padding: 6px 10px; display: block; box-sizing: border-box;">Related Bills (62)</a></h2></li></ul></div><div>=</div><div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act</a></div><div>
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</div><div>=</div><div>open ltr, usual suspects, BS refuted below</div><div>
</div><div><a href="http://conservativeactionproject.com/conservatives-oppose-h-r-1-the-ultimate-fantasy-of-the-left/">http://conservativeactionproject.com/conservatives-oppose-h-r-1-the-ultimate-fantasy-of-the-left/</a></div><div>
</div><div>=January 28, 2019 Washington, DC Signatures updated 2/4/19Conservatives are united in opposing H.R. 1, the attempt by House Democrats to fundamentally undermine the American electoral system.While they cloak the bill in terms of “restoring democracy” and “preventing corruption,” the legislation has one goal: to protect incumbents, at the expense of the First Amendment, federalism, and individual voter integrity.H.R. 1 undermines the First Amendment. H.R. 1 undoes key Supreme Court cases that protect elections as fundamental to free speech. It would allow the Federal Election Commission to track and catalogue more of what Americans are saying, register even very small political donations, and make public those who donate to different charitable and nonprofit organizations. The legislation will subject private citizens to intimidation and harassment for their private and political beliefs, far broader than what was done in the IRS targeting scandal in 2013.H.R. 1 yanks election authority away from the states. H.R. 1 reasserts the ability of the federal government to micromanage state elections through a process known as “preclearance.” Preclearance, which was previously overturned by the Supreme Court, requires states to get permission from the federal government for changes as small as modifying the hours of an election office, or moving a voting location from a school gym to the library. Critically, none of these practices would undo any fraud or corruption. Rather, these same practices result in incorrect registrations and inaccurate voter data, while failing to address actual corrupt practices like ballot harvesting. Moreover, they are all designed to eliminate the federalism that keeps elections transparent, local, and fair.H.R. 1 attacks individual voter integrity. America was founded on the principle of “one person, one vote.” H.R. 1 turns this on its head by weaponizing every aspect of the political regulatory system. The Federal Election Commission, which is currently a neutral body, would be given a 3-2 makeup, guaranteeing a partisan outcome with little accountability toward the actual votes which are cast. H.R. 1 also includes a 600 percent government match for political donations, and authorizes even more public dollars to campaigns. The bill also wants to make Election Day a new paid holiday for government workers, with additional paid vacation given to bureaucrats to oversee the polls. All of these changes are designed to distance the outcome of the election from those casting their votes.H.R. 1 would also implement the following changes:• Forces states to implement mandatory voter registration, removing civic participation as a voluntary choice, and increasing chances for error. • Mandates that states allow all felons to vote. • Forces states to extend periods of early voting, which has shown to have no effect on turnout. • Mandates same-day voter registration, which encourages voter fraud. • Limits the ability of states to cooperate to see who is registered in multiple states at the same time. • Prohibits election observers from cooperating with election officials to file formal challenges to suspicious voter registrations. • Criminalizes protected political speech by making it a crime to “discourage” someone from voting • Bars states from making their own laws about voting by mail. • Prohibits chief election officials in each state from participating in federal election campaigns. • Mandates free mailing of absentee ballots. • Mandates that states adopt new redistricting commissions.H.R. 1 would cause sweeping and irrevocable damage to the free speech, privacy, and integrity that are central components to free and fair elections in America. We oppose H.R. 1 in the strongest terms, and urge all conservatives to do likewise.<table style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 1.313em; border: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; width: 960px; border-spacing: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><tbody style="box-sizing: border-box;"><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">The Honorable Edwin Meese III Attorney General President Ronald Reagan (1985-1988)</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Alfred S. Regnery Chairman, Conservative Action Project Chairman, Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Adam Brandon President FreedomWorks</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Marjorie Dannenfelser President Susan B. Anthony List</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">The Honorable Colin A. Hanna President Let Freedom Ring, Inc.</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Diana Banister President and Partner Shirley & Banister Public Affairs</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Noah Wall Vice President of Advocacy FreedomWorks</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Cleta Mitchell, Esq. Partner Foley & Lardner LLP</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle;">Jessica Anderson Vice President Heritage Action for America</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Myron Ebell Director, Center for Energy and Environment Competitive Enterprise Institute</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">David Bozell President ForAmerica</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Tom McClusky President March for Life Action</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Lisa B. Nelson Chief Executive Officer American Legislative Exchange Council</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">The Honorable Bob McEwen U.S. House of Representatives Former Member, Ohio</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">The Honorable David McIntosh President Club for Growth</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Matt Schlapp Chairman American Conservative Union (ACU)</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Daniel Schneider Executive Director American Conservative Union (ACU)</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Jenny Beth Martin Chairman Tea Party Patriots Citizen Fund</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">The Honorable Becky Norton Dunlop White House Advisor President Ronald Reagan (1981-1985)</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">William L. Walton Chairman CNP Action, Inc.</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">The Honorable Jim DeMint Member, South Carolina United States Senate (2005-2013)</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Rachel Bovard Policy Director Senate Steering Committee (2014-2015)</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Ed Corrigan Vice Chairman, Conservative Action Project Executive Director, Senate Steering Committee (2003-2012)</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">The Honorable T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr. Chief Domestic Advisor President Ronald Reagan (1987-1988)</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Thomas Fitton President Judicial Watch, Inc.</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">The Honorable Tony Perkins President, Family Research Council President, Council for National Policy</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">The Honorable J. Kenneth Blackwell Chairman Constitutional Congress, Inc.</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin (Ret.) Executive Vice President Family Research Council</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">The Honorable Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, II President Senate Conservatives Fund</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">L. Brent Bozell, III Founder and President Media Research Center</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">The Honorable Hans A. von Spakovsky Commissioner Federal Election Commission (2006-2007)</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">The Honorable Charles J. Cooper Assistant Attorney General, President Ronald Reagan Cooper & Kirk PLLC</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">The Honorable Tom DeLay Former Majority Leader US House of Representatives</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">J. Christian Adams President Public Interest Legal Foundation</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Grover Norquist President Americans for Tax Reform</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">The Honorable Gary L. Bauer President American Values</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Floyd Brown Chairman America Fighting Back PAC</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Tracie Sharp President & CEO State Policy Network</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">The Honorable Donald Hodel Secretary of Energy, President Reagan Secretary of Interior, President Reagan</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">The Honorable James C. Miller III Budget Director, President Ronald Reagan, (1985-1988)</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Rod D. Martin Founder and CEO The Martin Organization, Inc.</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Sherri R. Martin Executive Vice President The Martin Organization, Inc.</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Haley E. Martin President The Martin Foundation</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Nicholas Stehle Campaign for the American Future</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Shawn A. Mitchell Former National Chaplain National Federation of Republican Assemblies (NFRA)</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Jerry Melvin Former Dean Florida House of Representatives</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Ellen F. Grigsby Director of Institutional Partnerships Open Doors USA</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Ralph Benko, Esq. Senior Advisor, Economics American Principles Project</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Melissa Ortiz Founder and Principal Able Americans</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Phil Kerpen President American Commitment</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Kathleen Patten President and CEO American Target Advertising</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Jenna Ellis Director of Public Policy James Dobson Family Institute</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Allen Hebert Chairman American-Chinese Fellowship of Houston</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Sal Russo Co-Founder and Chief Strategist Tea Party Express</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Trent England Executive Vice President Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Steve Berger Pastor Grace Chapel</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">The Honorable George K. Rasley, Jr. Managing Editor ConservativeHQ.com</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Rebekah Gantner Executive Director Eagle Forum Education & Legal Defense Fund</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Ed Martin President Phyllis Schlafly Eagles</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Christopher Malagisi Host Conservative Book Club Podcast</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Roxanne Phillips Member, Executive Committee Council for National Policy</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Richard H. Wright CEO AAndrews Consulting</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Seton Motley President Less Government</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Stuart Epperson, Sr. Chairman Salem Media Group</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Jack Park Conservative Donor and Activist</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Dr. Frank Wright President & CEO D. James Kennedy Ministries</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Ron Robinson President Young America’s Foundation</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Kelly Kullberg President America Conservancy</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Mark Fitzgibbons President of Corporate Affairs American Target Advertising, Inc.</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">The Honorable Jake Hoffman President & CEO Rally Forge</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">John F. Tate President America’s Liberty PAC</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Charlie Copeland President Intercollegiate Studies Institute</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">C. Preston Noell III President Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">James L. Martin Founder/President 60 Plus Association</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Bob Carlstrom President The Carlstrom Group, LLC</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Saul Anuzis President 60 Plus Association</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Gary Marx President Madison Strategies</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Lew Uhler President National Tax Limitation Committee</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Bailey Amaral Director The Windrose Project</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">The Honorable Penny Pullen Former State Legislator Illinois General Assembly</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">The Honorable Michael R. Long State Chairman NYS Conservative Party</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Jay Mount President MDS Communications Corporation</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Amapola Hansberger President Legal Immigrants for America</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">The Honorable Belden Bell Co-Chair Legacy Society The Heritage Society</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Richard Manning President Americans for Limited Government</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">The Honorable Roy S. Moore President Emeritus Foundation for Moral Law</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Kayla Moore President Foundation for Moral Law</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Matthew Tyrmand Principal Matthew Tyrmand, LLC</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Chad Connelly President and Founder Faith Wins</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Dr. Richard Rounsavelle Trustee Media Research Center</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Robert K. Fischer Meeting Coordinator Conservatives of Faith</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Randy M. Long CEO Long Business Advisors, LLC</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">The Honorable Mike Spence Founding President Conservative Republicans of California</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Benjamin R. Case Chief Executive Officer Focused On Fundraising, Inc.</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">The Honorable Mike Hill Representative Florida State House, D1</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Carolee Adams President Eagle Forum of New Jersey</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Thomas Pyle President American Energy Alliance</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Elaine Donnelly President Center for Military Readiness</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Robert D. Thompson Former Administrator The Weyrich Lunch (1999-2016)</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Dan Weber Founder and President Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC)</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Tim Macy Chairman Gun Owners of America</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Dr. Jameson Taylor Vice President for Policy Mississippi Center for Public Policy</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Brett Healy President The John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Donald Bryson President and CEO Civitas Institute</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Jon Pritchett CEO Mississippi Center for Public Policy</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Emily Davenport Vice President Pelican Institute for Public Policy</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Heather Lauer Policy Director People United for Privacy</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Paul Gessing President Rio Grande Foundation</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Dr. Kevin Roberts Executive Director Texas Public Policy Foundation</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Victor Riches President & CEO Goldwater Institute</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Becky Gerritson Executive Director Eagle Forum of Alabama</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Stella Morabito Author</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">L. Jean Lewis</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Barbara Ledeen</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Rabbi Aryeh Spero Caucus For America</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Brigitte Gabriel Founder & Chairman ACT For America</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Tom McCabe CEO Freedom Foundation</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Willes K. Lee President National Federation of Republican Assemblies</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Norman Singleton President Campaign for Liberty</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Wayne Hoffman President Idaho Freedom Foundation</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Mike Stenhouse CEO RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Rob Chambers Vice President AFA Action</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Annette Thompson Meeks CEO Freedom Foundation of Minnesota</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Joseph G. Lehman President Mackinac Center for Public Policy</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Ron Pearson Executive Director Conservative Victory Fund</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">David Williams President Taxpayers Protection Alliance</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Khadine L. Ritter Chairman Eagle Forum of Ohio</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">William Shaker CEO Washington Marketing Group</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Richard D. Hayes Partner Hayes, Berry, White & Vanzant, LLP</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Mario Navarro da Costa Director, Washington Bureau Tradition, Family, Property</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Alan P. Dye Senior Partner Webster, Chamberlain & Bean</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Sean Noble President American Encore</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">The Honorable Diana Denman Presidential Appointee President Reagan Administration</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Debbie Georgatos CEO CWT Publications, LLC</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Kevin Freeman Founder NSIC Institute</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Andresen Blom President Hawaiian Values</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Joseph A. Morris Attorney and Partner Morris & De La Rosa</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Charlie Gerow Vice Chairman American Conservative Union</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Rebecca Hagelin Secretary Council for National Policy</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">James Clymer Vice President Conservative Legal Defense and Education Fund</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Lee A. Beaman CEO Beaman Automotive Group</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">William W. Pascoe, III Board Member Tea Party Patriots Action</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Peter Thomas Chairman The Conservative Caucus</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Melvin Adams Past President Renewanation</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle;">Curt Levey President Committee for Justice</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Judson Phillips Founder Tea Party Nation</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Michelle Easton President Clare Boothe Luce Center for Conservative Women</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Col. Francis X. De Luca USMC(Ret) President Emeritus Civitas Institute</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Susan A. Carleson Chairman/CEO American Civil Right Union</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Mario H. Lopez President Hispanic Leadership Fund</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Paavo Ensio Chairman Minerals Group</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Ambassador Henry F. Cooper President Reagan’s Chief Defense and Space Negotiator Former SDI Director</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">The Honorable Terrence Scanlon Retired Chairman and President Capital Research Center</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Brent Mead CEO Montana Policy Institute</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">David Bossie President Citizens United</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">James C. Dobson Ph.D. Founder & President James Dobson Family Institute</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Kay R. Daly President Coalition for a Fair Judiciary</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Anne S. Cori Chairman Eagle Forum</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Eunie Smith President Eagle Forum</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Adam Kincaid Executive Director Fair Lines America</td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Michael L. Baller Member Council for National Policy</td><td width="312" style="padding: 0.5em 0.625em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; vertical-align: middle; background-color: transparent;">Dr. Scott Magill Executive Director Veterans in Defense of Liberty</td></tr></tbody></table>All organizations listed for IDENTIFICATION purposes only.=</div><div>
</div><div>=</div><div>~ hub?</div><div>
</div><div>===yikes koch renta-toms townhall BS
this week, a panel of black community

leaders hosted a webinar decrying the ‘For the People Act,' along with

the deceitful and harmful rhetoric Democrats have used to characterize

the bill.Presented by

FreedomWorks, one of the nation’s largest grassroots organizations

advocating for conservative principals, the six-person discussion

focused on the panelist’s own lived experience with the horrors of Jim

Crow, while also condemning HR 1 and the left’s dishonest presentation

of the bill.HR 1, or the ‘For the People Act’, has been presented

to the American public as a civil rights bill aimed toward expanding

voting and preventing the passage of many so-called voter restriction

laws that are currently being proposed and adopted in states across the

nation.However, as each panelist pointed out, HR 1 does the exact

opposite of strengthening civil rights protections, with one panelist

going as far as to dub the bill the “Screw the People Act.”Whether it’s the abolishment of voter ID laws, the legalization of ballot harvesting, or any number of <a href="https://www.heritage.org/election-integrity/report/the-facts-about-hr-1-the-the-people-act-2021">other damning criticisms</a>, HR 1 is not the civil rights bill that Democrats are currently attempting to sell to the American people.Reverend C.L. Bryant, <a href="https://www.freedomworks.org/about/about-freedomworks" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">FreedomWorks</a>’

Senior Fellow and host of the virtual gathering, began the seminar by

pushing back against the fictional narrative the left Is attempting to

create.“When we look at HR 1,” said the reverend, “When we look

at the lies that have been told about this particular bill … the most

alarming thing to us, at this point in time, is the type of rhetoric and

the type of definitions that they are presenting, not only to us but

they're presenting them to our young people. And the narrative of that

rhetoric is so false, that it is blatant, and it must be challenged.”Rev.

