RepresentUs Press Statement on Anti-Corruption Reform Bill HR-1

FLORENCE, Mass. (January 3, 2019) - As House Democrats today introduce H.R. 1, a sweeping anti-corruption bill aimed at stamping out the outsized influence of big money in politics and expanding voting rights, the nation’s leading right-left anti-corruption group RepresentUs is warning against partisan gamesmanship. Joshua Graham Lynn, co-founder and managing director of RepresentUs issued the following statement:

“The content of H.R. 1 would do much to fix America’s corrupt political system. Unfortunately, House Democrats’ strategy not only dooms the bill to fail, but it does a deep disservice to the American people.

American voters of all stripes spoke this year when conservatives, progressives, and everyone in between banded together to pass 23 state and local anti-corruption ballot measures across the country: they want our representatives to put country over party to unrig our political system.

But instead of delivering a fresh way forward, House Democrats have added to the chain of disappointment in DC. They could have begun the session with an open invitation to their Republican colleagues to build a policy package together that puts voters over billionaires and special interests. If they had gotten no takers, then a one-party bill would have been justified. Instead, they begin the session with a bill so heavily Democratic that they know no Republican can sign on. And given that they need Republican votes to pass the bill — now and in the future — what message does that send to the public?

Corruption doesn’t wear a party label. Corruption is a crisis the American people are ready to tackle — and we are already doing it with 2018’s unprecedented number of ballot measure wins. The people desperately need the policies in HR-1 so America to works for everyone, not just the wealthy and well-connected — and yet Democrats are happy to doom the bill from the start and use it to attack Republicans.

The only path to victory is for liberals and conservatives to put country over party and unite to unrig the system. Proponents need to extend an olive branch, and build bipartisan and presidential support for the reforms in HR-1. That winning strategy is what RepresentUs supports, and it’s what enabled our movement to win 23 state and local reforms in 2018.

If you think sweeping bipartisan reforms can’t happen with this Congress, think again. Just look at the criminal justice reform that passed at the end of 2018 with support from Republicans, Democrats and the President. It happened not by weaponizing the issue against one party, but by good faith openness and trust.”

For more information on RepresentUs’ work in the anti-corruption arena, visit represent.us.

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RepresentUs is the nation’s leading right-left anti-corruption group, bringing together conservatives, progressives and everyone in between to pass anti-corruption laws in cities and states around the country.

 

To learn more and show your support: 

What's in HR-1 — and Why it's Doomed

Tell HR-1 Cosponsors: Don't Play Partisan Politics

RepresentUs is America’s leading anti-corruption organization working city-by-city, state-by-state to fix our broken political system.