Press Releases

End Citizens United Praises House Democrats for Passing Historic Reform Bill

Mar 08, 2019

Following through with campaign promises, House Democrats pass the For the People Act

Reforms aimed at fixing our broken campaign finance system, strengthening ethics laws, and empowering voters

WASHINGTON, D.C. — End Citizens United (ECU) today praised House Democrats for passing the For the People Act (H.R.1). The once-in-a-generation anti-corruption and reform bill, which was borne out the 2018 midterm elections, will end the dominance of big money in politics, help make it easier for people to vote, and ensure our officials are working in the public interest. The bill now heads to the Senate.

“History was made today,” said ECU President Tiffany Muller. “Democrats took back the House of Representatives by pledging to fight the power of special interests and end the culture of corruption consuming Washington. The For the People Act–the most comprehensive set of reforms in a generation–delivers on that promise.

“We applaud the freshman House Democrats, who championed reform from the beginning and took Washington by storm with their ideas of restoring power back to the American people. And we thank Speaker Pelosi and Congressman Sarbanes, and the rest of the caucus for keeping their promise to build a democracy that works for all of us.

“The fight for reform isn’t over. We’re already channelling our grassroots members’ energy and enthusiasm to the Senate.”

The passage of the bill follows an election cycle in which reform was front and center. Candidates across the country campaigned on fighting corruption in Washington and supporting bold policies to reduce the power of big money in politics.

End Citizens United, the leading outside group behind the bill’s passage, has played a pivotal role in harnessing the power of its four million members to pass campaign finance reform legislation. In October 2018, ECU organized a letter, signed by three-quarters of the incoming class, demanding reform be the first item on the agenda in the new Congress. ECU also led the movementamong candidates to forgo corporate PAC money in their campaigns. Fifty-three members of the 116th Congress are refusing to take corporate PAC money in their campaigns, including 36 new members.

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