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Video Transcript
Okay, What do we got good afternoon? everyone? Thank you all for being here. we all in almost we're almost in. It really is an honor to be here with such a distinguished array of presenters who have so much to do about making our elections fair to be here with Mister Hoyer Mister Lujan Congresswoman reference. John Sarbanes has been a hero in terms of HR one, a freshman who had as part of their whole thrust in the campaign. cleaner government HR one also mister Halloran of Arizona. With us as well champion on this issue in the Congress, you'll be hearing from Venetia Tiffany Muller and it is again a collection of folks who have been very much for the people and protecting our democracy. I thank John Sarbanes, Chair of our Democracy Reform Task Force and the lead sponsor there. You go the lead sponsor of HR one. We're pleased to be with chairs our brilliant legal mind in the caucus. she is. Cheer of the House Administration Committee had jurisdiction over this legislation. Also, as I mentioned our members of our leadership and mister you'll be hearing from Chris Pass. This represents our freshmen class. They may cleaning up government the number one priority from day one again. Tiffany has been our heroine in all of this in Bonita. Thank you for your leadership. now here we are 10. Ago, the Supreme Court of the United States Open the flood Gates to big dark special interest money in our politics and crushing decision in citizens United undermined a fundamental American value. We are a government of the many, not a government of the money. Democrats know that when we break the grip of the special interest, we can advance progress for the people. That is why when the first. We passed HR one for the people and it's ending the dominance of big dark special interest money in politics and empowering small donors, ensuring clean fair elections and fighting voter suppression as again cleaning up government. Yeah. for more than 300 days, the grim Reaper has refused to give us a vote. In fact, Mitch McConnell has said the problem is not there. There is too much money in politics, Mitch McConnell said. The problem is there is not enough money in politics shocking and we have a message for him. Americans want a government that works for the public interest, not for the special interest and they will join us to turn up the heat until HR one HR one House Resolution one is too hot to handle and Senator McConnell is forced to take it up. It is again something that gives people hope that tries to diminish. their doubts about if their voice counts of as compared and contrasted with big dark money, It gives them confidence that yes, we can lower the cost of prescription drugs. We can reduce the the power of being big gun money in Congress and get safe legislation for a safer America that we can protect our environment without big dark money of keeping leaders in our country into. Over climate, the list goes on and on and I thank mister Sarbanes again for his tremendous leadership and showing people that connection to their aspirate for the aspirations and the reducing the role of dark money with that. I'm very pleased to bring to yield the floor to distinguish leader for many years on this subject, mister Hoyer of Maryland, our distinguished House Democratic leader. Thank you very much Madam Speaker 10 years what's happening in those 10 years. I am so pleased to join my colleague from Maryland John Sarbanes, who's been such a leader on this issue. Thank you very much His father and I were very very close and I become very close to his son and his son is demonstrate the same kind of integrity and focus on good government that his father did so. thank you for your leadership. Ben Ray Lujan the Assistant Speaker. Thank you for your galvanizing. certainly the freshman class on this issue and Chris Papas. Thank you very much for being a representative of that freshman class in Tomahawk, who has been very much involved in that, and then, of course our our leader. Committee so what's happening in those 10 years Miss Mueller, who is leading the effort to so well. Tiffany just told me we were spending about seven or 80 million dollars on outside spending before citizens United now four point four billion dollars. That's a 400 percent increase. 80 percent prior to since the United was disclosed, spending, my mother used to say to me, consider the source. Who's talking, I said mom, you know somebody sets up. consider the source if it's secret if it's dark. If it's not disclosed, you can't consider the source you do not know who's talking to you or supporting others. Now 50 percent a major reduction in the knowledge voters have that's not what our democracy about our democracy is about citizens having information on which they can base sound judgments. Consider the source. that's what this is about. one of the first major bills as you've heard is was HR one it dealt. With campaign finance reform that dealt with voting rights dealt with redistricting it dealt with making our democracy work better for the people. That bill would undo the worst effects of the citizens United ruling that ruling allowed billions of dollars in dark and undisclosed money to infiltrate our politics and drown out the voices of the voters of the people. Are committed to ending so this is United, which is why we passed HR one. I was proud to be hosted by End Citizens United late 2018 with Tiffany what eventually became a HR one with the help of leaders like Representative Sarbanes, Chairwoman, Lufkin and others, and we spoke at that point time John and I both spoke about how we needed to reform our politics to do that. we must end the. Wrong-headed not based upon facts or what the expectations could have been. We knew what was gonna happen when citizens United Path. we knew the dark undisclosed money would infiltrate at large levels of our politics and up the