Chairwoman Maloney’s Floor Statement in Support of H.R. 1, the “For the People Act”

Washington, D.C. (Mar. 2, 2021)—Today, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, the Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, spoke on the House Floor in favor of H.R. 1, the "For the People Act." Below is Chairwoman Maloney's full statement for the record.

Watch Chairwoman Maloney's floor statement.

Floor Statement of Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney

H.R. 1, the "For the People Act"

March 2, 2021

I rise in strong support of H.R. 1, the For the People Act.

I want to extend my thanks to Congressman John Sarbanes for his vision and for his commitment to pushing this bold and historic reform package. This sweeping legislation would clean up corruption in government, fight secret money in politics, and help ensure fair elections.

We have a duty to act following the most corrupt administration in American history. We must restore trust and integrity to our elections and to our government.

Included in this important legislation is the Vote by Mail Tracking Act, critical legislation I introduced to ensure that all ballots in federal elections have a Postal Service barcode. This would enable election officials and the public to track the status of a ballot from when it is put in the mail to when it is delivered—reducing anxiety about whether a vote will be delivered on time.

After an election year with record-breaking numbers of Americans voting by mail, it has never been more critical to provide election officials and the public peace of mind that every vote matters and is counted.

In addition, this bill includes legislation introduced by Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Chairman Jamie Raskin, the Executive Branch Comprehensive Ethics Enforcement Act. That bill would strengthen the authority and independence of the Office of Government Ethics, including by giving OGE the ability to subpoena information in order to ensure compliance with ethics laws and regulations.

H.R. 1 includes a provision I proposed to require presidential transition teams to provide clear information related to the possible conflicts of team members. This language was developed following a Government Accountability Office review of the botched transition by the Trump Administration.

The bill also includes legislation introduced last Congress by our late Chairman Elijah Cummings that would ban senior officials from accepting golden parachute payments from private sector employers in exchange for their government service. Representative Jimmy Gomez is spearheading that important reform this Congress.

The American people gave Congress a mandate to restore our democracy and clean up our government. I urge my colleagues to join this effort. Protect the right to vote. Demand integrity in government. And vote for this historic legislation.