Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. John Sarbanes and House Democrat leaders announced the introduction of H.R. 1, For the People Act, a sweeping democracy reform bill. In response, the League of Conservation Voters released the following statement from Senior Vice President for Government Affairs Tiernan Sittenfeld:

“The For the People Act includes significant improvements to voting rights, which are crucial to ensuring that everyone has a voice in our democracy and can take part in electing pro-environment candidates who will represent our communities. Voter suppression — in particular the exclusion of people of color, women and indigenous people from our democracy — has had profoundly negative impacts on our society and institutions. Additionally, fixing our broken campaign finance system and enacting sweeping ethics reforms are necessary first steps to blocking the outsized role of corporate influence in our political system that has prevented meaningful action on climate change.

“LCV commends Rep. Sarbanes, Speaker Pelosi, and the new House majority for making strengthening voting rights and restoring faith in our democracy the first priority of the 116^th Congress. We’re proud to join the broad coalition of organizations in strong support of this legislation, and we urge the Senate and White House to join the House in taking immediate action.”

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