skate rather than illuminate. the politics for the American citizens. HR one will do that. And it's a shame that Senator McConnell and Senate Republicans are blocking it as. As blocking so many other pieces of legislation, which would make our country more open more transparent, more Democratic and yes more safe, I urge Senator McConnell to allow votes on HR one. I don't know whether we'll have 50 - one or 60 votes to pass it, but in a democracy. if you don't have a vote, you'll So I would urge them to act on this legislation and so many other pieces of legislation, which will make America more open more Democratic more free more responsive to its citizens and now I yield to the assistant Speaker from New Mexico. who has done such an extraordinary job as I say of working with our freshmen as the Detroit procedure working through the political process to illuminate. Escape the consequences of the fair to repeal citizens United Ben Ray Lujan. Danny Thank you so very much and I wanna thank our majority leader for the work that he does day in and day out, not just in the halls of Washington. But all across America takes time to travel the country to hear directly from constituents from hardworking families about the importance of putting them first making sure that we have initiatives like overturning citizens United that will truly bring about the change that the country is hungry for. Also wanna thank the leadership from End Citizens United. we'll hear from Tiffany a bit later. it's been a cornerstone of the conversation. John Sarbanes has been that conscience in the US House of Representatives grounding this debate. the citizens United decision is one of the most corrosive Supreme Court cases. This country has seen in modern times, a decision that corrupted the system that eroded America's trust in their government. That for some place the value of money ahead of the value of doing what's right. You wonder why some votes come down to the US House floor. When Republicans were in the majority at the beginning of one of our recent sessions, there was a vote that was brought to the floor that hurt workers put him in more dangerous places. Many of you know that my father almost a decade ago, passed away from about with stage four lung cancer. He wasn't a smoker. Dad got sick because of exposure on the job. He was a welder. What are these bills that came to the floor made it easier for workers to get sick with brilliant exposure? Why in the Earth? Why in God's name would anyone allow that to happen? It's the undo influence of those special interests that put their corporate profits and lining their pockets ahead of the health of the American people. That's why overturning citizens United matters so very much breaking the grip dark money has on our politics is one of the most transformative changes we can bring to our government. If we don't get this right, it's gonna stop real reform real progress. From occurring and that's why I'm so proud to be here standing with my colleagues. These are champions who have spent the past 10 years breaking down the citizens United decision and galvanizing support all across America. Democrats Republicans independents people that have voted for the first time. This is the reason they're getting engaged, so I wanna thank them for that. There's much work to do in front of us, but we need the American people to continue to be vocal without. I'm gonna turn this. To one of my colleagues, one of our friends one of the most thoughtful members of the US House of Representatives, Congresswoman Zoe. Thanks Ben Ray, You know it's has been mentioned. It's been 10 years since the Supreme Court wrongly overturned decades of established precedent and gutted the nation's campaign finance laws now, as has been mentioned that decision paved the way for an avalanche of dark money into our political system. the vast coffers opened up to saturate the airwaves with a one -sided political agenda that Of money had the effect of drowning out the voices of regular Americans, our neighbors ordinary people who wish to have their views heard, and it's no coincidence that, by the time the Democrats took control of the House. Trust in government had reached an all time low HR one is a way to fight back the mechanics of our democracy. access to voting holding government accountable have have all undergone radical changes in HR one seeks to fix those changes. I was proud to move HR one through the House Administration Committee because it helps put power back in the hands of regular American people, especially by a curbing the dominance of dark. In American politics, we need to level the playing field so regular people are back in control of their government, and this isn't just because we're for good government. When you think about the things that people are upset about the price of prescription drugs, the inaction on gun safety think about the role that dark money has played in keeping sensible solutions from the American people. So we did what we said we would do we passed HR. And unfortunately, the majority leader Mister McConnell has sat on that bill. We're hoping that starting today we will put new emphasis on his need to get moving on this bill. The American people need it. our democracy needs it and he owes it to the American people. A lot of people worked on this bill. certainly our freshman class made this one of the most important items as they ran for a. The first time our Speaker in our majority leader in our whip and the other leadership made it a priority, but a person who has made this almost a life's work who has worked tirelessly for this also deserves credit. and that's the next Speaker. The gentleman from Maryland Mister John Sarbanes. Thank you very much y'all. I wanna thank so for leading HR one through the House Administrative Committee. She did a brilliant job of that, and she continues to emphasize the importance of pushing back against the influence