Media Center

With today’s Senate vote, Congress has issued a firm rebuke to President Trump’s abuse of the Emergency Powers Act. The votes of both the House and the Senate reaffirm Congress’ role as a coequal branch of government. Americans expect and deserve a Congress that will not tolerate abuse of power by the president.

Paul Manafort purposefully committed bank and tax crimes, was facing 19-25 years in prison, but was only sentenced to 47 months. Meanwhile, a black woman in Texas named Crystal Mason accidentally violated the law while voting in the 2016 presidential election and was sentenced to 5 years. Manafort’s lenient sentence shows something severely wrong with the justice system in our nation. Apparently, too often we have one for the wealthy, white, and politically connected, and another for ordinary people, especially people of color.

Score one for the people. The House passed the For the People Act in the face of stiff opposition from K Street’s corporate lobbyists and special interests. The legislation truly is for the people, bundling together a comprehensive set of long-overdue democracy reforms at a time when democratic norms are under siege in our nation. Many of the reforms included in H.R. 1 are tested reforms that are working at the state and local level with bipartisan support to restore the rule of law, empower the voices of all Americans, curb abusive partisan gerrymandering, and strengthen the right to vote for every eligible American.

Today’s District Court ruling is a victory for equal representation for every resident of the United States. Americans expect and deserve a fair and accurate census and striking the citizenship question will help ensure that occurs.

Today, Common Cause urged every member of the U.S. House of Representatives to vote “yes” on the For the People Act (H.R. 1) when it goes to a floor vote on Friday. The letter notes that Common Cause plans to key-vote final passage of H.R. 1, as well as the motion-to-recommit (MTR), in our Democracy Scorecard, which we send to our 1.2 million members. The bill contains the most comprehensive set of democracy reforms to be introduced in Congress since the post-Watergate reforms were passed in the 1970s. The letter emphasizes that our democracy faces a crisis not seen since the Watergate era.

Americans expect and deserve to have the security of the nation put before the whims of the President. When the President refuses to accept the counsel of security officials and grants top-secret clearance to friends and family who pose security risks, then it is time for Congress to step in and protect our national security.