IV 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 975 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Americans have 

a right to fair representation and that America’s democratic institutions 

are in urgent need of repair to provide greater responsiveness and accountability to the people through critical reforms that empower the 

American voter, strengthen our Nation’s ethics laws, and fix our broken 

campaign finance system. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 28, 2018 

Mr. SARBANES (for himself, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. HOYER, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. 

AGUILAR, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Mr. BERA, Mr. BEYER, Mr. BLUMENAUER, 

Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Mrs. 

BUSTOS, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Mr. 

CICILLINE, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. 

CLEAVER, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. CRIST, Mr. 

CROWLEY, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. 

DELANEY, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. 

DEUTCH, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. ELLISON, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. 

ESPAILLAT, Ms. ESTY of Connecticut, Ms. FRANKEL of Florida, Mr. 

GALLEGO, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. AL GREEN

of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. GUTIE ́RREZ, Ms. HANABUSA, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. HECK, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Ms. NORTON, Mr. 

HUFFMAN, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. JEFFRIES, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

of Texas, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. 

KHANNA, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. KILMER, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. CLAY, 

Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, 

Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Ms. LEE, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, 

Mr. TED LIEU of California, Mr. LOEBSACK, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. 

LOWENTHAL, Mr. BEN RAY LUJA ́N of New Mexico, Ms. MICHELLE

LUJAN GRISHAM of New Mexico, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCEACHIN, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. KUSTER of 

New Hampshire, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. NOLAN, Mr. NORCROSS, Mr. O’HALLERAN, 

Mr. O’ROURKE, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Ms. 

PINGREE, Mr. POCAN, Mr. POLIS, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. 

QUIGLEY, Mr. RASKIN, Miss RICE of New York, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, 


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Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Ms. SA ́NCHEZ, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCHIFF, 

Mr. SCHNEIDER, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. SEWELL of 

Alabama, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. SIRES, Mr. SMITH of 

Washington, Mr. SOTO, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Mr. 

TAKANO, Ms. TITUS, Mr. TONKO, Ms. TSONGAS, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. 

VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. WALZ, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. MAXINE

WATERS of California, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. WELCH, Mr. YARMUTH, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. VEASEY, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. PAYNE, Mrs. 

LOWEY, Mr. GONZALEZ of Texas, Mr. VELA, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mrs. MURPHY of Florida, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. ENGEL, Ms. BASS, Ms. ROSEN, 

Mr. COSTA, Mr. PETERS, Ms. MENG, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Mr. RUSH, Mr. 

KIHUEN, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. RUIZ, Ms. MOORE, Mr. CARBAJAL, 

and Mr. FOSTER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 

to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a 

period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

Americans have a right to fair representation and that 

America’s democratic institutions are in urgent need of 

repair to provide greater responsiveness and accountability to the people through critical reforms that empower the American voter, strengthen our Nation’s ethics 

laws, and fix our broken campaign finance system. 

1 Resolved, 

2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

3 This resolution may be cited as the ‘‘By the People 

4 Resolution’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

2 It is the purpose of this resolution to express the 

3 sense of the House of Representatives that Congress 

4 should advance a comprehensive set of political reforms 

5 to restore trust in, and integrity to, our institutions of de6 mocracy. Such reforms will— 

7 (1) empower the American voter; 

8 (2) strengthen our Nation’s ethics laws; and 

9 (3) fix our broken campaign finance system. 

10 TITLE I—EMPOWERING THE 

11 AMERICAN VOTER 

12 SEC. 101. EXPANDING ACCESS TO THE BALLOT BOX. 

13 It is the sense of the House of Representatives that— 

14 (1) the right to vote for all Americans is sac15 rosanct and rules for voting and election administra16 tion should protect the right to vote and promote 

17 voter participation; 

18 (2) in recent years, we have witnessed unprece19 dented efforts to turn back the clock and erect bar20 riers to voting for disabled, minority, young, elderly, 

21 and low-income Americans; and 

22 (3) Congress should respond by modernizing 

23 the electoral system to— 

24 (A) improve access to the ballot; 

25 (B) enhance the integrity and security of 

26 our voting systems; and 


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1 (C) ensure greater accountability for the 

2 administration of elections. 