Bryant explained the utter absurdity and inherent deception of

President Biden comparing state laws aimed at improving election

integrity with the horrors of the Jim Crow south. “These are

people who have lived through that difficult times in this country,”

said Rev. Bryant, speaking of the panelist’s personal experience with

Jim Crow. “And may I just say,” continued Bryant, “that the

hypocrisy of Joe Biden to throw around the words, Jim Crow, as though he

owns the black vote. I must say to us as black people, and I must say

to us as Americans. When we look back over Joe Biden's track record, we

will see a mass deception that is going on”Dr. Carol Swain, a

former Vanderbilt professor, and experienced political commentator,

further demonstrated the ‘mass deception’ being proliferated by

Democrats, reflecting on her own experience with systemic racism and the

fight to overcome its devastating effects.“I was born into

systemic racism,” said Dr. Swain, “and I watched it collapsed. I watched

it collapse with the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The 1965

Voting Rights Act. The 1968 open Housing Act. And I can tell you that I

saw opportunities created for people like me, and America was moving

forward.”Former Louisiana State Senator Elbert Guillory echoed

Dr. Swain's understanding of what discrimination and Jim Crow actually

looked like, saying, “There's nothing like Jim Crow going on now, except

what [Biden] is doing himself…. Jim Crow was a rough time. I have the

scars on my back, not on my soul, from those days. Almost 200 arrests

and police stops during the 1950s and 1960s.”The renowned

attorney went on to lament the disservice being done to the civil rights

leaders who fought and died for progress, saying, “Unfortunately, when

the president uses this term, Jim Crow, he drags through the mud

history…It’s demeaning to the sacrifices of all of those civil rights

warriors to have this term brandished about now.”Emphasizing the

dishonesty of his motives, Pastor Stephan Broden answered the question

as to why President Biden is invoking such a terrible time in America’s

past.“The idea of Jim Crow-ism that's being brought into the

public square,” said Pastor Broden, “is an attempt on [the president’s]

part and the Democratic Party to evoke an emotional response on the part

of the black community.”Pastor Broden continued on to detail the

historical practices of Jim Crow and highlighted the stark contrast

between “a collection of state and local statutes that legalized racial

segregation” and elections laws like Georgia’s that “clean up the

election process and makes it constitutional. Bringing more opportunity…

to minorities to vote in America.” <div class="mpw-inline">

<div>

<div class="mpw-inline-col__title">[Recommended</div>

Oh, So This Is How Hunter Biden Used $75K from Joe Biden

</a>

Spencer Brown]</div>

</div>

Responding directly to HR 1 and the dismantling of the American right

to free and fair elections, former U.S. House of Representants

candidate Claston Bernard offered his own personal take on the

responsibility and privilege of being an American citizen.“As an

immigrant,” said Bernard, “I go back to the 14th amendment… If you're

born or naturalized you're an American. That's an honor bestowed on

people who are coming through this country that they need to understand

and respect.”Bernard went on to stress the danger of HR 1’s

demolishing of American traditions, saying, “if you're telling me as an

immigrant your laws and your constitution means nothing, then what would

you expect? You will have is the same problems that they’ve had in

Europe by opening the floodgates to illegal immigrants who will not come

here and assimilated.”The last of the six panelists to speak,

beloved activist Dr. Alveda King, emphasized her faith and the need to

fight back against the threat of HR 1 and Biden’s occupation of the

White House.“We have not lost,” says Dr. King, “We have won the

battle. It belongs to us. Occupation looks like a war because the crooks

come back in and try to take it back. They will try to take it by

force, we must stand firm… but we must be guided by the hand of the Lord

in Unity.”As of today, the 'For the People Act' has passed in the House of Representatives along party lines, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-03/house-set-to-pass-elections-overhaul-but-senate-action-unlikely" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">220 to 210</a>. The Senate has received the legislation and it now awaits processing and deliberation in the higher chamber.

=

manchin CoC$ heritage action/ALEC
=<a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/sinclair-broadcast-group/sinclair-broadcast-group-report-people-act-whitewashed-gops-nationwide" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none;">https://www.mediamatters.org/sinclair-broadcast-group/sinclair-broadcast-group-report-people-act-whitewashed-gops-nationwide</a>==<a href="https://www.alternet.org/2021/06/dark-money-groups/">https://www.alternet.org/2021/06/dark-money-groups/</a>ah Earlier this year, Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives took a stand against voter suppression when they passed House Resolution 1, a.k.a. the For the People Act — a comprehensive voting rights/election reform bill that now faces an <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/5/12/22430970/hr1-for-the-people-act-senate-manchin" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">uphill climb in the U.S. Senate</a> under the rules of the <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/03/28/filibuster-fights-heats-up-senators-clash-over-voting-rights-bill/7036418002/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">filibuster</a>, which requires 60 or more votes for most legislation. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and many other Senate Republicans are vehemently opposed to HR 1, and according to the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Government, <a href="https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-investigations/senate-opponents-of-democracy-reform-were-elected-with-millions-in-dark-money/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">"dark money" from "the Koch network"</a> is helping to fuel that opposition.In an article published on May 28, CREW members Meghan Faulkner and Miru Osuga explain, "There's a whole lot of dark money behind the opponents of democracy reform. The Koch network alone has spent tens of millions backing many of the senators who are opposing the For the People Act, which would overhaul campaign finance rules and enforcement and make it harder for dark money groups, like those in the Koch network, to secretly influence our elections."Faulkner and Osuga note how much "the Koch network" has spent "backing" GOP opponents of the For the People Act, including $5.6 million spent on Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, $1.3 million on Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, $4.9 million on Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, $4.3 million on Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, $5.7 million on Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and $4.3 million on Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas."All told," Faulkner and Osuga note, "groups associated with the Koch network have spent over $100 million boosting the campaigns of current Republican senators, none of whom are supportive of comprehensive campaign finance reform. That total doesn't even include millions of dollars in <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2014/11/as-fec-window-opened-subjects-of-dark-money-issue-ads-became-targets-for-defeat/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">additional dark money</a> spending from these groups that was never reported to the Federal Election Commission."KochPAC is a political action committee funded by employees of Koch Industries and their allies. Billionaire oligarch Charles Koch, the 85-year-old brother of the late David Koch, has been a major supporter of right-wing causes.According to CREW, one of the things that troubles "the Koch network" is how "popular" the proposals of the For the People Act are. The bill comes at a time when Republicans in state legislatures all over the United States are aggressively pushing voter suppression bills."The Koch network and other dark money groups know exactly how popular this democracy reform is and how much it threatens the broken campaign finance system they depend on," Faulkner and Osuga stress. "That's why they're doing their best to defeat it quietly in Congress, aided by the senators whose campaigns they've boosted with millions of dollars of secret money."<div class="around-the-web" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="from-your-siteheadline" style="font-weight: 700; text-transform: uppercase;">FROM YOUR SITE ARTICLES</div><ul class="around-the-weblist" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; width: 589.446px; list-style: none;"><li class="from-your-siteitem"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2021/03/dark-money-supreme-court/" class="from-your-sitelink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-weight: lighter; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">Inside the dark-money web that put Barrett, Kavanaugh and Gorsuch ... ›</a></li><li class="from-your-siteitem"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2020/10/trump-supreme-court-advisor-leonard-leo-tied-to-more-than-80-mllion-in-dark-money/" class="from-your-sitelink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-weight: lighter; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">Trump Supreme Court advisor Leonard Leo tied to more than $80 ... ›</a></li><li class="from-your-siteitem"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2021/04/cvs-health-quietly-donated-a-staggering-amount-to-a-dark-money-group-advocating-against-health-care-access/" class="from-your-sitelink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-weight: lighter; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">CVS Health quietly donated a staggering amount to a dark money ... ›</a></li></ul><div class="around-the-webheadline" style="font-weight: 700; text-transform: uppercase; margin-top: 10px;">RELATED ARTICLES AROUND THE WEB</div><ul class="around-the-weblist" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; width: 589.446px; list-style: none;"><li class="around-the-webitem"><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/democrats-used-rail-against-dark-money-now-they-re-better-n1239830" class="around-the-weblink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-weight: lighter; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">Democrats used to rail against 'dark money.' Now they're better at it ... ›</a></li><li class="around-the-webitem"><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/01/21/citizens-united-turns-10-today-heres-what-weve-learned-about-dark-money/" class="around-the-weblink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-weight: lighter; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">On Citizens United's 10th anniversary, what do we know about dark ... ›</a></li><li class="around-the-webitem"><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/05/heritage-foundation-dark-money-voter-suppression-laws/" class="around-the-weblink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-weight: lighter; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">Leaked Video: Dark Money Group Brags About Writing GOP Voter ... ›</a></li></ul></div>=HERITAGE ACTION VIDEO LEAK VOTER SUPPRESS iOWA (UNDER RADAR) CHRIS H WITH="We finally have a Senator MARKEY who has committed to introduce the #WeThePeopleAmendment in the Senate. But there's a caveat: he is asking us to bring at least 5 other Senators on board, and specifically, to get one or more that serve in the Judiciary Committee.=<div>POW</div><div>
</div><div><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2021/05/joe-manchin-2652971342">https://www.alternet.org/2021/05/joe-manchin-2652971342</a></div><div>
</div><div>badash</div><div>
</div><div><a href="https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/?s=Joe+Manchin" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">U.S. Senator Joe Manchin</a> (D-WV) has just announced he will not support HR1, the critical voting rights protection and expansion bill already passed by the House of Representatives."I believe Democrats and Republicans feel very strongly about protecting the ballot boxes allowing people to protect the right to vote making it accessible making it fair and making it secure," <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/manchin-support-measured-voting-reform-lieu-sweeping-democratic/story?id=77646348&cid=social_twitter_abcnp" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">Manchin told ABC News</a>' Rachel Scott.Republicans in at least 11 states have passed into law voter suppression bills, some of which literally reduce the number of ballot boxes, and access to those boxes, dramatically.Manchin, who is more conservative than Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski, voiced support for the far less comprehensive John Lewis Voting Rights Act, saying, "if we apply that to all 50 states and territories, it's something that can be done — it should be done.""It could be done bipartisan to start getting confidence back in our system," he added, ignoring that the ones who destroyed confidence in the voting system are the Republicans.On Tuesday Republicans on the Senate Rules Committee <a href="https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2021/05/senate-committee-republicans-deadlock-critical-for-the-people-voting-rights-legislation-heavy-lift-now-required/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">deadlocked the vote</a> for the For the People Act, legislation that not only would secure voter protections but address rampant Republican gerrymandering as well as regulate dangerous dark money in politics. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer now will need at least one Republican to support the For the People Act if it is to even get to the floor for a vote.Some political analysts say that given there is legislation in 48 states to suppress the vote, if Democrats don't pass HR1, they <a href="https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2021/05/if-democrats-dont-pass-voting-rights-theyll-lose-in-2022-and-biden-will-be-impeached-prof-jason-johnson/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">will lose both the House and the Senate</a> next year.</div>=an 521 no lnx<a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/voter-fraud-and-suppression/myths-and-facts-around-people-act">https://www.mediamatters.org/voter-fraud-and-suppression/myths-and-facts-around-people-act</a>Democrats are working to revise election law across the country, introducing the For the People Act to strengthen and expand voting rights protections and promote increased campaign finance transparency. But right-wing media are falsely painting the legislation as a corrupt attempt to seize power from Republicans and state legislatures. The Brennan Center for Justice explains that the bills -- recently reintroduced in the House (H.R. 1) and soon to be brought to the Senate (S.B. 1) -- will bolster the right to vote for all Americans:The Act incorporates key measures that are urgently needed, including automatic voter registration and other steps to modernize our elections; a national guarantee of free and fair elections without voter suppression, coupled with a commitment to restore the full protections of the Voting Rights Act; small donor public financing to empower ordinary Americans instead of big donors (at no cost to taxpayers) and other critical campaign finance reforms; an end to partisan gerrymandering; and a much-needed overhaul of federal ethics rules.Here are some myths currently circulating about the For the People Act and corresponding facts:
Myths and facts on the For the People ActTHE FOR THE PEOPLE ACT IS NOT A DEMOCRATIC SCHEME TO PERMANENTLY RIG ELECTIONSTHE FOR THE PEOPLE ACT DOES NOT LEGALIZE VOTER FRAUDTHE FOR THE PEOPLE ACT WILL NOT USURP ELECTION REGULATION FROM STATES AND GIVE IT TO CONGRESSTHE FOR THE PEOPLE ACT DOES NOT ALLOW INCARCERATED PEOPLE TO VOTEThe For the People Act is not a Democratic scheme to permanently rig electionsFALSE: Fox’s Dan Bongino quoted Real Clear Politics in calling the For the People Act “a roadmap to one-party rule” on his show. Bongino claimed Republicans “will never win an election again -- ever.”FALSE: Fox News’ Sean Hannity alleged that the bill is the “Democratic guaranteed election strategy,” and “it's so obvious that they, they want, they don't care” about voter fraud “as long as they think it's going to work in their favor.”FALSE: Fox News contributor Leo Terrell claimed the bill “is a power grab for the Democrats.”FALSE: Newsmax’s Charles Faddis wrote that measures state legislatures adopted to enable voting during the pandemic were put in place not because of safety and access issues but because Democrats “could not defeat Donald Trump” otherwise. Faddis continued, “Now they want to force the entire nation to accept in perpetuity the same no-excuses mail-in voting measures that just gave Joe Biden the White House” through the For the People Act. In a dramatic conclusion, Faddis alleged that “this is about fraud forever. This is the next step in the destruction of American democracy” and claimed it shows that “our constitutional republic is living on borrowed time.”FALSE: The Gateway Pundit’s Joe Hoft wrote, “In their first act, this Congress led by true communists apparently, is ready to pass a bill allowing all future elections in the USA to be run exactly the same as any communist regime in history.” He claimed the act “will eliminate free and fair elections forever. Fraud will be the mandate and Democrats, the kings of fraud, will win every election henceforth.”REALITY: The For the People Act would protect voting rights of all voters, regardless of political affiliation, as explained by the League of Women Voters, which described how the expansion of voter registration during the pandemic led to “increased voter turnout that benefitted both parties” during the 2020 election. In fact, as The Washington Post’s Greg Sargent pointed out, “some commentators have suggested the relatively successful GOP down-ballot performance in 2020 shows the party needn’t fear high-turnout elections and should try running on a conservative populist agenda rather than banking on voter suppression.”Furthermore, the bill also addresses structural flaws exploited by both parties. As the Campaign Legal Center (CLC) explained, this bill addresses issues of “extreme partisan gerrymandering in states controlled by Democrats and Republicans alike” and “record-breaking amounts of campaign spending and difficult-to-trace dark money supporting both Democrats and Republicans.” In another piece, CLC wrote, “The For the People Act would address problematic practices employed by both Democrats and Republicans.”The Brennan Center for Justice explained: “These reforms respond directly to Americans’ desire for real solutions that ensure that each of us can have a voice in the decisions that govern our lives, as evidenced by their passage in many states, often by lopsided bipartisan margins.” After the passage of automatic voter registration in 2015 in two states, “17 more states and the District of Columbia followed—many with strong bipartisan support. In Illinois, for example, the state legislature passed AVR unanimously, and a Republican governor signed it into law,” it continued. Even voting rights restoration for those previously convicted of felonies “is immensely popular regardless of political views. In November 2018, 65 percent of Florida voters passed a ballot initiative restoring voting rights to 1.4 million of their fellow residents, with a massive groundswell of bipartisan support.”
The For the People Act does not legalize voter fraudFALSE: The Steve Bannon-linked Populist Press smeared several areas of the For the People Act, including describing “motor voter” registration (the process of allowing state departments of motor vehicles to serve as a place to register to vote) as “how thousands of illegal became registered voters in California and Nevada.” The Populist Press also wrote that the bill prohibits “attempts to clean voter rolls of non-residents,” claiming that one part of the legislation “basically says nobody is allowed to request voter rolls to be cleaned up,” and that the bill legalizes “limitless ballot harvesting.”
FALSE: On Premiere Radio Networks' The Sean Hannity Show, host Sean Hannity put forward a conspiracy theory that Democrats want the bill to “reward” undocumented immigrants “with citizenship” so they’ll “vote for us for generations to come.” Hannity listed a number of protections for voter registration and against voter suppression in the bill, claiming that Democrats “don't want free and fair elections.”
FALSE: On Outnumbered, Fox News contributor Emily Compagno alleged that the bill “solidifies all of the questionable voting practices that … called into question so much doubt about vote validity in the last election and ultimately led to an erosion of faith in the entire voting system.” Fox News contributor Leo Terrell said that the bill “is an attempt by the Democrats to allow anyone to vote without verification” and would allow “ballot harvesting.”
FALSE: Conservative website PJ Media wrote, “HR-1 would take nearly every process that created skepticism about the outcome in 2020 and make it the law nationally—and then some.”
FALSE: Townhall opinion columnist Chris Talgo alleged that although House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said the bill “is intended to curb election fraud, it would do the opposite,” including by increasing mail-in voting which “would be a boon for election fraud.” Ultimately, Talgo wrote, “The ill-named For the People Act would erode election integrity, invite voter fraud, and further divide the country along partisan lines.”
FALSE: In an opinion piece for The Washington Times, columnist Robert Knight wrote, “As the New Year is dawning, Americans are facing either a divided government or a unified socialist left controlling all major federal branches.” Knight pointed to the For the People Act as “a brazen destruction of what’s left of election integrity safeguards.”
REALITY: Whereas the type of voter fraud right-wing media fearmonger about is virtually nonexistent, the U.S. intelligence community and congressional investigations have confirmed that our election system is vulnerable to attacks of the sort Russia engineered in the 2016 election cycle. Accordingly, the For the People Act has multiple sections dedicated to election security, ensuring “that American elections are decided by American voters, without interference, by enhancing federal support for voting system security, particularly with paper ballots and also by increasing oversight of election system vendors and by requiring the development of a national strategy to protect U.S. democratic institutions.”
The claim that “motor voter” registration will lead to noncitizens voting is a tired right-wing media myth. As NPR wrote, “Claims of massive illegal voting by noncitizens have routinely been disproved,” though “some noncitizens have ended up on the rolls, usually by accident” when asked about registering to vote when they go to state motor vehicle offices.
In addition to regularly debunked myths about systemic voter registration fraud and alleged noncitizen voter fraud, during the 2020 election, some in right-wing media accused Democrats of trying to “harvest” ballots in order to steal the election. This pejorative use of “ballot harvesting” lumps together absentee ballot fraud with this legitimate method of ballot collection, which is legal in more than half the country. Twenty-six states allow ballot collection because it helps voters who have a difficult time with mobility or otherwise cannot physically reach a polling place; for instance, the Native American Rights Fund wrote in 2019 that “native voters, especially tribal elders, often lack reliable transportation and reside in geographically remote areas in which they rely upon friends and neighbors to pick up and return their mail.”
Both political parties and some nonpartisan groups participate in the practice where it is legal, and absentee ballot fraud cases that utilize fraudulent ballot collection schemes are few and far between. Additionally, the Brennan Center for Justice notes that “ballot tampering is illegal everywhere. That includes practices like stealing ballots from mailboxes, filling out other people’s ballots without their consent and direction, and changing or throwing out other people’s ballots.”
The For the People Act will not usurp election regulation from states and give it to CongressFALSE: The Daily Signal’s Jarrett Stepman wrote, “H.R. 1, in the name of democracy, takes a blow torch to the concepts federalism and self-government enshrined in our Constitution.” Stepman continued that this was the “most concerning aspect of H.R. 1” and that the bill “would not just undermine, but bulldoze any semblance of federalism left in our political system.”
FALSE: Populist Press claimed the bill would ensure a “complete Congressional takeover of redistricting.”
FALSE: On Fox News’ Outnumbered, contributor Emily Compagno said, “On federalism, we know that the founders specifically with the 10th Amendment left to the state a reserved power of running the elections. So, with this, it would nationalize it.” Fox News contributor Leo Terrell claimed, “States have the obligation to set forth qualifications for voters within their states. This is a hijack. This is to nationalize it. That's wrong. It's the right of the states to set the qualifications.”
FALSE: Chris Talgo wrote for Townhall: “HR 1 is a massive bill, more than 800 pages long, that would supersede state legislatures’ constitutional right to set election procedures.”
FALSE: Newmax’s Charles Faddis called it “a complete federal takeover of our election system.”
REALITY: As PolitiFact wrote about misinformation spread about the bill:
The legislation has faced pushback from conservatives who see it as overstepping states’ rights. In the past, states have set most details of election laws.
While the legislation overall is seen as Democrats’ wishlist to expand access to the ballot, the Campaign Legal Center found that it includes several policies that have been supported by state officials in red states or backed by Republicans in Congress.
For example, the legislation includes provisions to require states to enact automatic registration and same-day registration, which is already the policy in many states.
In terms of the redistricting portion of the bill, PolitiFact explained:
The bill states that Congress can establish the conditions states must follow in carrying out congressional redistricting including to create independent redistricting commissions. Some states already use commissions to carry out redistricting or advise state legislatures.
“It’s a congressional directive in how states would conduct redistricting,” but Congress itself would not take over draw the lines, said Jeffrey Wice, adjunct professor at New York Law School and long-time counsel to the New York State Legislature.
Rebutting critics who “portray the legislation as unprecedented and unduly intruding on the scope of state authority over elections,” Franita Tolson, law professor at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, argued:
These concerns are unfounded because Congress has broad authority to regulate federal elections under the Elections Clause of Article I, Section 4 of the Constitution. This authority sometimes permits Congress to reach voter-qualification standards and state elections long considered to be the domain of the states. Congress has rarely used its power under the Clause, contributing to its underenforcement and also to misconceptions about the Clause’s reach. But when utilized, the Clause has supported legislation, both enacted and proposed, that was much broader and more intrusive of state authority than H.R. 1. 
In an article about the redistricting portion of the 2019 For the People Act, which would eliminate partisan gerrymandering by requiring states to establish independent redistricting commissions, the Harvard Law Review wrote that “evidence suggests that the Elections Clause, much like the Supremacy Clause and the Full Faith and Credit Clause, immunizes certain exercises of federal power from the anticommandeering doctrine,” which dictates that the federal government cannot “commandeer” state governments to adopt or enforce federal laws. In other words, “text, case law, and constitutional history support the proposition that Congress is within its authority under the Elections Clause to require states to adopt” the redistricting provisions in the bill.
The Supreme Court has also affirmed the constitutional authority of Congress to enact legislation like the For the People Act. In the Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona (2013) decision, conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the Supreme Court, reiterated this precedent (citations omitted):
The [Elections] Clause’s substantive scope is broad. “Times, Places, and Manner,” we have written, are “comprehensive words,” which “embrace authority to provide a complete code for congressional elections,” including, as relevant here and as petitioners do not contest, regulations relating to “registration.” In practice, the Clause functions as “a default provision; it invests the States with responsibility for the mechanics of congressional elections, but only so far as Congress declines to pre-empt state legislative choices.” The power of Congress over the “Times, Places and Manner” of congressional elections “is paramount, and may be exercised at any time, and to any extent which it deems expedient; and so far as it is exercised, and no farther, the regulations effected supersede those of the State which are inconsistent therewith.”
The For the People Act does not allow incarcerated people to voteFALSE: Turning Point USA founder and podcast host Charlie Kirk lied that the bill would allow convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to vote from prison. Kirk suggested that “they should really rename this bill, to the ‘Boston Bomber Bill.’ Because this bill would allow the Boston Bomber to have a right to vote.”
FALSE: Fox host Brian Kilmeade claimed that the For the People Act “restores voting rights for convicted felons -- who wants people in jumpsuits voting?”
FALSE: Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo argued that the bill would legalize “voting for, potentially, inmates and people as young as 16 years old.”
REALITY: The For the People Act would not restore voting rights for incarcerated individuals. The text of the bill specifically states that it would not apply to anyone “serving a felony sentence in a correctional institution or facility at the time of the election.”
Instead, the bill would automatically restore federal voting rights to people only once they have been released from prison, which is already the law in 18 states. This provision is designed to address felony disenfranchisement laws that disproportionately impact African Americans.
According to The Sentencing Project, nearly 5.2 million Americans are disenfranchised due to a felony conviction, yet only 25% of those people are currently incarcerated. More than 6% of the adult African American population is currently disenfranchised under these laws, many of which originated during the Jim Crow era.

