Renewing the American People’s Faith in Government
Mariel Saez 202-225-3130
This week, House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer delivered a speech on how Congress can renew the American people’s faith in government. At a time when many feel that the American Dream is out of reach and government is seen as a road block, Whip Hoyer identified four major proposals to renew the American people’s trust and confidence. Many of these ideas were put forward by House Democrats during the “Make It In America: What’s Next” hearings held by Whip Hoyer last year. We cannot fully tap into our economic opportunities unless government works, too. By ensuring every voice is heard and by making government work, we can ensure that all Americans can Make It In America.
Campaign Finance Reform
It’s critical that every voice be heard, and the voices of wealthy individuals shouldn’t be louder than those of middle-class Americans. In order to effectively address the role of money in politics, we must:
- Overturn Citizens United and require super PACs to disclose their donors;
- Place reasonable limits on the amount an individual can donate to campaigns while encouraging small contribution funding; and
- Restore reasonable limits and complete transparency to the fundraising process.
Voting Rights
Every American who can vote should be able to vote. To ensure no eligible American is turned away from the ballot box, we must:
- Restore the protections of the Voting Rights Act; and
- Modernize our voting system to include automatic voter registration, expanded early voting, options to vote by mail and on weeks, and tools to combat voter suppression.
Redistricting Reform
Politicians often draw the boundaries of congressional districts themselves, and as such, too many “safe” seats have been drawn by Members of both parties. In order to maximize the effectiveness of government, we must:
- Create a national system of redistricting standards that takes partisanship out of the equation.
Government Technology
Congress must modernize government technology so that it works reliably and is responsive to the needs of the American people. To do that, we must:
- Pass the Information Technology Modernization Act, which would modernize government technology systems and strengthen cybersecurity;
- Make all federal departments and agencies as connected and adaptive as possible by creating a site where citizens can go online to rate and review agencies and offices; and
- Authorize the U.S. Digital Service, which has been at the forefront of introducing the advances from Silicon Valley into government tech, as has 18F.
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