POGO Urges the Senate to Pass the For the People Act

The bill includes crucial democracy and ethics reforms.

Media Contacts:Danielle Brian, Executive Director at the Project On Government Oversight (POGO), [email protected]; or Caitlin MacNeal, Communications Manager at POGO, [email protected]

(WASHINGTON)—The Project On Government Oversight has enthusiastically endorsed the For the People Act and applauds lawmakers for introducing this crucial legislation in the Senate.

On top of much-needed provisions to protect voting rights, secure our election system, and clean up our broken campaign finance system, the bill includes ethics reforms that would significantly reduce corruption and misconduct by federal officials. By passing this legislation, the Senate would significantly strengthen our democracy.

The For the People Act would place more robust restrictions on executive branch officials’ ability to go through the revolving door between government and the lobbying industry, as well as their ability to profit off such a move. It would codify basic ethics standards for political appointees, which are currently set by incoming presidents and often rescinded at the end of their terms—creating loopholes and undermining the practical impact of these ethics standards. The bill would also strengthen the Office of Government Ethics, giving that office more oversight over ethics waivers and the ability to investigate and address ethics violations.

The legislation includes crucial reforms to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), giving the Justice Department the power to impose civil fines on those who fail to comply with the law.

In addition to executive branch ethics reforms, the For the People Act would improve ethics standards for members of Congress and establish a long-overdue code of conduct for Supreme Court justices.

The bill would also improve election security by providing federal funds to upgrade voting systems and requiring paper ballots, and it would increase transparency into the money influencing our elections.

“The past few years have exposed gaping holes in our government ethics rules, and the For the People Act is a great first step toward fighting back against corruption in the federal government. The ethics provisions in this bill would strengthen our democracy with common sense reforms that have already garnered bipartisan support,” said Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project On Government Oversight. “The Senate should pass this bill, and President Joe Biden should sign it into law.”

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Founded in 1981, the Project On Government Oversight (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.