3 SEC. 102. PROMOTING NATIONAL AUTOMATIC VOTER REG4 ISTRATION. 

5 It is the sense of the House of Representatives that— 

6 (1) America is stronger when more Americans 

7 participate in the political process; 

8 (2) across the Nation, voter registration models 

9 at best are outmoded, and present barriers for eligi10 ble Americans to have their voices heard at the bal11 lot box and, at worst, are under assault from at12 tempts to limit access; and 

13 (3) Congress should advance reforms to auto14 mate the registration of millions of eligible voters, 

15 thereby improving registration files and election se16 curity, all the while helping to build a more rep17 resentative electorate. 

18 SEC. 103. ENDING PARTISAN REDISTRICTING BY ESTAB19 LISHING STATE-BASED INDEPENDENT COM20 MISSIONS. 

21 It is the sense of the House of Representatives that— 

22 (1) fair representation demands Congressional 

23 districts be drawn without undue political influence 

24 and gamesmanship; 


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1 (2) a partisan arms race has broken out, with 

2 majority parties in the States crafting district lines 

3 to maximize political advantage; 

4 (3) the public has lost confidence in the way 

5 that Congressional districts are drawn; and 

6 (4) Congress should put an end to this partisan 

7 arms race and require all States to establish inde8 pendent, multi-party citizen redistricting commis9 sions to draw open, transparent, and fair statewide 

10 district maps after each decennial census. 

11 SEC. 104. RESTORING THE INTEGRITY OF THE VOTING 

12 RIGHTS ACT. 

13 It is the sense of the House of Representatives that— 

14 (1) we must remain vigilant in protecting every 

15 American’s right to vote, regardless of race, color, or 

16 creed; 

17 (2) systemic voter discrimination and intimida18 tion still occurs in communities across the country; 

19 (3) the Supreme Court, in Shelby County v. 

20 Holder, struck down core provisions of the Voting 

21 Rights Act, undermining decades-long protections 

22 for communities of color that faced historic and con23 tinuing discrimination; and 

24 (4) Congress should restore protections for vot25 ers in States with a recent history of discrimination 


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1 and bolster prophylactic protections for those com2 munities with a history of voter disenfranchisement. 

3 SEC. 105. PROTECTING THE INTEGRITY OF THE ELECTION 

4 SYSTEM. 

5 It is the sense of the House of Representatives that— 

6 (1) the security of election systems must be im7 proved; 

8 (2) attacks from hostile actors, both foreign 

9 and domestic, must never compromise the integrity 

10 or security of our election system; and 

11 (3) Congress must advance comprehensive re12 forms to protect and harden our election system, 

13 providing the resources and tools to our State and 

14 local partners to ensure attempts to undermine our 

15 election system remain unsuccessful. 

16 TITLE II—STRENGTHENING OUR 

17 NATION’S ETHICS LAWS 

18 SEC. 201. ENDING THE REVOLVING DOOR OF SPECIAL IN19 TERESTS INTO AND OUT OF GOVERNMENT. 

20 It is the sense of the House of Representatives that— 

21 (1) the line between public service and private 

22 interests is too often blurred, because government 

23 positions are regularly filled with industry insiders 

24 who work to secure undue access and influence for 

25 their former employers, and that this preferential 


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1 treatment is later used to secure for those same in2 dividuals future employment and profit, fueling a 

3 cycle of exploitative government service; 

4 (2) the public is rightly disgusted by this ‘‘re5 volving door’’ into and out of government, and as 

6 stewards of the public trust, government officials 

7 should be— 

8 (A) required to submit to a stringent set of 

9 ethical guidelines that restrict their engagement 

10 on matters directly related to past employment; 

11 and 

12 (B) prohibited from seeking immediate em13 ployment after their government tenure with 

14 private interests with business related to their 

15 government service. 