=<div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></div>ref BBB<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/climate-koch-brothers-lobbying-biden-build-back-better-1234815/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none;">https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/climate-koch-brothers-lobbying-biden-build-back-better-1234815/</a>no lnx manyThe Koch Empire Goes All Out to Sink Joe Biden’s Agenda — and His Presidency, TooThe dark-money network is spending tens of millions to undermine Democrats’ effort to protect the climate and shore up the social safety net
By ANDY KROLL & GEOFF DEMBICKIThe Koch Empire Goes All-Out to Sink Joe Biden's Agenda — and His Presidency, Too Charles Koch, chief executive officer of Koch Industries, at the Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs, 2019. (AP Photo]With the fate of President Biden’s domestic agenda in the balance, an armada of right-wing dark-money groups aligned with the Koch political network is mobilizing to sink Biden’s $3.5-trillion Build Back Better plan and deal a devastating blow to his presidency.The Koch network is one of the most extensive and well-funded political and policy operations in the country, having pledged to spend more than a billion dollars in the past four election cycles. The web of nonprofit groups funded by or affiliated with the Koch network — dubbed the “Kochtopus” by critics — broadly promotes an anti-government, libertarian-style vision for American life. In most cases, the donors who bankroll the network’s groups remain anonymous, playing a central role in the spike in dark-money spending in American politics.
RELATED STORIESDemocrats Got Serious About Taxing The Rich. Then Manchin Got Ready To Spike ItTrump Is Now Asking Putin to Dig Up Dirt on the Biden Family]Koch-backed groups fiercely opposed Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act and his cap-and-trade climate bill, successfully weakening the former and helping to kill the latter. The network’s groups have different mandates and focuses, including foreign policy, health care, and energy. At times, their libertarian leanings have found them making common cause with progressive groups — including by pushing to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and to criticize government-mandated bans on racial-justice curriculums. But with a Democrat back in the White House, the Koch network of late has largely unified behind a push to stop Biden‘s agenda.
Koch-aligned groups are together spending millions of dollars on advertising, targeting moderate Democratic lawmakers, and pushing their influence in the halls of Congress to whittle down or outright kill the sweeping policy package, which would represent the largest expansion of the social safety net in the past 50 years and the biggest step toward addressing climate change in U.S. history.
“Fighting the reconciliation bill is a top priority for Charles Koch’s surrogates,” says Connor Gibson, founder of the corporate watchdog organization Grassrootbeer Investigations, who has spent years tracking Koch influence in the United States. “This is a viable threat for his network, and we can see that all the tentacles of the Kochtopus are out in full force trying to stop it from passing.”
This lobbying blitz comes at a critical moment for Biden’s agenda. Democratic leaders in Congress have pushed for a two-track strategy to pass a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill paired with the much larger $3.5 trillion Build Back Better Act, which contains many of the signature policies Biden campaigned on as a presidential candidate. Those policies include hundreds of billions of new spending on universal prekindergarten, major expansions to child-care and home health-care programs, free community college, and the biggest-ever investments in renewable energies, electric cars, and other climate-focused policies. But for the larger bill to pass, it’ll need to get through a closely divided House and get unanimous support from the 50 Senate Democrats, including centrists such as Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.
While the Koch network refused to support Donald Trump in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, the dozens of groups who receive funding or support from the network spent heavily to elect Republican governors, House members, and U.S. senators. AFP Action, the Super PAC affiliate of the Koch network’s flagship group Americans for Prosperity, spent $47 million last year, all of it to elect Republicans and defeat Democrats in high-profile races. The PAC tied to the Libre Initiative, a Koch affiliate focused on Hispanic Americans, spent $1.3 million in other key races across the country, often to great effect.After the Democratic Party took control of the House and Senate, albeit by slim majorities, the Koch network set its sights on the pillars of Biden’s policy agenda. Just days after the two Georgia Senate runoff victories, Koch operatives held a private conference call to strategize about how to kill a top Democratic policy priority, the For the People Act, the most ambitious election-reform bill since Watergate. As the New Yorker reported, an official with Stand Together, a Koch-backed nonprofit, conceded that the bill’s provision requiring greater transparency of dark money was so popular that the Koch network and its allies couldn’t mount a public-pressure campaign to stop — instead, they would have to play the inside game, mounting a lobbying blitz targeting members of Congress if they wanted to stop the bill. Now, the Koch network has an even more sweeping piece of legislation in its sights, the centerpiece of Biden’s domestic policy agenda, the Build Back Better Act.
The tip of the spear for the Koch network in this pressure campaign is Americans for Prosperity. Led by longtime Koch operative Tim Phillips, AFP is spending seven figures on TV and digital ads opposing not only Biden’s $3.5 trillion Build Back Better Act but also the bipartisan infrastructure deal awaiting a vote in the House of Representatives.
AFP has adopted another tactic aimed at making Biden’s domestic agenda unpopular — hitching Biden’s plans with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a progressive leader, while claiming that the Build Back Better package is the biggest spending bill in American history. One AFP ad says Biden’s policy package is “the last thing we need to recover from this pandemic,” adding, “Tell Congress to stop the Biden-Sanders spending spree.” The ads appear on Facebook, Google platforms (including YouTube), and on TV stations across the country.
The Koch-backed LIBRE Initiative is running ads against the reconciliation package in Texas, Florida, and Arizona “to inform Latinos about the negative effects of overspending and overtaxing.” The group’s president, Daniel Garza, explains in a release that he intends to “mobilize our grassroots army of volunteers and activists to hold our elected officials accountable.”Yet another group with long-standing Koch network ties, the 60 Plus Association, has launched a multimillion-dollar ad blitz focused on the prescription-drug-reform policies in the Build Back Better Act. Founded in 1992, 60 Plus was originally conceived as the conservative movement’s answer to the AARP; over the years, it’s taken millions from Koch nonprofit groups and been used to attack Obamacare and Democratic candidates for office. Indeed, almost two decades ago, 60 Plus lobbied to eliminate Medicare’s ability to negotiate with drugmakers during a previous battle over drug prices.
In its new ad blitz, 60 Plus claims that the provisions included in Biden’s plan to allow for greater drug-price negotiation in Medicare would cause benefits for Medicare recipients to be slashed and make medication harder to obtain for doctors. Like AFP, 60 Plus describes the Biden plan as an “out-of-control spending spree.” However, PolitiFact slapped this claim by 60 Plus with a “False” rating, citing health care experts who said giving the government the ability to negotiate with drug companies shouldn’t lead to reduced access to key drugs for Medicare patients.
All told, these and more than 100 other similar groups, many of them linked to Koch, are mobilizing to fight the spending bill. “As your committee begins marking up the $3.5 trillion reckless tax-and-spend reconciliation proposal,” this large right-wing coalition said in a letter earlier this month to top congressional Democrats, “we write in opposition to any effort to raise taxes on American families and businesses.”
The threat comes not only in the form of corporate tax increases — although the financial impact could be substantial, given that Trump-era tax cuts potentially saved the Koch brothers up to $1.4 billion, according to estimates from the group Americans for Tax Fairness; many of the Koch-backed groups fighting Biden’s spending package are also deeply concerned about the ambitious climate provisions the package contains.
Proposed policies include expanding tax credits for electric vehicles, as well as provisions pushing utilities to use clean energy instead of fossil fuels. Add up all the climate impacts, and this could reduce America’s carbon footprint by nearly 1 gigaton worth of greenhouse gas emissions, the research firm Rhodium Group estimates. This would represent some of the most significant action ever taken on climate change in the U.S.
But what’s good for the planet is potentially terrible for Koch’s bottom line. The Koch Industries subsidiary Flint Hills Resources, for instance, operates the largest oil refinery in Minnesota, capable of processing more than 300,000 barrels per day of crude oil, predominantly from the Canadian tar sands. The refinery is fed by a Koch-owned pipeline network spanning more than 500 miles.
“Charles Koch has so many different layers of interest in fossil fuel and petrochemical production that the Biden administration’s bill could cause the costs of his businesses to increase, and therefore his profits would drop,” Gibson explains.
Fighting climate action has for this reason long been a top policy priority for Koch’s network — and it’s animating dark-money opposition to the current $3.5 trillion spending package.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation calls the spending package’s climate provisions “incredibly expensive and harmful anti-energy policies that will cripple our economy, increase our dependence on foreign oil, and increase cost of living, especially for the poorest Americans.” The Austin-based think tank has received at least $3.6 million from foundations linked to Koch since 1998, the watchdog group Desmog calculates.
One of the signatories of the coalition letter opposing the plan is Myron Ebell, a Koch-linked energy pundit and professional climate-change skeptic. As recently as 2016, Ebell said that while he now acknowledges climate change is real, he doesn’t think it’s a “rapid or a serious problem.”
The Koch crew is also stoking fears of inflation and skyrocketing prices for consumers if the bill passes. “Prices are rising everywhere, from the gas pump to the grocery store,” AFP recently tweeted.
Opponents of Biden’s Covid-19 relief measures and his domestic policy agenda have raised fears of inflation as a result of so much government spending. But earlier this month, a dozen Nobel Prize-winning economists published an open letter that argued inflation wasn’t nearly as big of a concern. More important, they wrote, was “reversing years of disinvestment in public goods and addressing the country’s long-term needs — including building toward sustainable and inclusive growth and facilitating our clean energy transition.”
The dark-money groups mobilizing against the plan don’t seem to care. The country might have problems — including soaring inequality and a collapsing climate — but, for the Koch empire, that’s just the cost of doing business.
In This Article: Charles Koch, Climate Change, Joe Biden=<div></div><div><div></div><div><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2021/04/south-carolina-governor/">https://www.alternet.org/2021/04/south-carolina-governor/</a></div><div>
</div><div>sound like neo-confd soviergty states rights? ~ HR 1</div><div>
</div><div><div>no lnx</div><div>
</div><div>Republicans aren't making any secret of their approach to winning future elections. It has nothing to do with coming up with better positions. Nothing to do with expanding their base. It has everything to do with restricting the number of people allowed to vote and creating those restrictions in such a way that they favor the rural white population that is increasingly the only stronghold of the Republican Party.</div><div>
</div><div>The structure of both the Senate and the Electoral College already gives Republicans an unwarranted advantage by discounting voters in more populous states and elevating the votes of those who live in the least populous states. With each passing year, that lopsided valuing of voters grows. However, it's clear that Republicans are completely aware that this is not enough to save them. In order to preserve any chance of Republican victory, not just at the national level, but in a growing number of states, they need a system that makes in-state voting as unequal as federal voting. And then some.</div><div>
</div><div>That's why, as of April 1, there were 361 bills spread across 47 states with the pure intention of making it harder for Americans to vote in local, state, and federal elections. That's why conservative magazines are openly making a plea for "fewer, better voters." And it's why South Carolina's governor is using language that's lifted straight from not just the era in which men like him fought openly against extending voting rights in the 1960s, but from the time men like him fought against freedom in the 1860s.</div><div>
</div><div>On Tuesday afternoon, the all-too-appropriately named Gov. Henry McMaster delivered a speech in which he threatens to defy federal law in order to uphold the "constitutional sovereignty" of South Carolina because the federal government is seeking to protect equal rights for Black citizens. Sometimes history doesn't just rhyme, it recycles.</div><div>
</div><div>The direct target of McMaster's ire is House bill H.R. 1, also known as the For The People Act. The legislation is designed to provide more uniform access to the polls, and to prevent Republicans from throwing up the kind of voting roadblocks enshrined in the new Georgia law. It also happens to be the subject of Sen. Raphael Warnock's first floor speech.</div><div>
</div><div>Republicans have no illusion about H.R. 1. They know it represents a substantial threat to exactly the sort of suppression that is absolutely necessary for them to long maintain any semblance of power. But the card that McMaster is playing is something beyond Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp making false claims about the legislation passed there.</div><div>
</div><div>Here is McMaster explaining his position (and I encourage you to spent a minute listening to it).</div><div>
</div><div>"This bill, H.R. 1, threatens the constitutional sovereignty of the state of South Carolina. And those are not just words. That's very important. This country, our state, is built on the sovereignty of the states. This bill takes that away. Like others, I have sworn an oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of this state, and the United States. An oath, 'So help me God.' Many of you have taken such an oath. As long as I am governor, I will stand against those who seek to infringe or deny South Carolinians their Constitutional protections, freedom, and liberty."</div><div>If that language tickles something deep, compare it to this 1956 article from The Asheville Citizen.</div><div>
</div><div>"South Carolina was today one step away from interposing its claimed constitutional sovereignty between its schools and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling against their segregation. The general assembly ordered final action on the resolution which should reach Gov. Timmerman for his promised signature next Tuesday. Thus South Carolina becomes the third state to resort to this old, but never completely tested, doctrine that the federal government cannot enforce acts a state claims are unconstitutional."</div><div>
</div><div>And it that doesn't completely silence the "where have I heard that before" buzzer, how about this:</div><div>
</div><div>"In pursuance of this Declaration of Independence, each of the thirteen States proceeded to exercise its separate sovereignty; … expressly declaring, in the first Article 'that each State retains its sovereignty, freedom and independence..."</div><div>
</div><div>That's from the statement issued when South Carolina become the first state to officially secede from the United States on December 20, 1860. The language it cites isn't actually from the Constitution, but the 1777 Articles of Confederation—a name that was soon to be recycled.</div><div>
</div><div>In 1956, Gov. Timmerman actually signed that "imposition" bill. He then joined the governors of Mississippi, Georgia, and Virginia to promote federal legislation that would prevent "federal encroachment" on state sovereignty. That included not just segregation of schools, but sustaining segregations in other public facilities. Timmerman also signed a law which barred members of the NAACP from holding any public job in South Carolina.</div><div>
</div><div>The language Gov. McMaster is using is a deliberate callback to those previous statements. South Carolina used the concept and language of "state sovereignty" to keep Black Americans in bondage. They used that same language to defend segregation. They're using it now to deny voting rights. McMaster could not have been more clear in his racist intent had he made his speech while aiming a canon at Ft. Sumter.</div><div>
</div><div>It's easy to believe that Donald Trump had no accomplishments in his four years, unless the needless death of hundreds of thousands of Americans and the shattering of trust around the world counts as an "accomplishment." But for Republicans, Trump actually did provide them with a gift. His unabashed willingness to embrace racism, xenophobia, misogyny, and homophobia has provided them with a certain, noxious version of "freedom." One in which they are free to drop their dog whistles for bullhorns and to say "the quiet things" out loud.</div><div>
</div><div>In response to the decision to secede, former South Carolina state Attorney General James Petigru famously said this of his state: "South Carolina is too small for a republic and too large for an insane asylum." McMaster may not be quite at the point of testing the former, but his statements certainly come close to challenging the latter.</div><div>
</div><div>FROM YOUR SITE ARTICLES</div><div>Nikki Haley finally pushes back against Trump as GOP scrapes to ... ›</div><div>A house divided again: The vital lesson about freedom Abraham ... ›</div><div>Nikki Haley reportedly burst out laughing after she heard the 'legacy ... ›</div></div><div>=</div></div><div><div></div><div>under the dome strat means just buy reps , give up on BS public</div><div>
</div><div><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2021/03/gop-donors/">https://www.alternet.org/2021/03/gop-donors/</a></div><div>
