For the People Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, I am here today to offer an amendment to remove section 4208 from H.R. 1.

Section 4208 is a dangerous provision of this bill that will put people's private information on display and put their personal security at risk.

This section aims to forbid anonymous speech. Throughout American history, anonymous speech about political matters has played a vital role. From the Federalist Papers, to those who supported the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, many in history had very legitimate fears of having their identities uncovered and relied on anonymous speech to show their support for certain policies and initiatives.

Section 4208 removes the protection of anonymous speech forever. By requiring public reporting of the private information of individuals, partnerships, associations, and any group of people who spend $500 or more on political advertising--which is a very broad definition in this bill--we put individuals at risk.

Furthermore, we drastically limit free speech and destroy the First Amendment. Notably, the courts have already begun to warn against the constitutionality of similar provisions in State law. We cannot allow this to stand. Not only will it cause a security problem for these individuals but, as we have seen, people could lose their jobs, be shamed, or even worse.

I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

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Ms. VAN DUYNE. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentlewoman's amendment, and I will be supporting it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 1, the underlying bill, the ``destroy election integrity and centralize all power in Washington, D.C., act'' that Democrats are, once again, pushing because they never have and never will believe in the rights of our States and the limited power of Federal Government.

Some of my colleagues who took every opportunity to emphasize that democracy was on the ballot in this past election have returned to Congress eager to change election laws in their favor.

H.R. 1 is wholly about control--control of free speech and control of how elections are conducted. And when they exercise this control, their purpose is to crush opposing views, because opposing views will not be tolerated when there are Democrat majorities at stake.

America's strength lies in its free speech and decentralized elections, and we must continue to make our election system more resilient to natural challenges and foreign actors. H.R. 1 fails to do this on all fronts.

Mr. Speaker, I was elected by the people of the 24th District of Texas to stand up for freedom, the rule of law, and limited government. I urge my colleagues to vote against this vile new form of tyranny in H.R. 1.
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