16 SEC. 202. EXPANDING ETHICS LAWS TO APPLY TO THE 

17 PRESIDENT AND TO PROMOTE GREATER AC18 COUNTABILITY OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE. 

19 It is the sense of the House of Representatives that— 

20 (1) government officials at every level, including 

21 the Office of the President and Vice President, 

22 should be held to the highest ethical standards; 

23 (2) government service should not be a means 

24 to personal profit, nor should conflicts of interest 

25 cloud the judgment of our Nation’s leaders; 


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1 (3) all existing and applicable ethics laws and 

2 protocols to prevent conflicts of interest should apply 

3 to the Office of President and Vice President; and 

4 (4) candidates for President and Vice-President 

5 should be required to disclose their tax returns as a 

6 condition of their candidacy, as the electorate de7 serves to be provided with the necessary information 

8 to determine if an individual can pursue the public 

9 interest unencumbered by private conflicts of inter10 est. 

11 SEC. 203. REFORMING THE OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETH12 ICS. 

13 It is the sense of the House of Representatives that— 

14 (1) the entirety of the Federal Government, and 

15 the public servants who comprise it, must comply 

16 with all relevant ethics laws and regulations; 

17 (2) it has become apparent that— 

18 (A) there are significant differences in the 

19 ways that certain agencies, government employ20 ees, and political appointees abide by the rel21 evant ethics statutes; and 

22 (B) the existing enforcement tools are defi23 cient; 

24 (3) Americans are right to expect their public 

25 servants to be free from conflicts of interest; and 


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1 (4) Congress should bolster compliance across 

2 the Federal Government and ensure those charged 

3 with overseeing the law have the necessary tools of 

4 enforcement. 

5 SEC. 204. UPDATING THE LOBBYING DISCLOSURE ACT AND 

6 PROHIBITING BUNDLED CAMPAIGN CON7 TRIBUTIONS FROM LOBBYISTS. 

8 It is the sense of the House of Representatives that— 

9 (1) all Americans have the right to petition 

10 their government, as granted by the First Amend11 ment; 

12 (2) the modern-day lobbying industry has 

13 abused this right, deploying sophisticated tactics to 

14 maximize their influence and to minimize trans15 parency and public scrutiny of their actions; 

16 (3) the American people deserve to know who is 

17 influencing their representatives in Congress; 

18 (4) professional lobbyists should not be able to 

19 circumvent campaign finance contribution limits to 

20 gain improper access and influence Congress to ad21 vance the positions of their clients; and 

22 (5) Congress should act to impose stronger lob23 bying rules and prohibitions. 


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1 SEC. 205. STRENGTHENING BRIBERY LAWS TO GUARD 

2 AGAINST PUBLIC OFFICIALS PROFITING 

3 FROM PUBLIC SERVICE. 

4 It is the sense of the House of Representatives that— 

5 (1) public servants, both elected and unelected, 

6 should not use public office for personal profit; 

7 (2) recent court cases have narrowed the scope 

8 of existing bribery laws, inviting unscrupulous public 

9 officials to test the outer bounds of the law; and 

10 (3) Congress must act to ensure public servants 

11 do not use their public power for private gain or to 

12 enrich themselves, either directly or indirectly. 