</div><div>The GOP's war on voting, while raging on in red states across the country, remains incredibly unpopular — and Republican megadonors are reportedly growing nervous.Republican operatives are making a strategic pivot in their efforts to combat the For the People Act or H.R. 1, dismissing the notion of a broad messaging campaign to instead exert pressure on Congress to kill the bill, according to a <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/inside-the-koch-backed-effort-to-block-the-largest-election-reform-bill-in-half-a-century" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">private call</a> obtained by The New Yorker. In the call, a policy adviser to Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and several prominent right-wing advocacy groups expressed distress over the broad public support behind H.R. 1, the Democratic-backed ethics and voting overhaul that proponents claim will enshrine the electoral system in unprecedented transparency and accountability.According to the New Yorker's Jane Meyer, the participants of the call "conceded that the bill, which would stem the flow of dark money from such political donors as the billionaire oil magnate Charles Koch, was so popular that it wasn't worth trying to mount a public-advocacy campaign to shift opinion.""Instead," she explained, "a senior Koch operative said that opponents would be better off ignoring the will of American voters and trying to kill the bill in Congress."On the call, Kyle McKenzie, the research director for Stand Together, a Koch-backed advocacy group, reportedly aired out concerns over the broad-based conservative support for H.R. 1. "There's a large, very large, chunk of conservatives who are supportive of these types of efforts," he warned. According to public opinion testing conducted by Stand Together, he noted, attempting to "engage with the other side" –– or combating the idea that the bill "stops billionaires from buying elections" –– is a losing battle. The only way to defeat it, he concluded, is by GOP obstructionism.A small but vocal collection of conservative advocacy groups are nevertheless publicly campaigning against donor disclosure –– a provision H.R. 1 would mandate –– on account of potential harassment. For example, members on the call such as Gretchen Reiter, the senior vice-president of communications for Stand Together; Steve Donaldson, a policy adviser to McConnell; and Heather Lauer, the executive director of People United for Privacy, are expressly against donor disclosure for that very reason.However, as the New Yorker noted, "Advocates for greater transparency in political spending argue that there is no serious evidence of any such harassment."Many conservative advocacy groups are already holding the Congress's feet to the fire. Groups like Heritage Action, Tea Party Patriots Action, Family Research Council, and Freedom Workers held a rally in West Virginia urging Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a conservative Democrat, to break ranks and oppose the bill, Meyer noted.[BUSSED IN. PAID PROTESTORS? BROOK BROS/]According to Heritage Action press secretary Noah Weinrich, "The filibuster is really the only thing standing in the way of progressive far-left policies like H.R. 1, which is Pelosi's campaign to take over America's elections."Liz Hempowicz, Director of Public Policy at The Project of Government Oversight, echoed a similar sentiment. "I think the bill will pass the House," she recently <a href="https://www.salon.com/2021/03/12/how-many-members-of-congress-are-mired-in-conflicts-of-interest-no-one-knows/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">told Salon's Igor Derysh</a>. "I think the Senate is a big question mark. It really comes down to whether Democrats are going to get rid of the filibuster."However, Democrats are not unilaterally sold on nuking the filibuster. Both Sens. Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., have expressed an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/15/us/politics/democrats-filibuster-manchin-sinema.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">unwillingness</a> to scrap it, rendering the 51-vote majority needed to do so untenable.Last week, Manchin <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/joe-manchin-for-the-people-act_n_605cc780c5b67593e0569de7" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">threw his support</a> behind H.R. 1, but expressed that he still wants bipartisan support. "Pushing through legislation of this magnitude on a partisan basis may garner short-term benefits," he <a href="https://twitter.com/PaulBlu/status/1375116412533018631?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1375116412533018631%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffpost.com%2Fentry%2Fjoe-manchin-for-the-people-act_n_605cc780c5b67593e0569de7" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">said</a> in a statement, "but will inevitably only exacerbate the distrust that millions of Americans harbor against the U.S. government."<div class="around-the-web" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="from-your-siteheadline" style="font-weight: 700; text-transform: uppercase;">FROM YOUR SITE ARTICLES</div><ul class="around-the-weblist" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; width: 589.446px; list-style: none;"><li class="from-your-siteitem"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2020/01/trumps-big-money-inaugural-donors-are-fleeing-the-president-and-donating-to-democrats-report/" class="from-your-sitelink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-weight: lighter; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">Trump's big money inaugural donors are fleeing the president ... ›</a></li><li class="from-your-siteitem"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2021/03/robert-brockman/" class="from-your-sitelink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; 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Dems are sticking to ... ›</a></li><li class="around-the-webitem"><a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-donald-trump-capitol-siege-senate-elections-richard-burr-ac1ad237047035403060dadb4b80f90e" class="around-the-weblink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-weight: lighter; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">Donor backlash fuels GOP alarm about Senate fundraising ›</a></li></ul></div></div><div>=</div></div><div>=<a href="https://www.alternet.org/2021/03/billionaire-elections/">https://www.alternet.org/2021/03/billionaire-elections/</a>A newly surfaced recording shows a senior adviser to Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell conspiring with the Koch brothers' network and other conservative groups to torpedo sweeping voting rights legislation.The Jan. 8 recording <a href="https://www.newyorker.com./news/news-desk/inside-the-koch-backed-effort-to-block-the-largest-election-reform-bill-in-half-a-century" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">obtained by The New Yorker</a> reveals leading conservative activists are alarmed by public support for House Resolution 1 and Senate Bill 1, commonly known as the For The People Act, and they privately admitted they had no effective way to counter the argument that billionaires should be able to buy elections."When presented with a very neutral description" of the bill, "people were generally supportive," Kyle McKenzie, the research director for the Koch-run advocacy group Stand Together. "The most worrisome part . . . is that conservatives were actually as supportive as the general public was when they read the neutral description.""There's a large, very large, chunk of conservatives who are supportive of these types of efforts," he added.The election reform bill, which would ban large, anonymous political donations, enjoys broad public support, and McKenzie told participants that Senate Republicans would need to use "under-the-dome" legislative tactics to stop the bill because generally everyone but them agreed billionaires should not be able to buy elections behind the scenes."Unfortunately, we've found that that is a winning message, for both the general public and also conservatives," McKenzie said.The Koch-funded group had spent a lot of money to find persuasive arguments against the bill, but found that even claiming it would allow Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) to hold Trump administration officials accountable wasn't particularly effective."Sadly," he said, conservatives weren't even persuaded when the phrase "cancel culture" was tied to the bill."It really ranked at the bottom," McKenzie said. "That was definitely a little concerning for us."<div class="around-the-web" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="from-your-siteheadline" style="font-weight: 700; text-transform: uppercase;">FROM YOUR SITE ARTICLES</div><ul class="around-the-weblist" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; width: 589.446px; list-style: none;"><li class="from-your-siteitem"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2021/03/billionaire/" class="from-your-sitelink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-weight: lighter; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">Billionaires who bankrolled Trump donate $10 million to super PAC ... ›</a></li><li class="from-your-siteitem"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2016/02/netflix-billionaire-reed-hastings-crusade-replace-public-school-teachers-computers/" class="from-your-sitelink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-weight: lighter; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">Netflix Billionaire Reed Hastings' Crusade to Replace Public School ... ›</a></li><li class="from-your-siteitem"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2021/02/billionaire/" class="from-your-sitelink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-weight: lighter; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">'Like hitting the jackpot': Dallas billionaire natural gas producer ... ›</a></li></ul><div class="around-the-webheadline" style="font-weight: 700; text-transform: uppercase; margin-top: 10px;">RELATED ARTICLES AROUND THE WEB</div><ul class="around-the-weblist" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; width: 589.446px; list-style: none;"><li class="around-the-webitem"><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/02/tech-billionaire-2020-election-donations-final-tally.html" class="around-the-weblink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-weight: lighter; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">Tech billionaire 2020 election donations: Final tally ›</a></li><li class="around-the-webitem"><a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2015/01/27/can-billionaires-buy-elections/" class="around-the-weblink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-weight: lighter; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">Can Billionaires Buy Elections? ›</a></li><li class="around-the-webitem"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2020/07/01/billionaires-spent-41-times-more-on-2016-election-compared-to-2008/" class="around-the-weblink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-weight: lighter; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">Billionaires Spent 41 Times More On 2016 Election Compared To ... ›</a></li></ul></div></div>gov abbott coke for votes?!NBC NewsDemocrats rethink the U.S. voting system. What's in the massive H.R. 1.Here's what's in H.R. 1 For the People Act, and why advocates say it's important that this voting rights legislation passes.5 days ago
VoxHR 1, Democrats’ massive voting rights bill, explainedThe For the People Act still faces a steep climb in the US Senate.2 weeks ago
Boston HeraldMcCaughey: Pelosi’s HR1 bill a blatant power grab for DemocratsNancy Pelosi's top priority is to turn America into a one-party nation ruled by Democrats. Her bill HR 1 trashes the U.S. Constitution in an ...1 week ago
Roll CallWhy Congress must pass HR 1 and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights ActIn the 2020 election, we used our vote, whether it was cast early, by mail or on Election Day, to determine the future for our family, community ...2 weeks ago
PolitiFactFact-checking misleading attacks on HR 1, Democrats' voting rights billA Facebook post claims Democratic legislation is aimed at protecting the Washington establishment and is anti-American,1 month ago
Esquire.comTrump's Delusional Attacks on H.R. 1 Show How Important This Bill IsIn surveys, a majority of Republican voters support the reforms included in the For the People Act. The House will vote on it this week.2 weeks ago
brennancenter.orgCongress Must Pass the 'For the People Act'Summary: Bold legislation introduced in the House (H.R. 1) and Senate (S. 1) would ensure that our democracy works for everyone.1 month ago
The HillH.R. 1 isn't for the people, it's for the politicians | TheHillLater today, Congress will vote on H.R. 1, the so-called “For the People Act.” Speaker Nancy Pelosi · Nancy PelosiThe Hill's Morning Report ...2 weeks ago
The BulwarkH.R. 1 for DummiesWith the latest COVID relief package passed, H.R. 1—the For the People Act—becomes the most salient pending piece of legislation.1 week ago
Fox NewsHans von Spakovsky: HR1/For the People Act imperils free and fair elections. Here are the worst 8 partsH.R. 1, the deceptively entitled "For the People Act," has arrived in the U.S. Senate after a party-line vote in the House of Representatives.=H.R. 1 isn't for the people, it's for the politicians
Later today, Congress will vote on H.R. 1, the so-called “For the People Act.”
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is touting this sweeping legislation as a win for transparency and election integrity. But that could not be farther from the truth.
In fact, the worst kept secret in Washington right now is that H.R. 1 isn’t for the people at all, it’s for the politicians. House Democrats are leveraging legitimate concerns about election integrity to rush this dangerous bill through Congress. It won’t make our elections safer, instead it will give House Democrats an advantage in future elections by eliminating nearly every institutional guardrail that preserves the sanctity of the ballot box today. Pelosi is opening the floodgates for almost anyone to submit a ballot, or even multiple ballots, regardless of eligibility.
It is a new partisan low, even by Washington standards.
At a time when we need to restore faith in our elections, H.R. 1 is an unconstitutional federal power grab that will pave the way for a system rife with errors and abuse. Here’s how.
First, H.R. 1 would prevent election officials from maintaining accurate voter lists and make it harder for them to determine if voters are registered in multiple jurisdictions. This increases the likelihood that voter rolls are outdated and inaccurate or contain ineligible voters.
Second, the bill would dramatically expand automatic voter registration. People who never even provide their consent could be added to voter rolls. H.R. 1 goes so far as designating colleges as automatic voter registration agencies and making it easier to harvest ballots.
Third, H.R. 1 would make same-day voter registration the national standard. Ballots would be cast and counted before officials even have time to verify a voter is eligible or the information provided by them is accurate. The majority of states do not have same-day voter registration, but H.R. 1 would overrule them and mandate it anyway.
The bill would also prohibit commonsense voter ID rules, require no-excuse absentee and early voting, permit felons to vote, and allow people to vote at the wrong polling place.
H.R. 1 is a recipe for disaster. I would know, having prevailed recently in the race for New York’s 22nd District after an exhaustive count that went on for nearly 100 days. In the run up to the 2020 election, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo rushed through a series of executive orders that mirrored some of the exact policies now proposed in H.R. 1. The result in the 22nd District was one of the most poorly run elections in the country.
Trevor Noah opens Grammys saying he's 'hoping this is about what 2021...Gun control groups focus all efforts on SenateNew York’s election debacle reveals H.R. 1’s real-world consequences. If you weaken election oversight, fail to protect ballot integrity, and force unfunded mandates on our communities like this bill does, the errors exposed in my race won’t be the exception, they will become the new norm. Republicans and Democrats alike have concluded that the mistakes made in New York’s 22nd District likely replicated themselves in contests throughout the state. If H.R. 1 had been law, more mistakes would have been made in this and other races. The new bureaucratic nightmare created by H.R. 1 would have made fair and transparent counts impossible. 
It is clear we need reforms to increase transparency and restore confidence in our elections, but what Democrats are proposing would move us in the wrong direction. Election reforms must be targeted and respect the primary role of states in administering elections. Most of all, unlike H.R. 1, they must be fair and not deliberately benefit one party. The American people are demanding a commonsense framework for election reform that strengthens security without compromising integrity. H.R. 1 is focused on protecting House Democrats, not our sacred democratic principles.
Tenney represents New York’s 22nd District.=Hours after President Biden declared that "democracy has prevailed" during his inaugural address, longtime Republican strategist Karl Rove urged Republicans to pressure GOP election officials and legislators to create "a model election code" to reconsider the laws surrounding 2020's two voting options that lead to the presidential election's record turnout.
"Republicans should also encourage GOP secretaries of state and state lawmakers to develop a model election code," Rove wrote in a January 20 <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-republican-future-starts-now-11611183715?mod=hp_opin_pos_2" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">commentary</a> for the Wall Street Journal entitled, "The Republican Future Starts Now.""The job of proposing electoral reforms shouldn't be based on the unsupported claims of widespread fraud peddled by Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell," Rove continued. "Instead, the goal should be to suggest measures that restore public confidence in our democracy. How do states with extensive mail-in and early voting like Florida and Texas get it right?"Rove's commentary comes as Republican-majority legislatures in battleground states such as Georgia, <a href="https://www.ydr.com/story/news/politics/elections/2021/01/21/pa-secretary-state-kathy-boockvar-testifies-election-hearing-state-house/6660041002/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">Pennsylvania</a> and <a href="https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/voting-rights-advocates-decry-gop-bills-in-arizona-state-legislature-saying-it-amounts-to-voter-suppression" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">Arizona</a> have proposed bills or convened hearings to review the laws that allowed people to vote with mailed-out ballots or early in-person in 2020."Whenever Karl Rove writes a piece in the Wall Street Journal, the history of it suggests that Democrats should pay careful attention," said David Daley, author of <a href="https://wwnorton.com/books/9781631495755" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">Unrigged: How Americans are Battling Back to Save Democracy</a>. "Because the Wall Street Journal is where Republicans can signal to their donor class their key projects."In March 2010, Rove penned a Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703862704575099670689398044" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">commentary</a> openly discussing the GOP's <a href="http://www.redistrictingmajorityproject.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">REDMAP project</a>, which targeted 107 state legislative seats that "would give them control of drawing district lines for nearly 190 congressional seats." REDMAP <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/06/27/ratfcked-the-influence-of-redistricting" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">succeeded</a>, creating GOP majority legislatures and congressional delegations in the otherwise purple states of Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Alabama.The website of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which drafts model bills for social conservatives and economic libertarians, did not yet promote election reforms on its website. However, it linked to the Conservative Action project, which <a href="http://conservativeactionproject.com/cruz-hawley-brooks-and-colleagues-follow-the-constitution/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">posted a defense</a> of the GOP lawmakers who opposed certifying the Electoral College slates from Arizona and Pennsylvania. The expanded use of voting via mailed-out ballots and early voting must be examined, it said."The 2020 election was conducted in an unprecedented manner: largely by mail, and in a way that overwhelmed the capacities of many states. It is not at all unreasonable to review the manner in which votes were counted," said the Conservative Action Project <a href="http://conservativeactionproject.com/cruz-hawley-brooks-and-colleagues-follow-the-constitution/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">memo</a>, which was signed by more than 100 activists and organizations. "Indeed, if the goal is to restore faith in future elections, then a comprehensive review and analysis to determine what went wrong, what went right, and what is in need of reform should be a critical next step."...an 121</div><div>=</div><div><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2021/01/mark-zuckerberg/">https://www.alternet.org/2021/01/mark-zuckerberg/</a></div><div>
</div><div>The sudden lurch from Trump to Biden is generating vertigo all over Washington, including the so-called fourth branch of government – CEOs and their army of lobbyists.
