Public Citizen Statement on S.1., Honorary First Bill of the 117th Congress
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Incoming U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) today will designate the For the People Act, a bold package of campaign reforms, as the honorary first bill of the Congress, S.1.
Lisa Gilbert, executive vice president of Public Citizen, released the following statement:
“Naming the For the People Act S.1 is a clear signal from the Senate and Leader Schumer that fixing the systemic problems of our democracy caused by long-term corruption is an absolute priority. Their messaging joins the House Speaker’s similar top priority designation when they termed the legislation H.R. 1 on Jan. 4.
“It makes sense that both chambers have clearly expressed the importance of this bill. At a moment where we face an acute crisis of confidence in our democracy, the legislation includes provisions to make voting access easier, improve election security, limit secret political spending, deal with gerrymandering, create a small donor-focused public financing system to allow more candidates to run, install new ethics rules for the administration and Congress and much more.
“This legislation would begin to repair the damage caused by the disturbing behavior we’ve seen under President Donald Trump and assist in the process of restoring Americans’ trust in government. And with the myriad challenges facing our nation, it’s no wonder that congressional leadership firmly believes rebuilding must begin today.”