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Nevada Current: House Democrats pass sweeping voting rights, ethics legislation

Nevada Current: House Democrats pass sweeping voting rights, ethics legislation

Nevada Democratic Rep. Dina Titus, in a tweet, said that Democrats in the House “just voted to put an end” to corruption “in Trump’s Washington.”

U.S. House Democrats today passed a broad election reform and ethics bill that they’ve made their top legislative priority this Congress.

The legislation, referred to as H.R. 1, passed the House on a vote of 234-193 on Friday along party lines. Its passage marks a symbolic win for Democrats, who seized control of the chamber this year after eight years in the minority. But the measure is unlikely to get a vote in the GOP-controlled Senate or make it to President Donald Trump’s desk.

The House Democrats’ massive bill aims to — among other things — curb the influence of money in politics, increase public financing of campaigns, expand voting rights, end partisan gerrymandering and force the disclosure of presidential candidates’ tax returns.

“This legislation restores so much of what we need in our democracy: voting rights, putting the needs of working families before special interest, and making sure that we get the corruption of money out of our politics, said Nevada Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford. The measure is “an important effort to end the culture of corruption in Washington,” Horsford said in a statement.

Nevada Democratic Rep. Susie Lee, serving her first term in Congress, noted in a statement that H.R.1 was “the first piece of legislation I signed onto in my congressional career.”

“As a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus, I was proud that we introduced a bipartisan amendment that stops the flow of illicit foreign money into our elections,” Lee added. “We need to make sure Washington represents all Americans, not just the wealthy few, special interests groups, and big corporations. This bill is the first step to getting us back to a government of, by, and for the people again.”

Nevada Democratic Rep. Dina Titus, in a tweet, said that Democrats in the House “just voted to put an end” to corruption “in Trump’s Washington.”

“For months, for years, really for decades, millions of Americans across the country have been looking at Washington and feeling like they’ve been left out and left behind,” Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.), the lead sponsor of the bill, said Friday outside the U.S. Capitol.

H.R. 1, Sarbanes said, seeks to “restore ethics and accountability, to fight back against the interests of big money in our politics, and to make it easier, not harder, to register and vote in America.”

Republicans in the House and Senate have opposed the bill, warning that it’s unconstitutional, would limit political speech and would use taxpayer cash to fund political campaigns.

House Democrats “want the government to interfere in our free and fair elections,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said in a video posted this week. “It’s not designed to protect your vote. It’s designed to put a thumb on the scale of every election in America and keep the swamp swampy.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called the effort a “power grab” by the Democrats. He has also called the bill a “parade of horrible” and said he wouldn’t hold a vote on it “because I get to decide what we vote on.”

Democrats are using McConnell’s comments against him.

“One senator said this is a power grab. Yes it is, it’s a power grab for the American people,” California Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren said Friday.

Democrats in both chambers intend to use the House passage of the bill — and the expected inaction by the Senate — as a messaging tool. They think GOP opposition to the bill won’t go over well with voters.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said ahead of the vote, “Let us look to the Senate and say, when we pass this bill, it’s not just what happens on this floor, it’s the message it sends to the American people.”

Pelosi added, “We’re not going to end until we win. … We can save a lot of time by the Senate just agreeing to the ‘For the People’ agenda.”