Notwithstanding Biden's ambitious agenda, dozens of giant corporations have said they will not donate to the 147 members of Congress who objected to the certification of Biden electors on the basis of Trump's lies about widespread fraud, which rules out most Republicans on the Hill.After locking down Trump's account, social media giants like Twitter and Facebook are policing against instigators of violence and hate, which hobbles Republican lawmakers trying to appeal to Trump voters.As a result of moves like these, CEOs are being hailed – and hailing themselves – as guardians of democracy. The New York Times <a href="https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2021%2F01%2F16%2Fbusiness%2Fdealbook%2Fceos-politics-trump.html&t=OTFhNGNjNGMyOTVhOTNkOGRmZmY2OGI4OTg2ZTEyNzk1NmRiNDdkYSxxNjJqNHRqUA%3D%3D&b=t%3AhQ9Ds4P3Iv6D7mgEr8WMqg&p=https%3A%2F%2Frobertreich.org%2Fpost%2F641244767745933312&m=1&ts=1611673729" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">praises</a> business leaders for seeking "stability and national unity." Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Airlines, <a href="https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2021%2F01%2F16%2Fbusiness%2Fdealbook%2Fceos-politics-trump.html&t=OTFhNGNjNGMyOTVhOTNkOGRmZmY2OGI4OTg2ZTEyNzk1NmRiNDdkYSxxNjJqNHRqUA%3D%3D&b=t%3AhQ9Ds4P3Iv6D7mgEr8WMqg&p=https%3A%2F%2Frobertreich.org%2Fpost%2F641244767745933312&m=1&ts=1611673729" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">says</a> "our voice is seen as more important than ever." A recent study by <a href="https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.edelman.com%2Ftrust%2F2021-trust-barometer&t=MmRiZTY5MGM1NzE5ZmRjOWNlZTRmNDljYjk0MTU3MWQ2OGE2ODQwMixxNjJqNHRqUA%3D%3D&b=t%3AhQ9Ds4P3Iv6D7mgEr8WMqg&p=https%3A%2F%2Frobertreich.org%2Fpost%2F641244767745933312&m=1&ts=1611673729" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">Edelman</a> finds the public now trusts business more than nonprofit organizations, the government or the media.Give me a break. For years, big corporations have been assaulting democracy with big money, drowning out the voices and needs of ordinary Americans and fueling much of the anger and cynicism that opened the door to Trump in the first place.Their assault hasn't been as dramatic as the Trump thugs who stormed the Capitol, and it's entirely legal – although more damaging over the long term.A <a href="https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fpnhp.org%2F2014%2F04%2F21%2Fgilens-and-page-average-citizens-have-little-impact-on-public-policy%2F&t=NGI5NWU2OWU4MWM4NTU1MGFhYTdiZjhmMWM1ZTg1NGQ2MDM2ZDlkNyxxNjJqNHRqUA%3D%3D&b=t%3AhQ9Ds4P3Iv6D7mgEr8WMqg&p=https%3A%2F%2Frobertreich.org%2Fpost%2F641244767745933312&m=1&ts=1611673729" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">study</a> published a few years ago by two of America's most respected political scientists, Princeton professor Martin Gilens and Northwestern's Benjamin Page, concluded that the preferences of the average American "have only a minuscule, near-zero, statistically nonsignificant impact upon public policy." Instead, lawmakers respond almost exclusively to the moneyed interests – those with the most lobbying prowess and deepest pockets to bankroll campaigns.The capture of government by big business over the last several decades has infuriated average Americans whose paychecks have gone nowhere even as the stock market has soared.The populist movements that fueled both Bernie Sanders and Trump began in the 2008 financial crisis when Wall Street got bailed out and no major bank executive went to jail, although millions of ordinary people lost their jobs, savings and homes.So now, in wake of Trump's calamitous exit and Biden's ascension, we're to believe CEOs care about democracy?"No one thought they were giving money to people who supported sedition," <a href="https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2021%2F01%2F16%2Fbusiness%2Fdealbook%2Fceos-politics-trump.html&t=OTFhNGNjNGMyOTVhOTNkOGRmZmY2OGI4OTg2ZTEyNzk1NmRiNDdkYSxxNjJqNHRqUA%3D%3D&b=t%3AhQ9Ds4P3Iv6D7mgEr8WMqg&p=https%3A%2F%2Frobertreich.org%2Fpost%2F641244767745933312&m=1&ts=1611673729" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">explained</a> Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase and chairman of the Business Roundtable, referring to the disgraced Republicans.Yet Dimon has been a leader of the more insidious form of sedition. He piloted the corporate lobbying campaign for the Trump tax cut, deploying a vast war chest of corporate donations.For more than a decade Dimon has driven Wall Street's charge against stricter bank regulation, opening bipartisan doors in the Capitol with generous gifts from the Street. (Dimon calls himself a Democrat.)When Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg shut Trump's Facebook account, he <a href="https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2021%2F01%2F07%2Ftechnology%2Ffacebook-trump-ban.html&t=MTAwNmZmOGRhZTdlMDdkYWIyNDM2OTE3MTIyYzc5MDYyMGY5NGMwYSxxNjJqNHRqUA%3D%3D&b=t%3AhQ9Ds4P3Iv6D7mgEr8WMqg&p=https%3A%2F%2Frobertreich.org%2Fpost%2F641244767745933312&m=1&ts=1611673729" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">declared</a> "you just can't have a functioning democracy without a peaceful transition of power."Where was Zuckerberg's concern for a "functioning democracy" when he amplified Trump's lies for four years?After taking down Trump's Twitter account, CEO Jack Dorsey <a href="https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fusa-trump-twitter-idCNFWN2JO1BE&t=Yzk3MjA1OTc2ZmY3YmVhODE0NDM0MWZlYWMzZmJlNDAxMzU4ZTM0YSxxNjJqNHRqUA%3D%3D&b=t%3AhQ9Ds4P3Iv6D7mgEr8WMqg&p=https%3A%2F%2Frobertreich.org%2Fpost%2F641244767745933312&m=1&ts=1611673729" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">expressed discomfort</a> about "the power an individual or corporation has over a part of the global public conversation."Spare me. Dorsey has fought off all attempts to limit Twitter's power over the "global conversation." He shuttered Trump only after Democrats secured the presidency and <a href="https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2021%2F01%2F06%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Fgeorgia-senate-trump-black-voters.html&t=YTI0OWQ5MDYwNTRjYjYyN2RlMTNjMGZjYjg2ZDBiZTA1MjY5NGNkMixxNjJqNHRqUA%3D%3D&b=t%3AhQ9Ds4P3Iv6D7mgEr8WMqg&p=https%3A%2F%2Frobertreich.org%2Fpost%2F641244767745933312&m=1&ts=1611673729" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">control of the Senate</a>.Look, I'm glad CEOs are penalizing the 147 Republican seditionists and that Big Tech is starting to police social media content.But don't confuse the avowed concerns of these CEOs about democracy with democracy itself. They aren't answerable to democracy. At most, they're accountable to big shareholders and institutional investors who don't give a fig as long as profits keep rolling in.If they were committed to democracy, CEOs of big corporations would permanently cease corporate donations to all candidates, close their PACs, stop giving to secretive "dark money" groups, and discourage donations by their executives.They'd stop placing ads in media that have weaponized disinformation – including Fox News, Infowars, Newsmax and websites affiliated with right-wing pundits. Social media giants would start acting like publishers and take responsibility for what they promulgate.If corporate America were serious about democracy it would throw its weight behind the "For the People Act," the first bills of the new Congress, offering public financing of elections among other reforms.Don't hold your breath.Joe Biden intends to raise corporate taxes, increase the minimum wage, break up Big Tech, and strengthen labor unions.The fourth branch is already amassing a war chest for the fight.<div class="around-the-web" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="from-your-siteheadline" style="font-weight: 700; text-transform: uppercase;">FROM YOUR SITE ARTICLES</div><ul class="around-the-weblist" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; width: 589.446px; list-style: none;"><li class="from-your-siteitem"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2018/03/what-mark-zuckerberg-said-years-ago-about-facebook-could-haunt-him-amid-cambridge/" class="from-your-sitelink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-weight: lighter; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">What Mark Zuckerberg Said Years Ago About Facebook Could ... ›</a></li><li class="from-your-siteitem"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2020/07/gop-rep-matt-gaetz-files-a-criminal-referral-against-facebooks-mark-zuckerberg-with-william-barr/" class="from-your-sitelink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-weight: lighter; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">GOP Rep. 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</div><div>democracy.It’s as simple as that.If we continue to let Walmart, Pfizer, Jeff Bezos and Sheldon Adelson have the run of the place, they will.<a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://default.salsalabs.org/T717cfb77-9d87-43e2-803a-d7b7aced21d8/44ab9761-4a6f-4351-8698-70a1c718d833" style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">That’s why President-Elect Biden must urge Congress to pass the For the People Act (H.R. 1) as a first priority in his administration.</a><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://default.salsalabs.org/Ta4c158c9-726b-434d-851c-1116c2f1333b/44ab9761-4a6f-4351-8698-70a1c718d833" style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">Urge Biden to insist Democracy is a Day One issue.</a>The For the People Act is the most transformative pro-democracy legislation since the passage of the Voting Rights Act.Overwhelming majorities of the American people favor far-reaching measures to expand Social Security, raise the minimum wage, slash drug prices, make health care a right, address the climate crisis, break up Big Banks, control Big Tech and much more.But we don’t get the policies we want because our democracy is broken.<ul style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); list-style-position: outside; margin: 1em 0px 1em 1em; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em;"><li>Corporations and the superrich dominate our politics.
 </li><li>Even in high-turnout elections, voter suppression is widespread.
 </li><li>Gerrymandered districts skew representation away from the will of the people.</li></ul>The For the People Act would give us small donor-driven, publicly funded elections; automatic voter registration; an end to gerrymandering; and much more.<div><div></div><div><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2020/09/robert-reich-heres-how-big-money-corrupts-our-politics-and-how-to-fix-it/">https://www.alternet.org/2020/09/robert-reich-heres-how-big-money-corrupts-our-politics-and-how-to-fix-it/</a></div><div>
</div><div>corporate money is dominating our democracy.It’s difficult to do anything—increase the minimum wage, reverse climate change, get Medicare for All, end police killings, fight systemic racism, shrink our bloated military—when big money controls our politics and dictates what policies are and aren’t enacted.The pandemic has made that clearer than ever. The CARES Act, passed in late March as our pandemic response began, quietly provided huge benefits to wealthy Americans and big corporations. One provision doled out $135 billion in tax relief to people making at least half a million dollars, the richest 1% of American taxpayers.This $135 billion is three times more than the measly $42 billion allocated in the CARES Act for safety-net programs like food and housing aid. It’s just shy of the $150 billion going to struggling state governments, and vastly more than the $100 billion being spent on overwhelmed hospitals and other crucial public health services.as Americans are still suffering massive unemployment and the ravages of the pandemic, lobbyists are crawling all over Capitol Hill and the White House is seeking continued subsidies for the rich and for corporations—while demanding an end to supplemental assistance for average working people, the poor, and the unemployed.It’s corruption in action, friends. And it’s undermining our democracy at every turn.Ask yourself how, during a global pandemic, the total net worth of U.S. billionaires has climbed from $2.9 trillion to $3.5 trillion, when more than 45.5 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits.<div class="clearfix" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; clear: both;">Is it their skill? Their luck? Their insight? No. It’s their monopolies, enabled by their stranglehold on American democracy… monopolies like Amazon, Google, and Facebook, which have grown even larger during the pandemic.It’s also their access to insider information so they can do well in the stock market, like Senator Richard Burr, chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, and Senator Kelly Loeffler, whose husband happens to be chairman of the New York Stock Exchange. Both were fully briefed on the likely effects of the coronavirus last February and promptly unloaded their shares of stock in companies that would be hit hardest.And it’s the tax cuts and subsidies they’ve squeezed out of government.You are paying for all of this—not just as taxpayers but as consumers.When you follow the money, you can see clearly how every aspect of American life has been corrupted.Take prescription drugs. We spend tens of billions of dollars on prescriptions every year, far more per person than citizens in any other developed country. Now that millions of Americans are unemployed and without insurance, they need affordable prescription drugs more than ever.Yet even the prices of drugs needed by coronavirus patients are skyrocketing. Big Pharma giant Gilead is charging a whopping $3,120 for its COVID drug, Remdesivir, even though the drug was developed with a $70,000,000 grant from the federal government paid for by American taxpayers.Once again, Big Pharma is set to profit on the people’s dime. And they get away with it because our lawmakers depend on their campaign donations to remain in power.As you watch this, Mitch McConnell is actively blocking a bill drafted by Senate Republicans to reduce drug prices—after taking more than $280,000 from pharmaceutical companies so far this election season.Big Pharma is just one example. This vicious cycle is found in virtually every sector, and it’s why we continue to be met with politicians who don’t have our best interests at heart.So how do we get big money out of our democracy?A good starting point can be found in the sweeping reform package known as H.R. 1—the For the People Act. The bill closes loopholes that favor big corporations and the wealthy, makes it easier for all of us to vote, and strengthens the power of small donors through public financing of elections—a system which matches $6 of public funds for every $1 of small donations.The For the People Act would also bar congresspeople from serving on corporate boards, require presidents to publicly disclose their tax returns, and make executive appointees recuse themselves in cases where there is a conflict of interest.These are just a few examples of tangible solutions that already exist to rein in unprecedented corruption and stop America’s slide toward oligarchy—but there’s much more we can and should do.The important thing to remember is that the big money takeover of our democracy prevents us from advancing all of the policies we need to overhaul our racist, oppressive system and create a society that works for the many, not the few</div><div></div></div><div>McConnell Blocks Election Security, Takes Checks From Voting Machine Lobbyists <a href="https://truthout.org/articles/mcconnell-blocks-election-security-takes-checks-from-voting-machine-lobbyists/" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://truthout.org/articles/mcconnell-blocks-election-security-takes-checks-from-voting-machine-lobbyists/&source=gmail&ust=1562701514656000&usg=AFQjCNHu4myBd7NMh55pR5R_VkrBd3T5aQ" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">https://truthout.org/articles/mcconnell-blocks-election-security-takes-checks-from-voting-machine-lobbyists/</a>In 2016, Russian hackers targeted voting systems in 21 states and, according to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report, breached systems in Illinois and two counties in Florida, gaining access to information on millions of registered voters. In his report, Mueller described the Russian government’s interference in the 2016 elections as “sweeping and systematic.”Three years later, security experts warn that not enough has been done to address vulnerabilities in the U.S. election system. The director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations recently <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/26/us/politics/fbi-russian-election-interference.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; cursor: pointer; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">told</a> Congress that “the threats just keep escalating,” adding that he viewed the 2018 midterms as a “dress rehearsal for the big show in 2020.”In fourteen states, some 2018 midterm voters submitted their votes on touchscreens that did not produce paper trails necessary to verify their votes or audit election outcomes. If votes had been inaccurately processed in these precincts — whether through equipment errors or foreign hacking operations — election officials wouldn’t have been able to find or correct the problems.Several Democratic and Republican members of Congress have submitted legislation to shore up election security. Proposals from Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.) include replacing paperless electronic voting machines with hand-marked paper ballots and optical scanners, subjecting voting equipment vendors to rigorous cybersecurity standards, and requiring vendors to report cybersecurity incidents.But all the bills have hit a roadblock. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has reportedly told his colleagues that he will not allow the Senate to vote on election security legislation this session.“At this point I don’t see any likelihood that those bills would get to the floor if we mark them up,” Senator Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said recently when asked by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) whether the Rules Committee, which Blunt chairs, would mark up any election security bills. <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/443948-top-gop-senator-says-senate-unlikely-to-vote-on-any-election-security" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; cursor: pointer; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">The Hill</a> asked McConnell’s office about Blunt’s comments regarding election security and was referred to the majority leader’s verdict on the Mueller report: “case closed.”Senator Wyden told Sludge he thinks McConnell does not want to make elections more secure.“The only logical conclusion is that Senator McConnell wants American elections to be vulnerable to hackers and foreign interference,” Wyden said. “It is unconscionable for Republicans to stick their heads in the sand and do nothing after what happened in 2016. If Congress doesn’t act, it’s only a matter of time before hackers successfully interfere again.”The two largest voting machine vendors in the U.S., Election Systems & Software (ES&S) and Dominion Voting Systems, together supply more than <a href="https://trustthevote.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2017-whartonoset_industryreport.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; cursor: pointer; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">80%</a> of the nation’s voting machines. The companies have operated <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/how-voting-machine-lobbyists-undermine-the-democratic-process" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; cursor: pointer; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">extensive lobbying operations</a> in states for years, and both companies recently hired new lobbyists to represent them at the federal level.ES&S hired lobbying firm Peck Madigan Jones in Oct. 2018 and paid it a combined $150,000 to lobby the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in the fourth quarter of 2018 and the first quarter of 2019. ES&S did not employ any federal lobbyists in 2017, and when they reported lobbying in previous years it was at a much lower level, spending just $10,000 in many quarters. Dominion Voting Systems, which was recently acquired by New York-based hedge fund Staple Street Capital, signed its first-ever federal lobbying contract in January 2019 with Brownstein Hyatt Farber and Schreck and has paid the company at least $30,000 so far to lobby Congress.Several of the lobbyists working for ES&S and Dominion Voting Systems have recently made contributions to McConnell’s campaign and joint fundraising committee.Brownstein Hyatt Farber and Schreck lobbyist David Cohen, who <a href="https://soprweb.senate.gov/index.cfm?event=getFilingDetails&filingID=4D4DFCF4-B80D-4E43-BA2D-729765C7C452&filingTypeID=1" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">lobbies</a> for Dominion Voting Systems on issues related to election security and monitors federal legislation for the company, gave McConnell $2,000 on March 31: $1,000 to his campaign committee and $1,000 to his joint fundraising committee. Lobbyist Brain Wild, who works alongside Cohen on the Dominion contract, gave McConnell $1,000 on the same day.Emily Kirlin, a lobbyist for Peck Madigan Jones who <a href="https://soprweb.senate.gov/index.cfm?event=getFilingDetails&filingID=AFF5B44B-FEF5-4F8A-9818-395657C78000&filingTypeID=51" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">lobbies</a> for ES&S on election security and H.R. 1, gave McConnell’s campaign committee $1,000 on February 19, and her colleague who works with her on the contract, Jen Olson, gave McConnell $1,000 on March 4.“It’s not surprising to me that Mitch McConnell is receiving these campaign contributions,” the Brennan Center for Justice’s Lawrence Noren told Sludge. “He seems single-handedly to be standing in the way of anything passing in Congress around election security, and that includes things that the vendors might want, like money for the states to replace antiquated equipment.”“Mitch McConnell’s conflicts of interest in blocking any and all election security legislation is not only shameful, it is placing our democracy at risk,” Craig Holman, government affairs lobbyist at Public Citizen, told Sludge. “The conflicts of interest arise from more than the campaign contributions he is receiving from voting machine vendors — contributions which certainly appear to be a reward from the industry for letting them off the hook — but it is also a self-serving act for strictly partisan purposes.