House passes HR 1 government overhaul, sending it back to campaign trail

[Right_in_Virginia]

House passes HR 1 government overhaul, sending it back to campaign trail
With Senate not planning to take it up, Democrats plan to continue fight into 2020
Roll Call, Mar 8, 2019, Kate Ackley

With passage of HR 1, House Democrats’ political money, ethics and voting overhaul, the mammoth proposal now heads exclusively to the 2020 campaign trail, where candidates in both parties say they believe their message will woo voters.  Despite its expected doom in the Senate, Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., said he is planning to unroll his version of the package Wednesday and will seek Democratic and Republican co-sponsors. Even if it somehow were to pass the Senate, President Donald Trump has threatened to veto it, and business and conservative interests have mobilized against it en masse.

[...]

The overhaul, totaling about 700 pages, seeks to remake the nation’s voting, campaign finance and ethics laws. It would impose new requirements on states to offer early voting and online and same-day voter registration and would establish an optional 6-to-1 public matching system for political donations under $200. The proposal would mandate nonpartisan commissions to redraw the boundaries of congressional districts.

It would establish new ethical standards for executive branch officials and Supreme Court justices and impose new prohibitions for the post-government of federal officials and would lower the threshold for that amount of time spent working for advocacy clients that triggers registration as a federal lobbyist. The overhaul also would step up federal oversight of foreign influence campaigns with revisions to the Foreign Agents Registration Act.  [...]

“Millions of Americans across the country have been looking at Washington and feeling like they’ve been left out and left behind. They see the influence that big money and special interests have up here in Washington, and they feel like their voice doesn’t matter,” said Rep. John Sarbanes, the Maryland Democrat who was the chief sponsor of the measure, during a pep-rally-themed press conference on the Capitol steps just minutes before the vote.

The dozens of Democratic lawmakers who attended the event held miniature American flags — and presented a show of party unity that they’ve struggled with all week amid conflict over an anti-hate resolution aimed at quelling concerns over comments from Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who has criticized the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. She stood in the front row.


Read more:  https://www.rollcall.com/news/congress/house-passes-hr-1-government-overhaul-sending-it-back-to-campaign-trail

[Right_in_Virginia]

House Democrats pass plan to overhaul ethics rules, expand voting rights and target Trump tax returns
CNN, Mar 8, 2019

[...]

The legislation would require US presidents, vice presidents and presidential nominees to disclose their tax returns. Specifically, it requires the release of 10 years of personal and business tax returns -- a provision that would apply to the current President.

The tax section of the bill underwent changes in the week before the vote with liberals fighting to also include a measure that would require candidates to disclose business tax returns as well, a nod to Democratic questions about Trump's own finances and whether they influence decisions he's making in office.

[...]

HR 1 also seeks to advance a number of long-standing liberal agenda items with respect to voting and elections, including provisions that Democrats say will make it easier to vote and protect voting rights.

The legislation requires states to create and operate a system for automatic voter registration for federal elections via an opt-out system. It would restore the right to vote in federal elections to former felons who have served out their sentences.

Democrats also say they want to give voters more opportunities to vote, and the bill requires 15 days of early voting in states for federal elections.

Republicans have criticized the bill as overreach regarding states' rights to manage elections and a major attempt to limit free speech in political and advocacy campaigns by trying to reduce spending.  [...]

House GOP whip Steve Scalise framed the issue during the same news conference by calling it "a choice between freedom and socialism" and arguing the legislation would infringe on American's First Amendment rights.


More: https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/08/politics/house-democrats-hr1-ethics-tax-returns-voting-rights/index.html

[Right_in_Virginia]

Republicans would do well to sharpen their argument against this terrific sounding everybody votes early and often bullshit.

I'd also like to know more about the ethics requirements on the Supreme Court.

Notice there are no ethical standards mentioned for congress.