Dispatches on the For The People Act (Edition #3)
Welcome to the Equal Citizens H.R. 1 Substack!
We are your one-stop-shop for all things related to the For The People Act (H.R. 1). We hope that you will join us in this critical fight for the future of our democracy. Make sure to subscribe here if you haven’t already, and share the word about this Substack.
This week the two of us, Kevin Rissmiller and Kate Travis, will be focusing on the major public financing provisions of the For the People Act, the small donor matching program and the pilot democracy voucher program. We will also share the week’s best press hits about the bill, shout out a couple key H.R. 1 co-sponsors, and round up the shareable H.R. 1-themed social posts.
NEW THIS WEEK: Not only is the House set to consider H.R. 1 NEXT WEEK, but every single House Democrat has now cosponsored the bill! You can read the full press release here.
Additionally, this week on the Equal Citizens’ podcast, Another Way, Lawrence Lessig spoke to Representative Ro Khanna about H.R. 1. He gave a legislative update and went into depth about the importance of public financing of elections. Check it out here.
And more good news: A new poll from Data for Progress/Vote Save America shows widespread public support for H.R. 1 - 68% support it while only 16% oppose it.
Provision of the Week: Donation Matching Program and Pilot Voucher Program (Title 5, Subtitle B, Parts 1 and 2)
What is it?
The small dollar donation matching program in the For the People Act would give qualified House candidates a 6-1 match on donations under $200. This means that if someone donates $10 to an eligible candidate, the candidate would receive an additional $60 from the matching program. So a $10 donation provides the candidate with $70! This program massively amplifies the power of small donors, allowing far more Americans to have a meaningful say in our political process.
To qualify for matching funds, candidates must display a broad base of support and reject high dollar donations. The specific qualifications, including information about additional funding for candidates, can be found at the end of the Substack.
H.R. 1 would also create a pilot voucher program, titled “My Voice Voucher,” similar to the one that Seattle implemented in 2017. Starting with three states, citizens who request it would be given a $25 voucher per election cycle to give to the eligible House candidates of their choice. This empowers anyone to financially support the campaigns — no upfront money or wealth required!
But how will America pay for it?
The matching program and pilot democracy voucher program will be paid for by an assessment on corporate law breakers and wealthy tax cheats, through the “Freedom from Influence Fund.” Notably, an analysis done by the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the small-dollar matching program would only be about 0.01% of the federal budget over 10 years.
Why does public financing matter?
Public financing is critical to improving the health of our democracy. Right now, those who fund campaigns are unrepresentative of the American people — they are far whiter and wealthier than Americans as a whole. Why is that such a problem? Donors get more access to our political system and can skew policy in their favor, at the expense of everyone else. Moreover, the cost of elections acts as a barrier for potential candidates; unless you have a network of wealthy friends, it’s incredibly difficult to run for office.
Public financing will free politicians from the wealthy special interests that dominate American politics. By promoting small dollar donations and amplifying their influence, we can bring the issues that affect Americans to the forefront. And the barriers to running for office will be broken down. These changes will result in more representative policy and a more representative government.
The pilot democracy voucher program is particularly exciting, as it provides money for people without disposable income to become campaign contributors. When Seattle implemented a similar program, the initial research suggests that the donor pool diversified significantly. This pilot program will also provide invaluable data on how we can expand voucher programs throughout the nation.
Ultimately, the combination of matching funds and the pilot voucher program will bring us one step closer to having a political system that represents all Americans, not just the wealthy and well-connected.
In the News:
The Huffington Post covers Democrats’ prioritization of the For The People Act and the debate over eliminating the filibuster to pass it. While H.R. 1 is Democrats’ top legislative priority, a filibuster by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and the Republican Party will almost certainly obstruct its passage. Because of this reality, many Democrats and democracy reform groups are pushing to eliminate the filibuster in order to ensure the passage of H.R. 1.
New York Times’ Jamelle Bouie argues that H.R. 1 is the only way to save the country from a political party that increasingly opposes democracy itself. Bouie’s column discusses both the GOP’s refusal to accept the results of the past election and their growing voter suppression efforts across the country. He persuasively claims that Democrats must abolish the filibuster in order to pass the For The People Act.
