House Passes Historic Package to Reduce Money in Politics, Expand Voting Rights and Clean up Corruption in Government

Statement

Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-05), Chief Deputy Whip of the House Democratic Caucus, today applauded action in the U.S. House of Representatives to pass H.R. 1, the For the People Act. This bill expands voting rights for Americans, reduces the dominance of big money in politics, and ensures that public officials work for the people, not special interests.

"Too many Americans have lost faith in our democracy. The American people elected a new House majority to restore transparency and accountability in government. This legislation begins to restore people's faith in government by making sure that government works for the public interest, not special interests. By ensuring fair elections and making it easier to vote, to reforming our campaign finance system, this transformative legislation makes sure the American people come first in our democracy. The Senate should take this legislation up right away," said Congressman Kildee.

The For the People Act would:

Ensure fair elections and make it easier for Americans to exercise their right to vote by creating automatic voter registration, expanding early voting, and investing in election infrastructure.
Reform our campaign finance system by ensuring complete transparency, putting in place reasonable limits on campaign finance reforms, and empowering citizens by establishing a matching system for small donations.
Put in place national redistricting reform by requiring states to adopt independent redistricting commissions for purposes of drawing Congressional districts.
Demand accountability and guarantee public officials put the American people first by prohibiting Members of Congress from using taxpayer funds to settle any case of employment discrimination acts, requiring presidents to disclose ten years of federal tax returns and strengthening the Office of Government Ethics.
H.R.1 has been the subject of hearings across several committees of jurisdiction including the Judiciary Committee on January 29, Oversight and Reform on February 6, Ways and Means Committee on February 6, Homeland Security Committee February 13 and House Administration Committee on February 14. The bill was marked up and reported out of the House Administration Committee on February 26.

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