“McConnell believes this foreign interference in our democratic process will again favor the GOP, and so he is doing everything possible to make sure that window stays wide open for those who seek to do harm to our political system,” Holman said.McConnell’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Voting machine vendors like ES&S and Dominion Voting Systems are not currently subject to any specific regulations or mandatory security standards.“In contrast to other sectors, particularly those that the federal government has designated ‘critical infrastructure,’ there is almost no federal oversight of private vendors that design and maintain the systems that allow us to determine who can vote, how they vote, what voters see when they cast their vote, how votes are counted, and how those vote totals are communicated to the public,” Noren told Congress recently in a <a href="https://docs.house.gov/meetings/HA/HA00/20190508/109410/HHRG-116-HA00-Wstate-NordenL-20190508-U1.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; cursor: pointer; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">testimony</a>. “In fact, there are more federal regulations for ballpoint pens and magic markers than there are for voting systems and other parts of our federal election infrastructure.”Several of the bills that have been proposed in Congress would subject them to regulation and oversight for the first time, and some could result in the companies doing less business with the states as they encourage the use of hand-marked ballots instead of machines.A bill from Senator Wyden — the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/1472?s=3&r=12" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; cursor: pointer; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Protecting American Votes and Election Act (PAVE Act)</a> — would, for the first time, establish minimum cybersecurity requirements that election equipment vendors would have to comply with in order for their equipment to be eligible for use in federal elections. The rules would be established by the Department of Homeland Security, and systems would have to be tested and certified by the Election Assistance Commission (EAC).The PAVE Act would also require voting systems to use an “individual, durable, voter-verifiable, paper ballot of the voter’s vote that shall be marked and made available for physical inspection and verification by the voter before the voter’s vote is cast and tabulated.” And while the bill does not explicitly ban electronic systems for marking paper ballots — something that both ES&S and Dominion Voting Systems have begun manufacturing — it specifies that funding it would give to states to replace their paperless systems could not be used “to acquire any electronic device that a voter can use to mark a paper ballot.”If a paper ballot requirement were to become law, with or without a funding restriction such as the one included in Wyden’s bill, the increased costs and security risks of ballot-marking machines could make them less appealing to states looking to purchase new systems.According to <a href="https://docs.house.gov/meetings/AP/AP23/20190227/108959/HHRG-116-AP23-Wstate-HaldermanJ-20190227.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; cursor: pointer; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">testimony</a> from Alex Halderman, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan, equipping a precinct with ballot-marking electronic devices costs about three times as much as equipping it with a truly paper-based system along with a dedicated electronic device for voters with disabilities. “Fortunately, the most cost-effective approach is also the most secure: hand-marked paper ballots counted using optical scanners,” Halderman stated.Another bill being blocked by McConnell, the House-passed <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/1/text" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; cursor: pointer; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">H.R.1</a>, includes a paper ballot requirement and would subject vendors to additional new security regulations. Voting machine vendors would be required to follow cybersecurity best practices that would be issued by the EAC’s Technical Guidelines Development Committee, and they would have to report election cybersecurity incidents and response plans to the EAC. They would also be forced to submit their equipment to independent security testing, and the EAC would be empowered to decertify any equipment that does not meet its security standards.“I don’t know why Mitch McConnell is staging a full roadblock of election security legislation,” Wyden said. “But it is clear as day that there are politicians in the country who view insecure voting equipment as a benefit that helps them win elections. Instead of defending Americans’ constitutional rights, they are looking at this issue from a purely cynical and political standpoint.”</div><div>
<div><a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/03/interest-groups-lobby-for-democrats-hr1-ahead-of-friday-house-vote/">https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/03/interest-groups-lobby-for-democrats-hr1-ahead-of-friday-house-vote/</a></div><div>
</div><div>On Friday, the House will vote on <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/1/text" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">H.R. 1</a> or the “For the People Act,” a massive overhaul of transparency, campaign finance and lobbying rules. The 571-page <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/01/democrats-hr-1-draws-praise-and-strong-objections/" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">bill</a>, backed by Democrats, tackles a <a href="https://www.axios.com/house-hr1-anti-corruption-package-vote-a5ce4105-1684-458e-b1b9-4e41cdad70c1.html" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">variety of issues</a> from requiring “dark money” groups to release their donors and presidents to release their tax returns to tightening FARA registration to making Election Day a federal holiday. Like any major legislative effort, this one has attracted a number of groups to lobby on its behalf.As the House prepares to vote on H.R. 1, a group of 71 predominantly liberal groups <a href="https://www.rollcall.com/news/liberal-outside-groups-lobby-campaign-finance-overhaul" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">are working</a> to convince lawmakers to support the measure. Notable names backing the legislation include <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/lookup2.php?strID=C00573261" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">End Citizens United Action Fund</a>, the <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000032441" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Center for American Progress</a> and <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000000591&cycle=2016" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Planned Parenthood</a>.The package includes legislation to establish automatic voter registration, the creation of an independent redistricting commission, legislation restricting the use of straw companies for donations, and stricter rules on super PAC-candidate coordination, among many other new proposals.Like most large-scale reform bills, interest groups have been involved with H.R. 1 since the beginning. Public Citizen <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/1/4/1823529/-Democrats-in-Congress-Unveil-Ambitious-Plan-to-Fix-Our-Election-System-by-Steven-Rosenfeld" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">assisted</a> in writing parts of the legislation which dealt with ethics and conflict of interest issues. The <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/firmsum.php?id=D000047977&year=2018" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Brennan Center for Justice</a> <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/blog/historic-bill-strengthen-democracy-introduced-congress" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">helped develop</a> aspects of the bill that address voting registration and small-donor public financing of elections.End Citizens United is an organization which advocates for stricter campaign finance rules and a reversal of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision. It boasts an impressive fundraising apparatus raising almost $33.1 million in the 2018 cycle and spending nearly $32.9 million from the FEC disclosed committee. A significant amount of that, <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/indexpend.php?cycle=2018&cmte=C00573261" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">more than</a> $12.3 million, was used on independent expenditures in the cycle.The group also contributed directly to a wide variety of Democratic candidates in the cycle. <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/summary?cid=N00041870" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Rep. Conor Lamb</a> (D-Pa.) and <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/races/summary?cycle=2018&id=TX23" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">unsuccessful candidate</a> Gina Ortiz Jones (D-Texas) received $15,000 each from the organization — the most among House members and candidates. It also contributed heavily to the <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/parties/totals.php?cmte=DCCC&cycle=2018" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">DCCC</a> and the <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/parties/totals.php?cycle=2018&cmte=DsCC" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">DSCC</a>, handing each organization $150,000.In a <a href="https://endcitizensunited.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/ECU-Letter-in-Support-of-HR1.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">letter</a> sent on March 4 to House Speaker <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/summary/nancy-pelosi?cid=N00007360" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Nancy Pelosi</a> (D-Calif.) and sponsor of the legislation <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/summary?cid=N00027751" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Rep. John Sarbanes</a> (D-Md.), End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller called H.R. 1 a “once-in-a-generation government reform bill that will restore the promise of our democracy.” The letter notes that the organization and its four million members “enthusiastically support” the legislation.The <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000032441" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Center for American Progress</a>, one of the leading liberal think tanks, is a regular campaign contributor and lobbying presence. In 2018, the group <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000032441" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">spent</a> $90,000 on lobbying Capitol Hill. Individuals from the think tank contributed $309,415 during the midterm cycle. <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/contributors?cid=N00035267&cycle=2018" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Sen. Cory Booker</a> (D-N.J.) and 2020 presidential candidate was the leading recipient with $10,800.Another liberal interest group, <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000028307" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">People for the American Way</a>, is pushing for the H.R. 1 legislation. People for the American Way includes a <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/lobby.php?id=D000028307" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">lobbying</a> arm, which dropped $170,000 in 2018 <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientbills.php?id=D000028307&year=2018" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">focusing</a> on bills like the Voter Rights Amendment Act and legislation introduced to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The group also has an <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/detail.php?cmte=C90012071&cycle=2018" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">independent expenditure</a> wing and a separate <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/lookup2.php?cycle=2018&strID=C00331454" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">PAC</a>. During the 2018 cycle, the group spent $515,590 on independent expenditures, the biggest race it spent on was for the Texas Senate.Marge Baker, executive vice president of People for the American Way, applauded the legislation. “HR1 takes dead aim at some of the most pressing issues threatening our democracy,” she said in a statement to The Center for Responsive Politics. “Our members have been working on these issues for years, and now they’re focused on pushing hard on Congress to pass HR1, with calls, emails, digital and on the ground organizing.”<a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000055782&cycle=2018" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Public Citizen</a>, the liberal consumer rights group founded by Ralph Nader, is another outside source pressuring Congress to support the sweeping legislation. The organization maintains a fairly robust lobbying apparatus, spending $250,000 in 2018.All 235 members of the House Democratic caucus have co-sponsored H.R. 1. Even members who receive a significant amount of campaign contributions from business PAC sources, like <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/pacs?cid=N00036944&cycle=2018" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Rep. Josh Gottheimer</a> (D-N.J.) who got more than $1 million in the recent cycle, have signed on.While there is essentially universal Democratic support in the House, the measures have been staunchly opposed by Republicans and other interest groups. Opponents <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/1/29/18200973/lobbyists-oppose-house-democrats-anti-corruption-bill-hr1" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">include</a> the National Association of Business Political Action Committees (NABPAC), an organization that represents and lobbies for business PACs, the Conservative Action Project and <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/lobby.php?id=D000045970" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">FreedomWorks</a>.In January, NABPAC hosted <a href="https://www.nabpac.org/index.php?option=com_jevents&task=icalrepeat.detail&evid=31&Itemid=98&year=2019&month=01&day=29&title=january-29-2019-pacrap-luncheon-how-hr-1-could-impact-your-pac-and-political-programs-legal-and-operational-considerations&uid=f9db6fe830594badc3d6cba0a7235962" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">a luncheon</a> which looked to address H.R. 1. The event description notes that “many of the provisions, if enacted, could severely restrict the role of the business community and their PACs” and calls it “potentially onerous.”FreedomWorks, a conservative and libertarian-leaning organization, has recently become a major lobbying player. In 2018, it <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000045970" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">spent</a> the most it ever had on influence with almost $1.9 million.Peter Vicenzi, press secretary for FreedomWorks, said in a statement to The Center for Responsive Politics, “The main issues we have with HR 1 are that it would have a chilling effect on political speech, take power from individual states in how they conduct elections and fund political campaigns with taxpayer dollars.”   While the package of bills will likely pass the House on a party-line vote, there is essentially no chance of it passing the Senate or even being brought up for a vote. Senate Majority Leader <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/summary/mitch-mcconnell?cid=N00003389" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Mitch McConnell</a>(R-Ky.) wrote <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/call-hr-1-what-it-is-the-democrat-politician-protection-act/2019/01/17/dcc957be-19cb-11e9-9ebf-c5fed1b7a081_story.html?utm_term=.8095c0077fe5" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">an op-ed</a> in which he called the legislation the “Democrat Politician Protection Act.”<div class="widget_text awac-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; 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</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://lofgren.house.gov/hr1" style="text-decoration-line: none; outline: none;">https://lofgren.house.gov/hr1</a></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
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</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">HR 1</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="views-field views-field-title" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><h3 class="field-content" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 5px; letter-spacing: 0px;"><a href="https://lofgren.house.gov/media/press-releases/house-passes-historic-anti-corruption-and-democracy-reform-legislation" style="outline: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease-in-out 0s !important;">House Passes Historic Anti-Corruption and Democracy Reform Legislation</a></h3></div>March 8, 2019 <a href="https://lofgren.house.gov/media/press-releases" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.3s ease-in-out 0s !important;">Press Release</a><div class="views-field views-field-body" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px; padding: 5px 0px;"><div class="field-content" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Today, after Zoe Lofgren managed floor debate for three days, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1, the For the People Act, a sweeping reform bill to clean up corruption in Washington, make it easier to vote, and give every day Americans more power in our democracy by a 234 – 193 vote.</div><div class="field-content" style="box-sizing: border-box;">
</div><div class="field-content" style="box-sizing: border-box;">---</div><div class="field-content" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Summary:<ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box;">H.R. 1 is a sweeping package of pro-democracy and anticorruption reforms to put power back in the hands of the American people by ending the dominance of big money in politics; making it easier, not harder, to vote; and ensuring that politicians actually serve the public interest.</div></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box;">H.R. 1 offers the most transformational and comprehensive democracy reforms in more than four decades, following through on Democrats’ election promise to clean up the chaos and corruption in Washington.</div></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box;">Rep. Lofgren is the Chair of the Committee on House Administration in the 116th Congress. Oversight of federal elections is one of the chief tasks of the Committee on House Administration. Historically, the committee has had a hand in shaping legislation that touches on any and all aspects of federal elections. Issues concerning corrupt practices, contested congressional elections, campaign finance disclosures, and credentials and qualifications of House Members also fall under its purview.</div></li></ul><h4 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 500; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;">H.R. 1 makes critical reforms across three key areas:</h4><h4 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 500; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;">Voting Rights</h4><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Improve Access – H.R. 1 expands access to the ballot box by taking aim at key institutional barriers to voting, such as burdensome registration systems, limited voting hours and many other roadblocks. H.R. 1 creates automatic voter registration across the country, ensures that individuals who have completed felony sentences have their full rights restored, expands voting by mail and early voting and modernizes the U.S. voting system.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Promote Integrity – H.R. 1 fights back against Republicans’ assault on voting rights by committing Congress to restore the Voting Rights Act; prohibiting voter roll purges like those seen in Ohio, Georgia and elsewhere; and ensuring that discriminatory voter ID laws do not prevent Americans citizens from exercising their rights. H.R. 1 also ends partisan gerrymandering to prevent politicians from picking their voters and lets American voters instead choose their elected officials.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Ensure Security – H.R. 1 promises that American elections to be decided by American voters without interference from foreign entities. The bill enhances federal support for voting system security, particularly paper ballots, and increases oversight over election vendors.</li></ul><h4 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 500; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;">Campaign Finance</h4><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Guarantee Disclosure – H.R. 1 shines a light on dark money in politics by requiring any organization involved in political activity to disclose its large donors, which will break the nesting-doll system that allows big-money contributors and special interests to hide their spending in networks of so-called “social welfare” organizations.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Empower Citizens – H.R. 1 levels the political playing field for everyday Americans, empowering individuals with a multiple matching system for small donations and allowing the American people to exercise their due influence in a post-Citizens United world, while reaffirming that Congress should have the authority to regulate money in politics. The new system of citizen-owned elections will break special interests’ stranglehold on politics and enable Congress to advance an agenda that serves the American people.</li></ul><div style="box-sizing: border-box;">Ethics and Accountability</div><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Fortify Ethics Law – H.R. 1 breaks the influence economy in Washington and increases accountability by expanding conflict of interest law and divestment requirements, slowing the revolving door, preventing Members of Congress from serving on corporate boards and requiring presidential candidates to disclose their tax returns.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Impose Greater Ethics Enforcement – H.R. 1 gives teeth to federal ethics oversight by overhauling the Office of Government Ethics, closing registration loopholes for lobbyists and foreign agents, ensuring watchdogs have sufficient resources to enforce the law and creating a code of ethics for the Supreme Court.</li></ul><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://democracyreform-sarbanes.house.gov/sites/democracyreformtaskforce.house.gov/files/H.R.%201%20Section-by-Section_FINAL.pdf" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.3s ease-in-out 0s !important;">For more information about H.R. 1 see here.</a></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box;">
