Public Citizen Supports of House Committee on Oversight and Reform’s Advancement of the For The People Act
Feb. 6, 2019
Public Citizen Supports House Committee on Oversight and Reform’s Advancement of the For The People Act
Statements of Public Citizen Experts
Note: The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform today is considering the For the People Act (H.R. 1). The bill is the most sweeping pro-democracy and anti-corruption legislation of the past 50 years. Public Citizen’s Craig Holman and Lisa Gilbert submitted written testimony to the committee in support of the legislation. The hearing examined the proposals in the For the People Act, including Title VIII of the bill, which would make Election Day a federal holiday and make thousands of federal agency reports currently reserved for Congress available publicly by offering them in a central, searchable website.
“In November, the American people went to the polls and resoundingly cast their ballots in support of candidates and officeholders committed to cleaning up corruption and holding our government accountable. With that in mind, fixing our system is the first order of business. The For the People Act embodies these principles and constitutes Congress’ promise to the nation to ensure that public officials work for the people.”
-Lisa Gilbert, vice president of legislative affairs, Public Citizen
“Today’s hearing focused especially on the ethics reforms for the executive branch. The sweeping legislation addresses voting rights, campaign finance reform and ethics. For instance, the bill contains a provision that would require full disclosure and no personal use of funds that have been raised for a presidential inauguration. As many now know, President Donald Trump is under investigation for some mysteriously unexplained $50 million in expenditures by his inaugural committee. If passed, the For the People Act could bring true checks and balances to our abused system of money in politics.”
-Craig Holman, government affairs lobbyist, Public Citizen’s Congress Watch division
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