POGO Endorses H.R. 1 - the For the People Act

The Honorable John Sarbanes
2370 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative Sarbanes,

I am writing on behalf of the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) to express our enthusiastic support of H.R. 1, the For the People Act, and to strongly urge your House colleagues to prioritize passage of this anti-corruption legislation in the 117th Congress.

POGO is a nonpartisan independent watchdog that investigates and exposes waste, corruption, abuse of power, and when the government fails to serve the public or silences those who report wrongdoing. We champion reforms to achieve a more effective, ethical, and accountable federal government that safeguards constitutional principles. H.R. 1 contains countless reforms that would do just that.

When you first introduced this bill in the 116th Congress, POGO proudly testified twice in support—once in the House Judiciary Committee¹ and once in the House Oversight and Reform Committee.² In those testimonies we detailed how the various ethics reforms in this legislation would inoculate executive branch decision makers from personal financial incentives that could undermine the integrity of their actions, as well as help preserve the actual and perceived integrity of the federal courts. However, this legislation doesn’t stop there. It also includes language to dramatically improve and protect our election systems—the need for which has never been more obvious—and aims to lessen the corrupting influence big money has in politics.

We applaud these efforts and thank you for reaffirming your commitment to these important principles with the bill’s reintroduction.

Sincerely,

Danielle Brian
Executive Director