The For The People Act included key provisions that are derived from legislation introduced by Rep. Deutch. More information below.

 

"This comprehensive bill is one of the most transformational pro-democracy, anti-corruption reforms in a generation," said Rep. Deutch. "The For the People Act delivers on House Democrats' promise to restore American democracy by breaking down barriers to voting, ensuring the integrity of our elections, and holding government officials to a high ethical standard. It's clear to see why this legislation is so popular: most Americans want to end the era of powerful special interests preventing Congress from responding to issues like gun violence and climate change. At a time when our democracy is under threat from foreign influence, from disinformation, from big money, and from attacks on voting rights, Congress must act to ensure our elections and our government truly serve the will of the people."

 

Key provisions of H.R. 1, the For the People Act, include:

 

• Expanding automatic voter registration and same day registration.

• Strengthening vote by mail, early voting and ballot access.

• Combating voter intimidation and voter suppression.

• Protecting elections from foreign interference.

• Fixing partisan gerrymandering.

• Promoting digital ad transparency.

• Forcing disclosure of dark money.

• Reining in lobbyist influence.

• Enforcing ethics and conflict of interest rules for all government officials.

• Empowering small donors with matching funds paid for by lawbreakers, not taxpayers.

 

Click here for more information about H.R. 1.

 

More background on H.R. 1:

 

Campaign Finance Reform

 

H.R. 1 outlines the damage caused by the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision and calls for a constitutional amendment to allow states and the federal government to regulate spending in elections.

 

"In order to protect the integrity of democracy and the electoral process and to ensure political equality for all, the Constitution should be amended so that Congress and the States may regulate and set limits on the raising and spending of money to influence elections and may distinguish between natural persons and artificial entities, like corporations, that are created by law, including by prohibiting such artificial entities from spending money to influence elections." (Subtitle A, Section 5001, clause 15).

 

Rep. Deutch's bipartisan Democracy for All Amendment (H.J.Res. 1) affirms the right of states and the federal government to pass laws that regulate spending in elections, reversing the concentration of political influence held by the wealthiest Americans and large corporations capable of spending billions of dollars in our elections.

 

A section-by-section and FAQ can be accessed here.

 

As he said upon introduction, “We cannot allow the wealthiest individuals and corporations to flood our elections with cash through complex webs of Super PACs and dark money groups that put special interests above the will of the American people...Limitless campaign spending makes it harder for Washington to solve problems and opens the door to corruption. To ensure that our elections produce a democracy for all, we must overturn Citizens United and get big money out of our elections.”

 

Executive Branch Ethics

 

Sections 8041-8042 in H.R. 1 are provisions from Rep. Deutch's legislation, titled the Conflicts from Political Fundraising Act, that would close an Executive Branch ethics loophole and require presidential nominees to disclose whether they have solicited or contributed funds for political purposes to 527 political action committees, or tax-exempt groups formed under sections 501(c)(4) or 501(c)(6) of the tax code.

 

Currently, a presidential nominee must disclose their personal financial information to the Office of Government Ethics to highlight and address any potential conflicts of interest. However, the nominees are not required to release information about their political solicitations or contributions, which may also create risks or appearance of conflicts of interest. For example, if a nominee asked a corporation for a $1,000,000 contribution to a political action committee before his appointment, they should disclose that and be disqualified from participating in any decisions involving that corporation.

 

A one-pager on the bill can be accessed here.

 

As Rep. Deutch, Chairman of the House Ethics Committee, said upon introduction last Congress, "When the President nominates people to the highest powers of our government, the public has a right to know whether they have a personal stake in the game that could affect their decision-making. Transparency is necessary for the American people to have faith that their government is acting on their behalf and with their interests in mind."

 

Protecting Voters who Vote by Mail

 

Section 1621 of H.R. 1 covers important protections for American voters who chose to vote by mail. It includes a reporting provision that was offered as an amendment by Rep. Deutch and Rep. Alcee Hastings (FL-20) in 2019 and accepted into the final version of H.R. 1 passed by the House. This year, H.R. 1 includes this language in the original text.

 

Specifically, the provisions would require states to report to Congress within 120 days after a federal election on the number of mail ballots invalidated, attempts to contact the voter about their invalidated ballot, and a description of the state's cure process and how many ballots were validated as a result of that process.