of big money. I have to salute Speaker Pelosi as well because it was the citizens United decision. That was the occasion for her to begin pulling together a group in the House of Representatives to focus on how we could address the undo influence of big money in politics and she created its cash. Almost 10 years ago to begin doing that that's now the democracy Reform Task force. It was the locust of our efforts to assemble all of these terrific ideas that came forward from our colleagues. But really we're translating what the public wanted to see in terms of getting its voice back. So I I have to salute the Speaker for having depressions to do that in the wake of citizens United decision, but also leaning on that to this very day and her support of HR one along with a. Hoyer I wanna thank Ben Ray Lujan for the effort he made to work with the incoming class of freshmen to make this a priority. this is a very sober anniversary. There's no question 10 years since the citizens United case was handed down by the Supreme Court. It's where it all began and I don't mean by that where money in politics and its influence began. But it's where this arrogance began on the part of Super. And the Super wealthy armed with this idea somehow, the corporations are people that money is speech, they decided they were gonna take over American politics and when they did that what it created was a deep sense of powerlessness in the country on the part of everyday Americans who looked at Washington looked at politics and looked at government and felt like our voice doesn't matter anymore. It's the money people they call the shots and it all began with this case of citizens, United well. HR one, which was a transformative anti-corruption and clean elections package of reforms. We pushed back against the citizens United case and other efforts to curb the voice of everyday Americans in our democracy. We put it on the floor in the first hundred days as was promised, we passed it and then we send it to the graveyard to Mitch McConnell, who continues to stand with his arms folded on the Senate side, saying to the. Can people who wanna see these changes you shall not pass, but we're gonna keep up the pressure on Mitch McConnell to do the right thing on behalf of the American people in many ways, he's the chief architect of the influence that money has in our politics. If you look back over his decades career, he's been promoting the influence of the insiders and the big money crowd. and now what we call the Super pack. So it's a tough fight against McConnell, but it's a fight that we're. To have and we've done this with the support of many many groups, I'm so pleased you're gonna be hearing from Bonita Gupta today and from Tiffany Muller, who's been core leaders in this effort to fight back on the influence of money and lift up people in our democracy. but we could not have done this. We could not have done HR one and we would be unable to continue to translate the voices of people out in the country who feel left out and locked out without the efforts. Our freshman class these were people who ran last year. Listen carefully understood that the public wanted to see change in Washington that they wanted to solve their anger, not by sort of grabbing for a slogan like President Trump offered but grabbing for real solutions in the form of legislation that could be put on the floor in the first hundred days and the freshman class was a tip of the spear. They they they were the ones that made this happen, so I'm very pleased to be able to introduce Chris Pappas from. Who is one of the leaders in that effort? Chris Well, thank you very much Congressman Sarbanes for all of your efforts into all the other leaders and colleagues and advocates who join us here today who have for a number of years been focused on the corrosive influence of big money in our political system and how we can ensure that we're putting the power in the hands of the American people. I couldn't be more proud to be here today as a representative of the freshman class, a historic group of individuals who represent the most diverse in dynamic new class of members of Congress in our nation's history. We arrived here with Clear marching orders from the constituents in our district that we need to fundamentally. How Washington works and fix a deeply broken system It's been 10 years since the citizens United was a decision was handed down by the Supreme Court that has fundamentally altered the landscape of our political system and it has had dire and far-reaching consequences. It's tilted the playing field even more in favor of big money of the special interest and big corporations that have outsized influence here in Washington, DC. The new members of Congress came to Washington to become change agents not to become part of a broken system, and we're not giving up. We're not deterred even when they're political obstacles that are put in our way. Because if we're going to be able to effectively make progress for folks back home, to make sure that we're living up to the responsibility that we assumed when we took office, we've got to stop the corrosive influence that big money has over our politics and the policies that we see being debated here in Washington DC about a year ago, we help provide the momentum to pass HR one through the House, which is the most sweeping democracy reform package taken up since Watergate and it can help us mitigate the damage that citizens United has. Upon us, we're proud to pass this bill that's going to limit the power of big money make it easier not harder to vote and ensure that we have tough new ethics reforms. We continue to call on Mitch McConnell to stop blocking this legislation to stop locking the will of the American people and help us restore the ability of everyday Americans to have equal standing in their government again. This is urgent and it's foundational because so many crucial priorities