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[Page S1643]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FOR THE PEOPLE ACT
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, H.R. 1--this past Sunday marked one
year since the House passed H.R. 1, the For the People Act. This bill
takes urgent and long overdue steps to renew our democracy. It will
reverse the corrupting effects of Citizens United. It will restore
protections for voting. And it will take aim at Washington's culture of
corruption, which has run rampant under this administration.
It could not come at a better time. Every election, we see the
sweeping power of big money. State legislatures have found new ways to
deny Americans, often minorities, access to the ballot. Our
adversaries--including the Russians--work day and night to influence
our elections and sow confusion in the public sphere. H.R. 1 would
forcefully and directly address each of these issues. But, like every
other bill passed by the House over the past 2 years, it has been
buried in Leader McConnell's legislative graveyard. We must move it.
This bill is about making our democracy work and giving American
citizens some faith in the future.
Republicans, rather than working with Democrats to strengthen our
democracy, have stood in the way. They have blocked election security
legislation and sanctions to deter foreign adversaries from trying to
interfere in our democracy. They have enabled President Trump's assault
on the separation of powers through their silence on the President's
many abuses of power. Even today, the Republicans are putting forward a
nominee for the Federal Election Commission who expressed doubts
regarding the benefits of even the most reasonable restrictions on
campaign spending, including disclosure.
When H.R. 1 first passed the House, Leader McConnell called this bill
to restore voting rights and get money out of politics a ``terrible
proposal'' and a ``power grab.'' If Leader McConnell thinks that
getting big money out of politics is a terrible idea, if he truly
believes making it easier for Americans to vote is a power grab by
Democrats, then God help the Republican Party and God help this
country.
Democrats will not stop fighting for this bill, nor will we ever stop
fighting to restore the democratic values that have guided our Nation
for 2\1/2\ centuries. In the United States, each person's vote should
have the same weight as everyone else's. That is a hallmark of our
democracy. A fair and free election is the wellspring of our democracy.
It is what Americans have died for in the battlefields around the
world, what civil rights activists have marched for across the bridges
and the generations. And though the Republican leader has been adamant
in his opposition to this legislation, the American people, thank God,
will have a chance this November to elect a new Senate that will move
this country in a dramatically different direction.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
____________________