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</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box;">22p no cut paste</div></div></div></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></div></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019</a></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="">The For The People Act of 2019 (H.R. 1, 2019)<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[1]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[2]</a> is a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill(law)" title="Bill (law)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">bill</a> introduced in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives" title="United States House of Representatives" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">United States House of Representatives</a> to expand voting rights, limit <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymandering" title="Gerrymandering" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">partisan gerrymandering</a>, strengthen ethics rules, and limit the influence of private donor money in politics.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-npr-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[3]</a> It was introduced by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Sarbanes" title="John Sarbanes" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">John Sarbanes</a> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party(United_States)" title="Democratic Party (United States)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">D</a>-<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryland" title="Maryland" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">MD</a>) on January 3, 2019 on behalf of the newly elected <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party(United_States)" title="Democratic Party (United States)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Democratic</a> majority as the first official legislation of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/116th_United_States_Congress" title="116th United States Congress" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">116th United States Congress</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-npr-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[3]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[4]</a>The bill's provisions fall into three major categories:<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-npr-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[3]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-vox-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[5]</a><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%225%22" height="%2213%22%3E" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="%222.5%22" cy="%229%22" r="%222.5%22" fill="%22%23222%22/%3E" c="C" e="E" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campaign_finance_reform_in_the_United_States" title="Campaign finance reform in the United States" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Campaign finance reform</a>. The bill would introduce voluntary public financing for campaigns, matching small donations at a 6:1 ratio. It would also introduce stricter limitations on foreign lobbying, require <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_action_committee#Super_PACs" title="Political action committee" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Super PACs</a> and other "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_money" title="Dark money" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">dark money</a>" organizations to disclose their donors, and restructure the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Election_Commission" title="Federal Election Commission" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Federal Election Commission</a> to reduce partisan gridlock. The bill also expresses support for a constitutional amendment to overturn the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v.FEC" title="Citizens United v. FEC" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Citizens United</a> decision, where the Supreme Court held that spending money can be critical to exercising the freedom of speech, and so virtually unlimited political spending by nonprofit corporations, for-profit corporations, labor unions, and other associations was a constitutional right.</li></ul><ul style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%225%22" height="%2213%22%3E" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="%222.5%22" cy="%229%22" r="%222.5%22" fill="%22%23222%22/%3E" c="C" e="E" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Government ethics. The bill would require presidential and vice-presidential candidates to disclose their previous 10 years of income-tax returns, eliminate the use of taxpayer money by politicians to settle <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_harassment" title="Sexual harassment" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">sexual-harassment</a> claims, and create a new ethics code for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States" title="Supreme Court of the United States" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">U.S. Supreme Court</a>, which is not subject to existing judicial codes of conduct.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Voting rights. The bill would create a national voter-registration program, make <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Election_Day(United_States)" title="Election Day (United States)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Election Day</a> a federal holiday, replace <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymandering_in_the_United_States" title="Gerrymandering in the United States" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">partisan gerrymandering</a> with non-partisan commissions to draw electoral districts, and limit <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_caging" title="Voter caging" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">efforts to purge voting rolls</a>.</li></ul>The bill was viewed as a comprehensive statement of the priorities of the Democratic congressional majority <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections" title="2018 United States House of Representatives elections" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">elected in 2018</a>. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Times" class="mw-redirect" title="New York Times" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">New York Times</a> has called the bill "the Democrats’ signature piece of legislation".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[6]</a> The bill was opposed by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitch_McConnell" title="Mitch McConnell" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Mitch McConnell</a>, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party(United_States)" title="Republican Party (United States)" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Republican</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_leaders_of_the_United_States_Senate" title="Party leaders of the United States Senate" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Senate Majority Leader</a>, who pledged that the bill was "not going to go anywhere in the Senate". In March 2019, McConnell said he would not put the bill to a vote on the Senate floor, "Because I [McConnell] get to decide what we vote on".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-Politico_McConnell_no_vote-7" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[7]</a> Representative John Sarbanes, the drafter of the legislation, argued that the public popularity of the bill's provisions would ultimately lead to its passage.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-8" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[8]</a> The bill passed in the House on March 8, 2019, with a vote of 234-193<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[9]</a> along strict party lines.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-10" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[10]</a>
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</div><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#Voting_Rights_for_Felons" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">1Voting Rights for Felons</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#Supreme_Court_Ethics" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2Supreme Court Ethics</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#Statehood_for_the_District_of_Columbia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">3Statehood for the District of Columbia</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#Gerrymandering" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4Gerrymandering</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#Number_of_Federal_Election_Commissioners" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">5Number of Federal Election Commissioners</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#Reactions_and_statements" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">6Reactions and statements</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#See_also" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">7See also</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#Notes" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">8Notes</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#References" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">9References</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-10" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#Further_reading" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">10Further reading</a></li></ul></div><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Voting Rights for Felons</h2>The authority of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Congress" title="United States Congress" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">United States Congress</a> over elections is extensive.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-11" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[11]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-12" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[12]</a> One feature of the proposed legislation is that convicted felons could not be <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felony_disenfranchisement" class="mw-redirect" title="Felony disenfranchisement" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">denied the right to vote</a> unless currently in prison.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-13" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[13]</a> Whether congressional authority extends this far is subject to disagreement,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-14" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[14]</a> with arguments being made for<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-15" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[15]</a> and against.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-16" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[16]</a> Fourteen states have laws that indefinitely deny voting rights for some convicted felons, twenty-two do not restore voting rights until after parole and/or probation, and some states require payment of fines or restitution.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-17" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[a]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-18" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[17]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Supreme Court Ethics[</h2>Another part of the proposed legislation instructs the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judicial_Conference_of_the_United_States" title="Judicial Conference of the United States" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Judicial Conference</a> to establish rules of ethics binding on the Supreme Court. It is unclear whether Congress has the constitutional authority to impose ethics requirements on Supreme Court Justices, which, ironically, is a question that the Court ultimately may have to decide.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-19" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[18]</a> In 2011, Chief Justice Roberts made it clear in his end-of-year report that he believed Congress didn’t have the constitutional power to impose conduct rules on the Supreme Court. The reason is that the Supreme Court was established by the Constitution, according to which the justices serve as long as they exhibit "good behavior," or face possible impeachment and removal for "treason, bribery, or other <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_crimes_and_misdemeanors" title="High crimes and misdemeanors" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">high crimes and misdemeanors</a>."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-20" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[19]</a> Lower federal courts, by contrast, were created by Congress and are subject to the rules that Congress establishes. Because of this some suggest that the purpose of the proposed ethics rules would not be punishment or even enforcement, but rather only a promulgation of rules so that Supreme Court justices can be held accountable for their conduct in the court of public opinion. In addition, a documented ethics violation could be relevant to a potential impeachment proceeding.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-21" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[20]</a> Others argue that Congress has the authority to require the Supreme Court to write its own code of ethics.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-22" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[21]</a> In 1991 the Supreme Court adopted a resolution<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-23" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[22]</a> that officers and employees of the Court will comply with the substance of the Judicial Conference Regulations,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-24" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[23]</a> subject to stated clarifications.<h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Statehood for the District of Columbia</h2><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); padding-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;">Further information: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statehood_movement_in_the_District_of_Columbia" title="Statehood movement in the District of Columbia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Statehood movement in the District of Columbia</a></div>The proposed legislation also calls for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statehood_of_Washington,D.C." class="mw-redirect" title="Statehood of Washington, D.C." style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">statehood for the District of Columbia</a>, arguing that the District has a larger population than two States, Wyoming and Vermont, and is close to the population of the seven States that have a population of under one million fully represented residents, and claiming that Congress has the authority to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admission_to_the_Union" title="Admission to the Union" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">admit new States to the union</a> through legislation. Others argue that a constitutional amendment would be required.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-25" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[24]</a> The question of admission of the District of Columbia as a State has a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statehood_movement_in_the_District_of_Columbia" title="Statehood movement in the District of Columbia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">long history</a>. Statehood for D.C. is expected to be opposed by Republicans, since it would almost certainly put more Democrats in Congress.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-26" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[25]</a> The one time the House voted on statehood, in 1993, the proposal failed 277 to 153, with support from 60 percent of Democrats and one Republican.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-27" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[26]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Gerrymandering</h2>Congressional redistricting occurs every 10 years as congressional boundaries are redrawn after the Census. Under <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_One_of_the_United_States_Constitution" title="Article One of the United States Constitution" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Article One of the Constitution</a>, the state legislature controls this process. In order to prevent <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymandering" title="Gerrymandering" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">gerrymandering</a>, the proposed legislation would require states to use independent commissions to design their congressional districts. If they declined to do so, the federal government would set one up for them.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-28" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[27]</a>In 2015 the Supreme Court decided 5 to 4 in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona_State_Legislature_v.Arizona_Independent_Redistricting_Commission" title="Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission</a> that even though the Constitution calls for the legislature to draw the district lines, an independent commission could constitutionally be appointed to perform this function. Some observers have suggested that now with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brett_Kavanaugh" title="Brett Kavanaugh" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Brett Kavanaugh</a> having replaced Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court the support may no longer exist to uphold the constitutionality of independent commissions setting congressional districts,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-Harvard-29" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[28]</a> or that the court could interpret the precedent narrowly so as to limit the use of independent commissions. The question of gerrymandering is active on the docket of the Supreme Court, which will hear two such cases in 2019.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-30" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[29]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Number of Federal Election Commissioners</h2>Under current law, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Election_Commission" title="Federal Election Commission" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Federal Election Commission</a> (FEC) is made up of six members, no more than three of whom can be members of the same political party, with at least four votes being required for any official FEC action. The complaint is that this has resulted in an impotent and gridlocked FEC, with important reforms being left unaddressed, such as the updating of campaign finance law for the digital age<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-USNews-31" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[30]</a> and the effective regulation of political donations.