March, 04 2019, 11:00pm EDT
Democracy 21 Sends Letter Urging H.R. 1 Co-Sponsors to Oppose Any Weakening Amendment or Motion to Recommit
WASHINGTON
In a letter sent today to Representatives cosponsoring landmark democracy reform legislation H.R. 1, Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer strongly urged them to oppose any weakening amendment or motion to recommit offered regarding the bill.
H.R. 1, also known as the "For the People Act," was introduced by Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD) and is cosponsored by the other 234 Democratic Members of the House.
According to the letter, "Voters made clear in the 2018 congressional elections that they want Washington corruption ended and our political system fixed. They want the voices of all Americans to have an opportunity to be heard by officeholders in Washington and the votes of all citizens to count."
The letter stated that H.R. 1 is "holistic legislation that effectively addresses fundamental campaign finance, voting rights, redistricting and government ethics problems that are subverting our constitutional system of representative government."
According to the letter:
Democracy 21 greatly appreciates your co-sponsorship of H.R. 1. We strongly urge you to vote against any weakening amendments and any motion to recommit offered regarding the bill.
It is important to keep in mind that the motion to recommit will be offered by a House Member who is going to vote against the bill even if the motion is approved. The motion to recommit will not be offered to improve the bill, but rather will be a "gotcha" amendment intended both to try to cause problems for supporters of H.R. 1 and to damage the bill.
The letter continued:
H.R. 1 is far too important to the American people for you to vote with its opponents, who have opposed the bill from the beginning and will vote against it in the end.
As a supporter of H.R. 1, Democracy 21 urges you not to join opponents of H.R. 1 in whatever disingenuous games they try to play with the motion to recommit. There is no basis for you to vote for a motion offered by an opponent of the bill in an effort to undermine the legislation.
The letter to Representatives concluded:
H.R. 1 represents the beginning of a battle to revitalize our democracy that will be fought in Congress for as long as it takes to restore the integrity and health of our democracy. It is a battle that the American people will ultimately win.
We strongly urge you to vote against any motion to recommit and any weakening amendment to H.R. 1.
Read the full letter here.
Democracy 21 is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to making democracy work for all Americans. Democracy 21, and its education arm, Democracy 21 Education Fund, work to eliminate the undue influence of big money in American politics, prevent government corruption, empower citizens in the political process and ensure the integrity and fairness of government decisions and elections. The organization promotes campaign finance reform and other related political reforms to accomplish these goals.
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