For the People Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, prior to my coming to Congress, I dedicated my entire life as an FBI agent to fighting corruption and fighting for electoral reform, having overseen that program for the entire Nation. H.R. 1 sets us back.

H.R. 1 should not be called For the People. It should be called for the politicians. We know what we need to do to fix this system, Mr. Speaker.

Several of my colleagues and I have introduced legislation that would actually restore faith in this institution and in the electoral process: term limits, no budget-no pay, a balanced budget amendment, single-issue legislation, abolishing congressional pensions, ending ballot harvesting, providing free photo IDs to every registered voter, ensuring signature matching, and, with the exception of military ballots, requiring that all ballots be received by 8 p.m. on election night.

Mr. Speaker, this is common sense. What this body is doing today is the opposite. My colleagues are further eroding trust in this system, and that is a real shame because we have the opportunity to fix this.

Mr. Speaker, I want to know why House leadership refuses to put these issues on the floor that would unequivocally pass with overwhelming margins in the House and the Senate. If it is going to pass overwhelmingly here, that means the American people want it. Let's put those on the floor.

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