This Week in Congress

The House is in session Tuesday through Friday. The House will be spending three days debating H.R. 1, the legislation limiting the First Amendment rights of groups like Campaign for Liberty by, among other provisions, requiring us to divulge the names of our supporters to the government.

Campaign for Liberty members should make sure they sign their petition against H.R. 1 and send the link to the petition to their pro-liberty family and friends.

For more on this bill see Dr. Paul’s column on this issue here.

Here is a letter opposing the bill that Campaign for Liberty has cosigned:

February 20, 2019

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi​​​​​                                       The Honorable Kevin McCarthy

Speaker​​​​​​​​                                                                     Minority Leader

H-232, The Capitol​​​​​​                                                          H-204, The Capitol

Washington, DC​​​​​​ 20515                                   Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Mitch McConnell​​​​                               The Honorable Chuck Schumer

Majority Leader                                                     ​​​​​​​Minority Leader

S-230, The Capitol                                                            ​​​​​​S-221, The Capitol

Washington, DC 20510                                   ​​​​​​Washington, DC, 20510

Dear Speaker Pelosi, Leader McCarthy, Leader McConnell, and Leader Schumer,

We, the undersigned organizations, representing millions of American citizens nationwide, urge you to reject the so-called “For the People Act,” H.R. 1, which would have a chilling effect on free speech in America and federalize all U.S. elections.

The First Amendment is the hallmark of our republic. The unfettered right of the people to freely criticize their elected representatives is what ensures that U.S. policymaking remains accountable to the American people. Any bill that claims to be “for the people” must recognize this basic American truth.

H.R. 1 would expose the identities of countless Americans who contribute to nonprofit organizations. This opens them up to widespread political intimidation and harassment. Brave American patriots set the foundation for our nation writing under the anonymous pen names of Publius and Brutus. They understood the value of anonymity. Members of Congress should not break with this tradition by passing a bill that would have a chilling effect on civic engagement and free speech.

Another provision of the bill would force sponsors of online political content to file duplicative, burdensome reports with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). It would further require impractical and inflexible disclaimers on many online ads while also likely regulating organizations’ communications on social media and their own websites. Under such a framework, the only people who could afford to speak would be those with extensive resources and a formidable legal team. This is effectively a free speech deterrent and has no place in our democracy.

The right to vote goes hand in hand with the First Amendment. H.R. 1 would further undermine the Constitution by broadly defining political “coordination.” This would effectively ban any and all nonprofits from contacting a member of Congress or their staff about any policy issue. This is a blatant assault on the ability of the people to petition their government.

Unfortunately, H.R. 1 also seeks to decrease the number of commissioners on the FEC from six to five. This will end the Commission’s long history of being a bipartisan body. As a partisan body, it could be used by the party in power to weaponize election laws against political opponents. Such an outcome would decrease public confidence in our elections. This must never be allowed to happen.

This is not the only assault on our election process. H.R. 1 would essentially nationalize elections and disregard the proper role of states and localities in determining best election practices. Not every precinct is created equal, and each has different needs to ensure it runs smoothly on election day. A one-size-fits-all fiat from the federal level would ensure chaos on Election Day and prevent many voters from having their voices heard.

H.R. 1 includes a provision that would provide candidates with a 6-to-1 taxpayer-funded subsidy for small-dollar campaign contributions. This means that taxpayers – Republicans and Democrats alike – will be forced to subsidize political campaign literature and ads with which they disagree. This could mean Democrats funding pro-Second Amendment campaign ads through their tax dollars or Republicans paying for pro-abortion ads.

There is also a provision in H.R. 1 that would allow federal bureaucrats to monitor polling places and receive payment for doing so. Federal employees, who inherently have a stake in the outcomes of elections, have no business monitoring polling places in such close proximity to thousands of voters. This is a thinly veiled form of voter intimidation.

Our nation is only a few years removed from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) targeting scores of Americans for their political beliefs. H.R. 1 lifts the policy rider that banned the IRS from codifying such targeting practices into law. The lesson from that scandal was to stop political targeting, not to encourage it.

Revealing the identities of donors and increasing the federal role in our election process are also not lessons to be learned from that scandal. As lawmakers who have taken an oath to preserve and protect the Constitution, we urge you to promote legislation that champions free speech, not legislation that severely limits it. This is why we, on behalf of the activists and voters we represent, ask you to oppose H.R. 1.

Sincerely,

Adam Brandon​​​​​​​

President

FreedomWorks​​​​​​​

 

Grover Norquist

President

Americans for Tax Reform​

​​

Pete Sepp​​​​​​​

President​​​​​​​

National Taxpayers Union​​​​​

 

Tim Chapman

Executive Director

Heritage Action

David McIntosh​​​​​​​

President​​​​​​​

Club for Growth​​​​​​

Jonathan Bydlak

President

Coalition to Reduce Spending

 

Nathan Nascimento​​​​​​

Executive Vice President​​​​​

Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce

​​​​​

Brent Gardner

Chief Government Affairs Officer

Americans for Prosperity

 

Daniel Garza​​​​​​​

President

The LIBRE Initiative​​​​​​

Dan Caldwell

Executive Director

Concerned Veterans for America

 

Tom Schatz​​​​​​​

President​​​​​​​

Council for Citizens Against Government Waste​​​

Lisa B. Nelson

CEO

ALEC Action

 

Patrick Purtill​​​​​​​

Director of Legislative Affairs​​​​​

Faith and Freedom Coalition​​​​​

David Bozell

President

For America

 

Jeff Mazzella​​​​​​

President​​​​​​​

Center for Individual Freedom​​​​​

​​​​​​​

Matt Kibbe

President

Free the People

 

Jenny Beth Martin​​​​​​

Honorary Chairman​​​​​​

Tea Party Patriots Action​​​​​

Bob Barr

Chairman

Liberty Guard

 

Phil Kerpen​​​​​​​

President​​​​​​​

American Commitment​​​​​​

 

David Williams

President

Taxpayers Protection Alliance

 

Seton Motley​​​​​​​

President​​​​​​​

Less Government​​​​​​

Andrew Langer

President

Institute for Liberty

 

James L. Martin​​​​​​​

Founder/Chairman​​​​​​

60 Plus Association​​​​​​

 

Saul Anuzis

President

60 Plus Association

 

Mario H. Lopez​​​​​​​

President​​​​​​​

Hispanic Leadership Fund​​​​​

Norm Singleton

President

Campaign for Liberty

 

Ryan Ellis​​​​​​​

President​​​​​​​

Center for a Free Economy

 

Heather Lauer

Policy Director

People United for Privacy

 

Victor Riches​​​​​​​

President​​​​​​​

Goldwater Institute​​​​​​

 

Judson Phillips

President

Tea Party Nation

 

James Bopp, Jr.​​​​​​​

General Counsel​​​​​​

James Madison Center for Free Speech

 

Ted McCabe

CEO

Freedom Foundation

 

Matt Kandrach​​​​​​​Dudley Brown

President​​​​​​​President

Consumer Action for a Strong Economy​​​​

 

Dudley Brown

President

National Association for Gun Rights

 

Annette Meeks​​​​​​​

CEO

Freedom Foundation of Minnesota​​​​

 

Jameson Taylor

Vice President of Policy

​​​​Mississippi Center for Public Policy

The House will also vote on several bills under suspension of the rules, including:

 

1. H.R. 762- Creates a clearinghouse for federal grant aid programs that help schools and colleges become energy efficient.

 

The Senate will vote on nominations.