have been way layed by powerful special interests so whether it is the sky. Cost of prescription drugs, gun violence legislation or ability to combat climate change Head on we need to get this right first in order to fundamentally make progress HR One gives us that opportunity. you know. I'm reminded often of a quote from a campaign finance reform advocate for my state of New Hampshire. her name is Granny D, and she said. Democracy is not something we have. It's something we do and it is not a system that's built for bystanders. We all have to be in the arena fighting and. That's the energy and advocacy that is represented not just in the freshman class, but across the Democratic caucus, we need to continue to insist that this democracy is truly of by and for the people that it works for everyone and we're gonna continue fighting ahead. so I really want to thank you all for being here and introduce Vinita Gupta. who's a great advocate for some additional comments. Thank you good afternoon, Vinita Gupta, President and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition of more than 200. National organizations working towards an America as good as its ideals. We have been deeply appreciative for the leadership of Speaker Pelosi and for Congressman survey to let us through the HR one fight. But as you said with the freshman Democrats representing the most diverse Congress in our nation's history, really being an engine to bring home the degree to which our system has been corrupted and needs to be unreached for the American people today marks 10 years since the Supreme Court ruled in citizens, United and fundamentally altered the. Cape of American democracy allowing unlimited dark money to flood our elections, determine our candidates in silence our voices. The decisions had devastating consequences for the integrity of our politics and clearly that was no accident Citizens. United was part of a larger constellation of efforts by conservatives to rig our system against the American people, particularly people of color and other vulnerable communities. Now we have reached a crisis point of corruption. We have Trump in the Center. Stacking the federal judicial federal courts with people who have worked to undermine our civil rights far too many States are making it far too hard to exercise the franchise to vote and by his own admission, the President has been trying to extort form government to boost his reelection campaign. Let me be clear when our democracy is imperilled. so to our civil rights and democracy is foundational to America's highest values. When people are blocked from civic participation are hard. one progress becomes vulnerable. that is exactly what's happening. Unequal access to the levers of our democracy or causing staggering setbacks for for civil and human rights from affordable health care to fair wages to educational equity to Justice reform and similarly without government accountability and transparency. people are losing the power to ensure that lawmakers represent their interests. The ability to participate in our democracy has long been a racial Justice issue. It's a civil rights issue and we are overdue for change. That is why the leadership. Work so hard to help enact the passage of HR one. It is why we are calling on the Senate and Senator McConnell to to pass HR one the For the People Act in a transformative vision for American democracy that it represents. We're grateful to House Democratic leadership to Congressman Sarbanes tell the House freshmen class for making democracy reform the first order of business in the new Congress and for taking bold steps to fix what is broken and put the government back in the hands of the people and now the Senate must act. You. it's a real pleasure to introduce some Tiffany Muller of End Citizens United, so there's nobody better place to talk about this topic. that's an Organization that found this anxiety out in the public and decided to channel it in a way they could advocate for change and it's been a tremendous help to the Speaker and all of us here in the House and getting this legislation of HR one front and Center and continues to make the fight so Tiffany. Thank you Congressman yes not to be confused with citizens United, which actually happens quite often. So my name is Tiffany Muller and I'm the President of Citizens United Action Fund and as we have discussed here today we are at the tenth anniversary of the Citizens United decision, which took these two really terrible ideas and it merged them together and said Corporations are people money equal speech and it took an already broken system and it put it on steroids and it put it for sale. Sign on our democracy. There is no question citizens. United was disastrous for our country 10 years later, we've seen the devastating impact it's had on our democracy. The courts naive view of our electoral process set the stage for billions of dollars corrupting our politics prior to the citizens United decision. As you heard leader Hoyer say there are 750 million dollars of outside spending since the citizens United decision. There's been four point four billion dollars of outside spending, and despite the court naively assuming that disclosure and transparency would handle the issues that come from that. Of money, what we've seen is actually a decrease in disclosure and transparency on the spending. In our elections, 80 percent of spending was fully disclosed prior to citizens United. We now have 50 percent of spending that has little or no disclosure at all, and it only took a 11 mega donors to hit one billion dollars to Super packs 11 people and in the 10 years prior to citizens United in only 15 races did outside spending actually outspend candidates in races across the country. Since that time, we've had a hundred and 20 - six races Spending has eclipsed candidates spending so no longer our candidates actually controlling the narrative. They're no