Udall: “This is not about protecting Democrats or Republicans. It’s about protecting Americans from a rigged system.”
VIDEO: In Senate Floor Speech, Udall Details Plans for Sweeping Democracy Reform Package
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) spoke on the Senate floor to discuss his plans to introduce Senate companion legislation to H.R. 1, a historic democracy reform package set to pass the House of Representatives this week. Udall was joined on the floor by U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) , who will work with Udall to introduce the For the People Act in the U.S. Senate in the coming weeks to enact badly needed reforms that will fight corruption, fix our broken politics, and return democracy to the American people.
“Today, in this country, there is a deep disconnect between what the American people are demanding from their leaders and what the president and Congress have been giving them… We are a representative democracy. Yet the people are not being represented -- their will has been stymied,” Udall began.
He pointed out that basic democratic institutions, including our voting rights system, campaign finance system, and ethics rules, are broken and badly in need of repair. “Unrigging this system requires reform. Real reform -- so we bring power back to the hands of everyday Americans and out of the hands of the special, moneyed interests that rule Washington,” Udall noted.
Udall announced his plans to introduce the For the People Act in the coming weeks to enact such reforms, and urged his colleagues in the Senate to support his legislation, which would end the dominance of big money in our elections, restore the integrity of our democracy, and bring accountability back to our politics: “These issues go to the heart of what it means to be an American… This is not about protecting Democrats or Republicans. It’s about protecting Americans from a rigged system. Let us commit to work together to pass reforms the American people hunger for,” Udall concluded.
The “For the People Act” builds off of Udall’s We the People Democracy Reform Act of 2017 , co-sponsored by Merkley, which was introduced in the 115th Congress as a comprehensive reform package encompassing a number of bills championed by Udall and others to address various shortcomings in our political system, and strengthen and revitalize our democracy.
The full text of Udall’s remarks as prepared for delivery is available HERE .