Ben Jealous and Gregory King’s column in the Richmond Times-Dispatch makes the case that Black History Month is the perfect time to support the For The People Act. Noting that “across the country, the voting rights that Black and brown people fought and died for are under fresh assault,” Jealous and King rightly explain that H.R. 1 is key to protecting and expanding voting rights, and they urge their members of Congress to join them in supporting the bill.
And now, a word from our (co)sponsors:
The For The People Act would not be this close to passing without the strong support of key members of Congress. Each week, we’ll highlight and thank these supporters, and share their own words about why they support H.R. 1.
“From expanding voting rights to strengthening democracy to implementing smart reform across the government, H.R. 1 is a milestone that will improve America.” - Representative Elaine Luria
“[W]e need to take bold action to restore Americans’ confidence in our political system. And that’s exactly what the For the People Act does.” - Senator Amy Klobuchar
Thank you for supporting this legislation, Representative Luria and Senator Klobuchar! You can read Congresswoman Luria’s statement and press release here and Senator Klobuchar’s speech here.
Social Media Roundup:
Let’s be frank: there are A LOT of tweets, posts, and general conversation about the For The People Act. In this section, we give you an overview of the tweets and media you really need to see.
Ron Brownstein on the current state of the fight for H.R. 1:
Rob Reiner encourages President Biden to use his platform to push for the For The People Act:
Wendy Weiser, Vice President for Democracy at the Brennan Center for Justice, shares the news about unanimous Democratic co-sponsorship of H.R. 1:
Common Cause’s Stephen Spaulding on the importance of passing H.R. 1 immediately:
How you can help:
H.R. 1 is the most important democracy reform bill in half a century, but to get it through Congress, we need your help. That’s why we’ll end this newsletter every week with a few quick and easy ways to join the fight for H.R. 1. This week, you can:
Subscribe to our Substack for the most up-to-date news on H.R. 1
Call your members of Congress and let them know you support H.R. 1, and they should, too.
Share our newsletter, the articles included above, and the resources on H.R. 1 below on social media and tell your friends why you support #ForThePeopleAct!
If you have questions about H.R. 1 you want us to answer in our Substack, tweet at us with #HR1Substack!
Listen to and share our podcast, Another Way, for even more information on H.R. 1.
Extra, Extra:
If, after reading our newsletter, you still want to know more about the For The People Act, Equal Citizens, or the two of us, you can find more information here!
Relevant Resources:
Here are a few resources on the “For the People Act” if you have questions:
The Brennan Center for Justice created a wonderful guide to H.R. 1. Check it out here.
There is a lot of misinformation about H.R. 1, and the amount of misinformation will only grow as the fight heats up. That’s why it’s more important than ever to make sure everyone has all the facts on the bill - here is an article from Media Matters that can help you fact check.
More about the Matching Program:
Click here for a report from the Brennan Center for Justice detailing how the small dollar matching program will work.
To qualify for the matching program, candidates must raise at least $50,000 in small dollar donations ($1-$200) from at least 1,000 individuals during the Small Dollar Democracy qualifying period.
By participating in the program, candidates can only receive small dollar contributions, matching funds, or non-matched donations (of less than $1,000). Essentially, candidates would disavow big dollar donations. The amount of money candidates would be able to contribute to their own campaign is also limited to $50,000.
Candidates must return unspent funds within 180 days after the election.
Candidates who display a need for a more intensive matching program can qualify for an additional 3-1 matching system on top of the 6-1. This enhanced support stops at $500,000.
If you have any questions, about either of these provisions or any aspect of H.R. 1, please reach out to us!
More about us:
Kate Travis is a fellow at Equal Citizens and a junior at Harvard studying History and Literature with a minor in Government. When she’s not fighting for democracy, you can find her running, playing the cello, and drinking copious amounts of coffee (maybe even all at once). Follow her on Twitter at @mkht930.
Kevin Rissmiller is a fellow at Equal Citizens and a Goodwin-Niering Scholar at Connecticut College majoring in Government and exploring sociology, economics, and applied statistics. In his free time, you will find him at Dunkins or (pre-pandemic) playing ultimate frisbee. Connect with him on LinkedIn.