Sarbanes Renews Call for Key Voting Rights, Campaign Finance Reform Legislation [VIDEO]

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Congressman John Sarbanes (MD-03) delivered remarks on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives today to spotlight the Freedom to Vote Act, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and other key legislation to strengthen our democracy.

H.R. 11, the Freedom to Vote Act, would improve access to the ballot box, combat the influence of big money on our politics, end partisan gerrymandering and establish a small donor financing system.

H.R. 14, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, would restore key provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that were gutted by the Supreme Court in 2013.

House Democrats passed both pieces of legislation during the 117th Congress and have designated these critical reforms as a top legislative priority in each of the last three congresses.

See below for a video(link is external)and transcript of the Congressman's remarks.

"Thank you very much, Representative Ramirez. I want to salute the Congressional Progressive Caucus for pulling together this special order to talk about the importance of strengthening our democracy.

"You were absolutely right to begin the discussion tonight by reminding us that this is the anniversary of September 11, the tragedy that struck our country. This is a day when as patriots, we stand up as Americans, we salute the flag, we salute our history. So, it's very appropriate that it's a day on which we want to speak to the need to strengthen and deepen our resolve when it comes to making sure the democracy of this country - that connective tissue - is as strong as it can possibly be.

"The sad reality is that over a period of years now, many Americans have become more cynical because they look at Washington, they look at the places where laws are made, and they feel that it's more distant from them. That it doesn't fully express their voice, their dreams, their hopes and aspirations. And a lot of that has to do, as you know, with throwing obstacles in the way of voters as they try to access the ballot box or making it difficult for their priorities to be carried forward because of the insidious influence of dark money and other forces that are behind the curtain.

"So, we have applied ourselves, over a period of many congresses now, to try to channel the grievances that our constituents have expressed into pieces of legislation that can begin, over time, if we can get them passed, to restore that fundamental faith in democracy.

"These include the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore the protections of the 1965 Voting Rights Act--by the way, a piece of legislation that, at every opportunity for reauthorization, until very recently, was supported in a bipartisan fashion. Republicans and Democrats understood that you needed to have these voting protections in place. Unfortunately, over the last few years, for reasons difficult to discern sometimes, our Republican colleagues have fallen away from this commitment, and we've had to carry it ourselves.

"So, that's one important piece of legislation that Democrats are supporting that repeatedly we've brought to the floor of this House, and we've passed here. It's been a more difficult prospect on the Senate side, but we have the hope that that opportunity will present itself, as well.

"Another critical piece of legislation that I've felt privileged to have carried and exercised some leadership on is the Freedom to Vote Act. It started out as the For the People Act. It has evolved over a period of two or three congresses, we've passed it four or five different times out of this chamber, again running into the blockade on the Senate side. But this is a bill where every provision of it is designed to respond to that cynicism that Americans are feeling.

"The first 300 pages of the Freedom to Vote Act were penned, were authored, by our late colleague, John Lewis. The freedom fighter who inspired so many of us before he came to Congress and during his time in Congress. But he understood that we had to make it possible for people to access the ballot box without having to run an obstacle course every two years, put in place these fundamental reforms that every American in every community can benefit from: automatic voter registration, same day registration, early voting, mail balloting. All the things that make it possible when somebody gets up on the morning of that day when they've decided to cast their vote and know that that's not going to be a difficult transaction, that they can do that, that they can access their democracy in a straightforward way. So, that's one centerpiece of the Freedom to Vote Act.

"Another grievance we heard from Americans for many, many years is, why should politicians be able to choose their voters instead of the other way around? And we've seen what extreme partisan gerrymandering has done across the country. It means that in the House of Representatives, we don't actually have a fair representation of what the vote is out in the country, and this makes average people out there feel disrespected. Voters feel like their voice is not being given the weight and the due that it deserves. So, included within the Freedom to Vote Act are provisions that would establish an objective, independent way of determining how districts should be drawn, so that we are respectful of the voters - another key piece of this reform package.

"And then the last critical dimension of this is what to do about the undue influence - the sinister, insidious influence - that money has over the political system. Your voice consists of two basic components in a democracy. One is that you can cast your vote freely and fairly. But the other dimension of it is, if you send people to Washington, if you elect them, if you pull the lever for them, your expectation is when they get there, they will fight for your priorities, and they won't get hijacked or captured by special interests and big money. The reality is very different, unfortunately, and it leaves people feeling disempowered.

"So, two key reforms that are included within this legislation are the DISCLOSE Act, which would require that we have transparency in terms of this dark money that is flooded onto our system, and another piece - that I know you feel very passionately about, Representative Ramirez - and that is a small donor matching system that can support candidates' efforts to get out there and run their campaigns free from dependence on big money and deep pockets. And this legislation would create a system where for every dollar you raise from small donations, grassroots donations, you get a six to one match from something we call the Freedom from Influence Fund. And by the way, that fund would not be taxpayer underwritten. We would put a small surcharge on government settlements with big corporate law breakers and high-end tax cheats that would go into a special fund and that would underwrite the matching funds to come in to support these candidates. And what I like about that is the people that are leaning on our democracy and trying to break it, they're going to have to pay to create a system that can lift our democracy up.

"So, all of these things are designed to respond to those grievances that Americans feel. And these key pieces of legislation - John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, the Freedom to Vote Act, the Native American Voting Rights Act, the DC statehood bill - they're very simple in what they're trying to achieve: give a voice to all Americans.

"Thank you, Progressive Caucus, for pulling us together this evening, and I yield my time back to you."

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