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-32" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[31]</a> Some advocates for reform have blamed the Republican members of the FEC for being unwilling to either investigate any potential violations or to impose tougher restrictions,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-brennanFEC-33" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[32]</a> and for loosening restrictions simply by signaling what standards they are willing to enforce.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-34" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[33]</a>The proposed bill would give the FEC five commissioners instead of six, reducing the likelihood of tie votes, and would require that no more than two can be members of the same political party. It would set up a "Blue Ribbon Advisory Panel" consisting of an odd number of individuals selected by the President from retired Federal judges, former law enforcement officials, or individuals with experience in election law, except that the President could not select any individual to serve on the panel who holds any public office at the time of selection, but the President would not be required to choose from among those recommended by the Panel. Observers point out that there would be no built-in benefit for either party.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-35" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[34]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Reactions and statements</h2>On January 29th, 2019, Republican Senate Majority Leader <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitch_McConnell" title="Mitch McConnell" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Mitch McConnell</a> issued a <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.republicanleader.senate.gov/newsroom/remarks/the-democrat-politician-protection-act-" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%2336c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" c="C" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">statement</a> criticizing the Act as a "one-sided power grab" by the Democratic Party and assuring that "It may pass the House, but not the Senate".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-McConnell_comment-36" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[35]</a> He called the bill the "Democrat Politician Protection Act" in the statement.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-McConnell_comment-36" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[35]</a> He further criticized the bill for giving the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_government_of_the_United_States" title="Federal government of the United States" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">federal government</a> more power over elections, saying it would "[give] Washington D.C. politicians even more control over who gets to come here [Congress] in the first place."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-McConnell_comment-36" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[35]</a> On March 6, McConnell indicated to journalists that he would not allow the bill a vote on the Senate floor, even as he would allow a vote on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_New_Deal" title="Green New Deal" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Green New Deal</a> resolution.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-Politico_McConnell_no_vote-7" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[7]</a> Representative <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Crenshaw" title="Dan Crenshaw" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Dan Crenshaw</a> (R-<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas" title="Texas" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">TX</a>-<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas%27s_2nd_congressional_district" title="Texas's 2nd congressional district" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2</a>) tweeted criticism of the Act in March.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_note-37" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[36]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">See also[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=For_the_People_Act_of_2019&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: See also" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2><ul style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%225%22" height="%2213%22%3E" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="%222.5%22" cy="%229%22" r="%222.5%22" fill="%22%23222%22/%3E" c="C" e="E" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_by_the_People_Act" title="Government by the People Act" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Government by the People Act</a>, a 2014 bill with some of the same goals and co-sponsors</li></ul><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Notes[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=For_the_People_Act_of_2019&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Notes" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2><div class="reflist" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.5em; list-style-type: lower-alpha;"><div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references" style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 3.2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: inherit;"><li id="cite_note-17" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019#cite_ref-17" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a> }The 14 states include Maryland, where convictions for buying or selling votes can only be restored through pardon, and Florida, where those convicted of murder or a felony sexual offense must still petition the governor for restoration of voting rights on a case by case basis. Florida was also included in the 22 number since for other felonies voting rights are restored after parole/probation.</li></ol></div></div><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">References</h2></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://sarbanes.house.gov/issues/hr-1-the-for-the-people-act">https://sarbanes.house.gov/issues/hr-1-the-for-the-people-act</a></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div style="">H.R. 1, the For the People Act</div><div style="">
</div><div style="">
</div><div style="">Last November, the American people went to the polls and resoundingly rejected the culture of corruption in Washington. They elected a historic Democratic House majority driven by candidates who promised to repair our broken democracy, and restore openness, transparency and unity to Congress. House Democrats delivered on that promise with H.R. 1, a bold and transformative suite of reforms that will strengthen American democracy and return political power to the people. With this legislation – which passed the U.S. House of Representatives on March 8, 2019 – Democrats will make elections clean and fair, end the dominance of big money in our politics and ensure that public servants put the public’s interests ahead of special interests.</div><div style="">
</div><div style="">H.R. 1 at a Glance</div><div style="">Right_To_Vote</div><div style="">Clean and fair elections.</div><div style="">Improve Access – H.R. 1 expands access to the ballot box by taking aim at institutional barriers to voting, such as patchwork and cumbersome registration systems, disenfranchisement and limited voting hours, which create major roadblocks to a more participatory democracy. H.R. 1 will create automatic voter registration across the country; ensure that individuals who have completed felony sentences have their full rights restored; expand early voting and simplify absentee voting; and modernize the U.S. voting system.</div><div style=""> </div><div style="">Promote Integrity – H.R. 1 commits Congress to build the record necessary to restore the Voting Rights Act; prohibits voter roll purges like those seen in Ohio, Georgia and elsewhere; and ends partisan gerrymandering to prevent politicians from picking their voters.</div><div style=""> </div><div style="">Ensure Security – H.R. 1 ensures that American elections are decided by American voters without interference by enhancing federal support for voting system security, particularly paper ballots, increasing oversight over election vendors, and requiring the development of a national strategy to protect U.S. democratic institutions.</div><div style=""> </div><div style="">Stop_Big_Money</div><div style="">End the dominance of big money in our politics.</div><div style="">Guarantee Disclosure – H.R. 1 shines a light on dark money in politics by upgrading online political ad disclosure and requiring all organizations involved in political activity to disclose their large donors. H.R. 1 also breaks the so-called ‘nesting-doll’ sham that allows big-money contributors and special interests to hide the true funding source of their political spending.</div><div style=""> </div><div style="">Empower Citizens – H.R. 1 gives political power to everyday Americans, creating a multiple matching system for small donations, thereby allowing the American people to exercise their due influence in our politics. This new 21st century system of citizen-owned elections will break special interests’ stranglehold on Congress and lay the groundwork for an agenda that serves the American people. H.R. 1 also reaffirms that Congress should have the authority to regulate money in politics, pushing back on the wrong-headed Citizens United and Buckley decisions by the Supreme Court.</div><div style=""> </div><div style="">Strengthen Oversight – H.R. 1 ensures that there are cops on the campaign finance beat that will enforce the laws on the books. H.R. 1 tightens rules on super PACs and restructures the Federal Election Commission to break the gridlock and enhance its enforcement mechanisms. It also repeals Mitch McConnell’s riders that prevent government agencies from requiring commonsense disclosure of political spending.</div><div style=""> </div><div style="">Ethics_And_Accountability</div><div style="">Ensure public officials work for the public interest.</div><div style="">Fortify Ethics Law – H.R. 1 breaks the influence economy in Washington and increases accountability by expanding conflict of interest law and divestment requirements, slowing the revolving door, preventing Members of Congress from serving on corporate boards and requiring presidents to disclose their tax returns.</div><div style=""> </div><div style="">Impose Greater Ethics Enforcement – H.R. 1 gives teeth to federal ethics oversight by overhauling the Office of Government Ethics, closing loopholes for lobbyists and foreign agents, ensuring watchdogs have sufficient resources to enforce the law and creating a code of ethics for the Supreme Court.</div><div style=""> </div><div style="">For H.R. 1 bill text, see here.</div><div style="">
</div><div style="">For a section-by-section of the bill, see here.</div><div style="">
</div><div style="">For a sampling of H.R. 1 endorsements from leading grassroots advocacy organizations across the country, see here.</div><div style="">
</div><div style="">H.R. 1 has the support of 237 co-sponsors, including:</div><div style="">
</div><div style="">Democracy Reform Task Force Chair Rep. John Sarbanes</div><div style="">Speaker Nancy Pelosi</div><div style="">Leader Steny Hoyer</div><div style="">Whip James Clyburn</div><div style="">Assistant Speaker Ben Ray Lujan</div><div style="">Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries</div><div style="">Caucus Vice Chair Katherine Clark</div><div style="">DCCC Chair Cheri Bustos</div><div style="">DPCC Chair David Cicilline</div><div style="">DPCC Co-Chair Matt Cartwright</div><div style="">DPCC Co-Chair Debbie Dingell</div><div style="">DPCC Co-Chair Ted Lieu</div><div style="">Steering and Policy Committee Co-Chair Rosa DeLauro</div><div style="">Steering and Policy Committee Co-Chair Barbara Lee</div><div style="">Steering and Policy Committee Co-Chair Eric Swalwell</div><div style="">Junior Caucus Representative Jamie Raskin</div><div style="">Freshman Class Representative Katie Hill</div><div style="">Freshman Class Representative Joe Neguse</div><div style="">Chairman Elijah Cummings</div><div style="">Chairman Peter DeFazio</div><div style="">Chairman Ted Deutch</div><div style="">Chairman Eliot Engel</div><div style="">Chairman Raul Grijalva</div><div style="">Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson</div><div style="">Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren</div><div style="">Chairwoman Nita Lowey</div><div style="">Chairman James McGovern</div><div style="">Chairman Jerry Nadler</div><div style="">Chairman Richard Neal</div><div style="">Chairman Frank Pallone</div><div style="">Chairman Collin Peterson</div><div style="">Chairman Adam Schiff</div><div style="">Chairman Bobby Scott</div><div style="">Chairman Adam Smith</div><div style="">Chairman Mark Takano</div><div style="">Chairman Bennie Thompson</div><div style="">Chairwoman Nydia Velazquez</div><div style="">Chairwoman Maxine Waters</div><div style="">Chairman John Yarmuth</div><div style="">Rep. Alma Adams</div><div style="">Rep. Pete Aguilar</div><div style="">Rep. Colin Allred</div><div style="">Rep. Cindy Axne</div><div style="">Rep. Nanette Barragan</div><div style="">Rep. Karen Bass</div><div style="">Rep. Joyce Beatty</div><div style="">Rep. Ami Bera</div><div style="">Rep. Don Beyer</div><div style="">Rep. Sanford Bishop</div><div style="">Rep. Earl Blumenauer</div><div style="">Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester</div><div style="">Rep. Suzanne Bonamici</div><div style="">Rep. Brendan  Boyle</div><div style="">Rep. Anthony Brindisi</div><div style="">Rep. Anthony Brown</div><div style="">Rep. Julia Brownley</div><div style="">Rep. G.K. Butterfield</div><div style="">Rep. Salud Carbajal</div><div style="">Rep. Tony Cardenas</div><div style="">Rep. Andre Carson</div><div style="">Rep. Ed Case</div><div style="">Rep. Sean Casten</div><div style="">Rep. Kathy Castor</div><div style="">Rep. Joaquin Castro</div><div style="">Rep. Judy Chu</div><div style="">Rep. Gil Cisneros</div><div style="">Rep. Yvette Clarke</div><div style="">Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay</div><div style="">Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver</div><div style="">Rep. Steve Cohen</div><div style="">Rep. Gerald Connolly</div><div style="">Rep. Jim Cooper</div><div style="">Rep. Lou Correa</div><div style="">Rep. Jim Costa</div><div style="">Rep. Joe Courtney</div><div style="">Rep. TJ Cox</div><div style="">Rep. Angie Craig</div><div style="">Rep. Charlie Crist</div><div style="">Rep. Jason Crow</div><div style="">Rep. Henry Cuellar</div><div style="">Rep. Joe Cunningham</div><div style="">Rep. Sharice Davids</div><div style="">Rep. Danny Davis</div><div style="">Rep. Susan Davis</div><div style="">Rep. Madeleine Dean</div><div style="">Rep. Diana DeGette</div><div style="">Rep. Suzan DelBene</div><div style="">Rep. Antonio Delgado</div><div style="">Rep. Val Demings</div><div style="">Rep. Mark DeSaulnier</div><div style="">Rep. Lloyd Doggett</div><div style="">Rep. Mike Doyle</div><div style="">Rep. Veronica Escobar</div><div style="">Rep. Anna Eshoo</div><div style="">Rep. Adriano Espaillat</div><div style="">Rep. Dwight Evans</div><div style="">Rep. Abby Finkenauer</div><div style="">Rep. Lizzie Fletcher</div><div style="">Rep. Bill Foster</div><div style="">Rep. Lois Frankel</div><div style="">Rep. Marcia Fudge</div><div style="">Rep. Tulsi Gabbard</div><div style="">Rep. Ruben Gallego</div><div style="">Rep. John Garamendi</div><div style="">Rep. Sylvia Garcia</div><div style="">Rep. Jesus Garcia</div><div style="">Rep. Jared Golden</div><div style="">Rep. Jimmy Gomez</div><div style="">Rep. Vincente Gonzalez</div><div style="">Rep. Josh Gottheimer</div><div style="">Rep. Al Green</div><div style="">Rep. Deb Haaland</div><div style="">Rep. Josh Harder</div><div style="">Rep. Alcee Hastings</div><div style="">Rep. Jahana Hayes</div><div style="">Rep. Denny Heck</div><div style="">Rep. Brian Higgins</div><div style="">Rep. James Himes</div><div style="">Rep. Kendra Horn</div><div style="">Rep. Steven Horsford</div><div style="">Rep. Chrissy Houlahan</div><div style="">Rep. Jared Huffman</div><div style="">Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee</div><div style="">Rep. Pramila Jayapal</div><div style="">Rep. Hank Johnson</div><div style="">Rep. Marcy Kaptur</div><div style="">Rep. William Keating</div><div style="">Rep. Robin Kelly</div><div style="">Rep. Joseph Kennedy</div><div style="">Rep. Ro Khanna</div><div style="">Rep. Dan Kildee</div><div style="">Rep. Derek Kilmer</div><div style="">Rep. Andy Kim</div><div style="">Rep. Ron Kind</div><div style="">Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick</div><div style="">Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi</div><div style="">Rep. Ann McLane Kuster</div><div style="">Rep. Conor Lamb</div><div style="">Rep. Jim Langevin</div><div style="">Rep. Rick Larsen</div><div style="">Rep. John Larson</div><div style="">Rep. Brenda Lawrence</div><div style="">Rep. Al Lawson</div><div style="">Rep. Susie Lee</div><div style="">Rep. Mike Levin</div><div style="">Rep. Andy Levin</div><div style="">Rep. John Lewis</div><div style="">Rep. Daniel Lipinski</div><div style="">Rep. Dave Loebsack</div><div style="">Rep. Alan Lowenthal</div><div style="">Rep. Elaine Luria</div><div style="">Rep. Stephen Lynch</div><div style="">Rep. Tom Malinowski</div><div style="">Rep. Carolyn Maloney</div><div style="">Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney</div><div style="">Rep. Doris Matsui</div><div style="">Rep. Ben McAdams</div><div style="">Rep. Lucy McBath</div><div style="">Rep. Betty McCollum</div><div style="">Rep. Donald McEachin</div><div style="">Rep. Jerry McNerney</div><div style="">Rep. Gregory Meeks</div><div style="">Rep. Grace Meng</div><div style="">Rep. Gwen Moore</div><div style="">Rep. Joe Morelle</div><div style="">Rep. Seth Moulton</div><div style="">Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell</div><div style="">Rep. Stephanie Murphy</div><div style="">Rep. Grace Napolitano</div><div style="">Rep. Donald Norcross</div><div style="">Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton</div><div style="">Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez</div><div style="">Rep. Tom O'Halleran</div><div style="">Rep. Ilhan Omar</div><div style="">Rep. Jimmy Panetta</div><div style="">Rep. Chris Pappas</div><div style="">Rep. Bill Pascrell</div><div style="">Rep. Donald Payne</div><div style="">Rep. Ed Perlmutter</div><div style="">Rep. Scott Peters</div><div style="">Rep. Dean Phillips</div><div style="">Rep. Chellie Pingree</div><div style="">Rep. Mark Pocan</div><div style="">Rep. Katie Porter</div><div style="">Rep. Ayanna Pressley</div><div style="">Rep. David Price</div><div style="">Rep. Mike Quigley</div><div style="">Rep. Kathleen Rice</div><div style="">Rep. Cedric Richmond</div><div style="">Rep. Max Rose</div><div style="">Rep. Harley Rouda</div><div style="">Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard</div><div style="">Rep. Raul Ruiz</div><div style="">Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger</div><div style="">Rep. Bobby Rush</div><div style="">Rep. Tim Ryan</div><div style="">Rep. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan</div><div style="">Rep. Linda Sanchez</div><div style="">Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon</div><div style="">Rep. Jan Schakowsky</div><div style="">Rep. Brad Schneider</div><div style="">Rep. Kurt Schrader</div><div style="">Rep. Kim Schrier</div><div style="">Rep. David Scott</div><div style="">Rep. Jose Serrano</div><div style="">Rep. Terri Sewell</div><div style="">Rep. Donna Shalala</div><div style="">Rep. Brad Sherman</div><div style="">Rep. Mikie Sherrill</div><div style="">Rep. Albio Sires</div><div style="">Rep. Elissa Slotkin</div><div style="">Rep. Darren Soto</div><div style="">Rep. Abigail Spanberger</div><div style="">Rep. Jackie Speier</div><div style="">Rep. Greg Stanton</div><div style="">Rep. Haley Stevens</div><div style="">Rep. Tom Suozzi</div><div style="">Rep. Mike Thompson</div><div style="">Rep. Dina Titus</div><div style="">Rep. Rashida Tlaib</div><div style="">Rep. Paul Tonko</div><div style="">Rep. Norma Torres</div><div style="">Rep. Xochitl Torres Small</div><div style="">Rep. Lori Trahan</div><div style="">Rep. David Trone</div><div style="">Rep. Lauren Underwood</div><div style="">Rep. Jeff Van Drew</div><div style="">Rep. Juan Vargas</div><div style="">Rep. Marc Veasey</div><div style="">Rep. Filemon Vela</div><div style="">Rep. Pete Visclosky</div><div style="">Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz</div><div style="">Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman</div><div style="">Rep. Peter Welch</div><div style="">Rep. Jennifer Wexton</div><div style="">Rep. Susan Wild</div><div style="">Rep. Frederica Wilson</div><div style="">More on H.R. 1, the For the People Act</div><div style="">Sarbanes, Thompson, Lofgren Introduce Comprehensive Election Security Reforms</div><div style="">May 10, 2019 Press Release</div></div><div>==</div></div></div></div></div></div></div>