By Roel Godinez
On Monday, November 4th, the Speaker of the House of Congress, Nancy Pelosi, and Congressman Mike Levin of California’s 49th District visited Oceanside to discuss the ‘For the People Act’ among other topics in a public setting. This took place in the QLN Conference Center in Rancho del Oro and was open to the press and invited community members.
Avenida Del Oro, the street outside of the QLN center, was packed prior to Pelosi’s arrival. Not only was traffic heavy due to the lack of parking, but political activists of all stripes also lined the sidewalks carrying signs of approval or disdain. Many of the signs simply displayed names like “Levin”, “Pelosi”, or “Trump” while others carried slogans associated with partisan policies.
Inside the QLN Center’s wide DaVinci room, the invitees settled into their seats while press cameras lined the rear. The front of the room held a small stage with three seats for the House Representatives and UCSD Political Science Professor Thad Kousser who served as a moderator.
After the crowd settled in, Congressman Mike Levin took to the stage. “I have the great honor to welcome a person who is really part of history, she is a historic figure for historic times,” he said. “I think she is the most effective speaker of the house of representatives in the history of the United States of America. When you consider her legacy over many decades as a member of Congress and two times Speaker of the House, when you consider everything that she has done, I can tell you that she is truly a master of the House. So, without any further ado, please give a big welcome to Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.”
With that, the crowd stood to applaud Pelosi as she entered the room. After seating herself, she thanked both Levin and Kousser for their welcomes. She then opened the discussion on H.R. 1, also known as the ‘For the People Act’.
“It was important to us that H.R. 1 be called H.R. 1 because of the priority it has to the integrity of government,” said Pelosi. “We had been hearing a kind of concern from members of Congress that their voices were not being heard in the way they should be in a democracy. That is to say, we’re breaking down the cynicism that exists in our electoral system by saying that your voice is just as important as anyone else’s, and to do that, we have made a commitment to rid our political system of dark special interest money.”
But what is H.R. 1?
The bill, delivered to the Senate as Calendar No.39, states that its purpose is “to expand Americans’ access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics, and strengthen ethics rules for public servants, and for other purposes.”
Mainly, H.R. 1 responds to the “dark special interest money” that Pelosi and Levin repeatedly referenced throughout their discussion. Currently, candidates running for any office in the United States are free to receive unlimited campaign funds without revealing the donor’s names.
“Many members of Congress believe that we could accomplish something for gun violence prevention legislation to be passed in the House and the Senate, that we could have climate action now, or that we could have our public health issues cleaned up if we could just reduce the role of big money in government,” said Pelosi.
If passed, the ‘For the People Act’ would bring many changes to the voting process. Title I of the bill makes voter registration quicker and more accessible, Title II and III reinforces election integrity and security, and Title X requires that both the President and Vice President release tax records (read more on https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/1/text).
Although this bill passed in the House, it has not been passed in the Senate. Both Pelosi and Levin expressed their frustration with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s refusal to pass this bill along with many others.
Levin acknowledged this while on the topic of climate change. “Everybody remembers the Citizens United decision right?” he asked. “This was the 2010 decision that really freed up a lot more ‘dark money’. Unfortunately, since that decision, there has been $397 million of political spending by the fossil fuel industry. A lot of that goes without being reported, with no transparency, and if you want to take a look at Mitch McConnell’s Super PAC, not surprisingly, a lot of big donors are big oil companies. So you wonder why we can’t get anything done when an overwhelming amount of Americans want us to.”
“With the 2020 election less than one year away, both Democrats and Republicans are gearing up for another high stakes campaign. Once again, the responsibility of democracy falls upon the common voter. Not only do we have the responsibility to pick a candidate for each open office, but we also have the responsibility to do so critically.”
“Everything is at stake when we talk about who has the leverage,” said Pelosi. “We want the people to have the leverage. We want the people’s interest, not the special interest. I’m very confident that we can do this. I’m very confident because I do believe that the American people believe that that’s what their country is all about. Their hearts are full of love for America, all of us, and that’s something that we all have in common, regardless of party.”