longer talking about their priorities or who they are what they believe and said it's these outside forces that we don't even know where the money is coming from who are throwing negative ads at at voters and perpetuating misconceptions and downright falsehoods. This is led to a system that's broken and works for special interest. More than everyday Americans blocking progress on climate change, while the energy sector gives 700 million dollars in campaign contributions blocking progress on gun. While the NRA spends 56 million dollars in the 2016 election alone and of course blocking progress on drug prices, while Pharma puts 1400 lobbyists on Capitol Hill every single day, so our Organization was founded five years ago to fight back and what we found was that people across the country are so tired of the system. We have four million members across the country who have said enough is enough and are fighting to fix the rig system and 2019 was quite a year for that fight. Thanks to the leadership of Speaker Pelosi Leader Hoyer, the entire House Democratic Caucus, Of course, Congressman Sarbanes, the freshman class and the amazing work of partners like Vanita Gupta and the Declaration for American Democracy. The House passed the largest most transformational anti-corruption bill that we've seen since Watergate. The for the People Act is truly a once in a generation reform bill that will help root out corruption in the dominance of big money special interest and give the American people their voices back it will restore. Fire democracy, but Senator McConnell, as we have heard is blocking all progress on that and why well, he's the chief beneficiary of this broken system. He gave billionaires and special interest a tax break, so they could write more big checks to his Super pack. He blocks action on climate change, gun safety and drug prices, because the lobbyists and special interest line his pockets for doing so Americans deserve better. They demand better. They deserve a democracy that. Accountable and reflective of our communities and we will keep fighting to overturn citizens United through the courts or through constitutional amendment, but we can make so much of a difference today and undo so much of the damage caused by citizens United by passing HR one. the House is done its job and now we demand that Senator McConnell in the Senate do theirs. Thanks Tiffany and I just want to emphasize that last point people out in the country or so beaten down by the influence that money has that they look at Washington sometimes and they sort of say they're all the same. It doesn't work for us. It's all corrupt and what Democrats were trying to show with H R Y, is we are listening. We are trying to make a difference. We are trying to fix this and empower you and. We feel so strongly about it. We're gonna make it our first priority and we're gonna put it on the floor in the first hundred days and we're gonna pass it. so don't think that it's all of Washington. That's the problem in terms of responding to the to the citizens United case. the problem is Mitch McConnell on the Senate side. We followed through on the promise we made to the public that if we got the gavel, we would make real change and fight against money. We need McConnell to do the same thing so that. Public understands that Washington is listening to them so again. Thank you all for coming. Are there any questions? Yes. Look the big money finds everybody in our in our system right now, it finds Democrats who finds Republicans it finds independence. The question is, which is the party that's actually standing up and trying to change the system. There are no Republicans here. There were no Republicans on HARDY, not a single one, not because HR one was a part isn't Bill. Everything in there is supported at 70 - 58080 - five percent by the American people. you can't get Democrats support it, You need independent, You need Republicans, so it's not a partisan bill. When you look out in the country, people want this change. It was made partisan by the degree that the Cree of McConnell and the other leadership in the House. that said you to their Republican colleagues. Don't you get on that bill. So sure money is everywhere. Everybody gets tangled up in this money. That's the problem right now with our democracy, The question is who's gonna solve this thing. Reaching for a better place, Democrats are doing that and we're gonna keep fighting and that it's it's gonna be a leap to get to that new system and that could be a scary world for a lot of people who gotten used to the status quo. But the only way you're gonna restore the trust and the faith of a cynical public out there is if you make that change and that's what we stand for here. That's what Speaker Pelosi stands for. and that's what HR one is all about the system. I think in a new system like that, the the Michael Bloombergs, the anybody who's running who's got a lot of money. It comes out in the wash. It will be balanced by the empowerment that comes one of the components of HR one is a small donor matching system to fund congressional campaigns so that members of Congress don't have to go hat in hand to lobbyists and big money impacts anymore they can reach. To small donors, they can earn matching funds and here's the part. I love the bash. Those matching funds come from a surcharge on corporate law breakers, so the people that have been breaking our democracy with their influence are gonna be the ones to pay to fix the democracy. So the answer is an empowering everyday Americans out there so they feel like in any forum that comes to politics. They can compete with the big money and that they're. Can be heard any other questions any other thoughts? comments here. Okay. Thank you all for coming appreciate it very much. Great job Thanks. See you again. Thank you. Thanks Nice to be.
House DemocratsVideosHouse Democrats mark the 10-year anniversary of the Citizens...