Election reform and anti-corruption bill in the 117th Congress
Freedom to Vote Act
Long title
An Act to expand Americans' access to the ballot box and reduce the influence of big money in politics, and for other purposes.
Announced in
the 118th United States Congress
Number of co-sponsors
214
Legislative history
Introduced in the House of Representatives as H.R. 11 by John Sarbanes (D–MD) on July 18, 2023
Committee consideration by House Judiciary
Senator Amy Klobuchar speaks on the Act from inside the Capitol Building
The Freedom to Vote Act (formerly known as the For the People Act),[1] introduced as H.R.1,[2] is a bill in the United States Congress[3] intended to expand voting rights, change campaign finance laws to reduce the influence of money in politics, ban partisan gerrymandering, and create new ethics rules for federal officeholders.[4][5][6][7]
The act was originally introduced by John Sarbanes in 2019, on behalf of the newly elected Democratic majority in the United States House of Representatives as the first official legislation of the 116th United States Congress.[6][8] The House passed the bill on March 8, by a party-line vote of 234–193.[9][10] The bill was viewed as a "signature piece of legislation" from the Democratic House majority.[11] After the House passed the bill, it was blocked from receiving a vote by the then Republican-controlled Senate, under Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.[12][13]
In 2021, in the 117th Congress, congressional Democrats reintroduced the act as H.R.1 and S.1.[14] On March 3, 2021, the bill passed the House of Representatives on a near party-line vote of 220–210, advancing to the Senate, which was split 50–50 between Democrats and Republicans (with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris holding the tie-breaking vote[15]), and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed to bring it to the floor for a vote. On June 22, 2021, a vote on the bill was held in the Senate. It received unified support from the Democratic caucus, but Senate Republicans blocked the bill with a filibuster, as it lacked the 60 votes needed to invoke cloture after a party-line vote. Some Senate Democrats expressed support for abolishing the filibuster for the bill, but others in their caucus remained opposed or expressed reservations about doing so, including Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema.[15][16][17][18]
^"H.R. 1 – The For The People Act of 2019". www.brennancenter.org. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
^ https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/11?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%22Freedom+to+vote+act%22%7D&s=7&r=1. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
^ "Sarbanes Statement on Senate Democrats' Unanimous Vote to Proceed on the For the People Act". June 22, 2021.
^Cite error: The named reference usatoday was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference pfact was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ abOverby, Peter (January 5, 2019). "House Democrats Introduce Anti-Corruption Bill As Symbolic 1st Act". NPR. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
^"With Control of Congress, Democrats Aim To Address Voting Rights". Weekend Edition Sunday. NPR. January 24, 2017.
^Sarbanes, John (January 3, 2019). "H.R. 1 – 116th Congress (2019–2020): To expand Americans' access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics, and strengthen ethics rules for public servants, and for other purposes". www.congress.gov. United States Congress. Archived from the original on January 7, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
^Nilsen, Ella (March 8, 2019). "House Democrats just passed a slate of significant reforms to get money out of politics". Vox. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
^"Final Vote Results For Roll Call 118".
^Edmondson, Catie (March 7, 2019). "House Democrats Will Vote on Sweeping Anti-Corruption Legislation. Here's What's in It. (Published 2019)". The New York Times. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
^Levine, Marianne (March 6, 2019). "McConnell won't allow vote on election reform bill". Politico. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
^Fandos, Nicholas (January 4, 2019). "Aiming at Trump, Democrats Lay Out Agenda for a Post-Shutdown Congress". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
^Treene, Alayna (January 3, 2021). "House Democrats plan to reintroduce 9 key bills that died under the Trump administration". Axios. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
^ abBrian Slodysko, House passes sweeping voting rights bill over GOP opposition, Associated Press (March 5, 2021).
^Thrush, Glenn (March 5, 2021). "More Democrats join the effort to kill the filibuster as a way of saving Biden's agenda". The New York Times. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
^Raju, Manu; Fox, Lauren (March 25, 2021). "Democratic divisions on Biden's agenda broader than just Manchin". CNN.
^Everett, Burgess; Levine, Marianne (March 17, 2021). "Biden's foray into filibuster fight leaves liberals no closer to victory". Politico.
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