DEFENDING OUR CONSTITUTION
President Trump’s pardoning of perpetrators of the mob violence and insurrection of January 6th, and his trampling of Constitutional Separation of Powers is a mortal threat to our democracy. The failure of virtually all Republicans to acknowledge and respond has left a scar on the Republican Party that will last forever. Bill will do everything he can to block Trump’s ongoing unconstitutional acts.
Election Security
Although our election system is fundamentally sound, public confidence would be improved by a number of means. That’s why Bill voted for the Securing America’s Federal Elections (SAFE) Act, as well as H.R. 1, which would require verified paper ballots to be used in election systems to prevent hacking by a foreign government. Bill has also supported efforts that would require any campaign to report contacts with foreign agents attempting to interfere in elections to the FBI. Unfortunately, the Republican-led Senate repeatedly refused to act on these bills, leaving our election system at risk.
This should not be a partisan issue. Americans must have complete faith in the accuracy of our elections, and Bill will continue fighting to get measures passed to protect our election systems.
Voting Rights
The right to vote is the underpinning of American democracy. As the son of a civil rights lawyer, Bill is committed to making sure all Americans have equal access to the ballot box. Bill proudly voted for the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2019 – and Bill will continue supporting legislation that makes it easier for Americans to vote.
Campaign Finance Reform and Ethics Laws
The influence of big money and the rise of SuperPACs has had a disastrous effect on our political system. Within hours of being sworn in for the first time, Bill cast the deciding vote in favor of the strongest Congressional Ethics Reform legislation in decades.
In 2020, Bill introduced the Shareholder Political Transparency Act to eliminate secret corporate political donations. This legislation passed the House in 2021 and died in the Senate. In the longer term, Bill supports a constitutional amendment to overturn the Citizens United Supreme Court decision.
In the 117th Congress, Bill proudly voted to pass HR 1, the For the People Act, which would:
- Make SuperPACs and Dark Money groups to disclose their donors
- Make social media companies disclose the source and amount of money spent for political advertisements
- Make candidates for President and Vice President disclose 10 years of their tax returns
- Require disclosure of all political spending by government contractors
- Allow Campaigns to be financed by small dollar donations and public matching funds
- Numerous other provisions to improve the quality, safety, and fairness of our elections.