In an op-ed published in Roll Call today, four House Republican freshman–Reps. Nicole Malliotakis, Carlos Gimenez, Maria Elivara Salazar, and Victoria Spartz–wrote 68 words about the For the People Act (H.R. 1/S. 1) and the only true ones were “the” and “if.”
Here’s the truth: the For the People Act would protect and expand the right to vote, end corruption in Washington, and restore ethics and accountability in our government.
These members have either never read the bill or are intentionally lying about the provision they highlight, the small-donor matching system. H.R. 1/S. 1 would create a voluntary program for Congressional candidates who choose to accept strict contribution limits and fund their campaigns with small donations. These programs open up the political system to new and diverse voices and empower people who don’t have access to traditional major donors networks. The matching fund component is paid for entirely through a small fee on corporate lawbreakers and wealthy tax cheats, and not with a single dime of taxpayer money. In fact, the bill has an iron-clad prohibition on the use of taxpayer dollars for this program.
As Rep. Malliotakis herself once said when she used a similar system to run for New York City Mayor, “[matching funds] will level the playing field.” At the time, she noted, “‘I am a public servant and ordinary New Yorker, not a multimillionaire who thinks elections are bought and sold.”
She was right then, but just like when she and Rep. Gimenez voted to overturn a free and fair election just weeks ago, she’s wrong now.
These four are working to protect the power of special interests in Washington after an election cycle in which they received a combined $123,500 in corporate PAC money from major corporations like Comcast, Exxon, and private prison company GEO Group.
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