13 TITLE III—FIXING OUR BROKEN 

14 CAMPAIGN FINANCE SYSTEM 

15 SEC. 301. EMPOWERING SMALL DONORS AND DIMINISHING 

16 THE INFLUENCE OF BIG MONEY CAMPAIGN 

17 DONORS. 

18 It is the sense of the House of Representatives that— 

19 (1) concentrated money in politics has corroded 

20 the public’s trust in their representatives and their 

21 ability to provide fair representation, and is under22 mining faith in the institutions of democracy; 

23 (2) to reduce corruption or the appearance of 

24 corruption from the undue influence of the wealthy 

25 and well-connected donors in our politics, Congress 

26 should enact bold reforms to our campaign finance 


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1 system that increase and multiply the power of small 

2 dollar donors in our democracy; and 

3 (3) these reforms can provide everyday Ameri4 cans, and the candidates they support, with the tools 

5 they need to compete with big money, enabling a 

6 new generation of candidates to run and win office, 

7 ultimately building a Congress that is more respon8 sive to the public interest, not the special interests. 

9 SEC. 302. DISCLOSING ‘‘SECRET MONEY’’ AND PROMOTING 

10 TRANSPARENCY OF POLITICAL SPENDING. 

11 It is the sense of the House of Representatives that— 

12 (1) undisclosed ‘‘secret money’’ is a scourge on 

13 our democracy and denies voters the information 

14 they need to make informed political decisions; 

15 (2) when individuals or organizations enter the 

16 political town-square to voice their opinions, they 

17 should do so openly, honestly, and with the full ben18 efit of transparency; 

19 (3) in recent years hundreds of millions of dol20 lars have poured into our political system from un21 disclosed sources due to a series of ill-advised court 

22 decisions, lax enforcement, and a failure to update 

23 donor disclosure laws; and 

24 (4) Congress should strengthen our campaign 

25 finance disclosure laws to shine a bright light on this 


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1 shadowy political spending and on the sponsors of 

2 campaign advertisements, thereby giving Americans 

3 the information they need to make informed political 

4 decisions. 

5 SEC. 303. AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION TO REASSERT 

6 CONGRESS’ AUTHORITY TO REGULATE PO7 LITICAL SPENDING AND TO OVERTURN THE 

8 CITIZENS UNITED RULING. 

9 It is the sense of the House of Representatives that— 

10 (1) Congress and the States should be able to 

11 regulate and set reasonable limits on the raising and 

12 spending of political money; 

13 (2) the Citizens United court case violated this 

14 principle by permitting unlimited political spending 

15 by nominally independent outside organizations; 

16 (3) in practice, this has created a new wild west 

17 of outside political spending, empowering the 

18 wealthiest few to exert even more control over our 

19 democracy; and 

20 (4) Congress should move to restore its author21 ity to regulate the raising and spending of political 

22 money by passing a constitutional amendment to 

23 overturn Citizens United and other related rulings. 


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1 SEC. 304. PREVENTING FOREIGN INTERFERENCE IN OUR 

2 ELECTIONS. 

3 It is the sense of the House of Representatives that— 

4 (1) elections in the United States should be the 

5 sole province of the American people; 

6 (2) recent efforts by hostile foreign actors to 

7 disrupt our elections, and thereby our democracy, 

8 must be met with resolve; and 

9 (3) Congress should— 

10 (A) institute a robust set of reforms to cre11 ate real-time transparency of political advertise12 ments on all advertising platforms, ensuring all 

13 Americans have the information they need to 

14 judge the source and content of a given political 

15 advertisement; and 

16 (B) enact new, stronger prohibitions on po17 litical spending by foreign actors and on spend18 ing by domestic subsidiaries of foreign-owned 

19 corporations. 

20 SEC. 305. RESTORING FUNCTION TO THE FEDERAL ELEC21 TION COMMISSION. 

22 It is the sense of the House of Representatives that— 

23 (1) the Federal Election Commission needs ur24 gent repair; 


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1 (2) hamstrung by its partisan composition, the 

2 Commission has failed in recent years to live up to 

3 its mandate of enforcing Federal election law; and 

4 (3) Congress should enact sensible reform 

5 measures to restore the Commission’s ability to po6 lice campaign finance violations. 

7 SEC. 306. STRENGTHENING COORDINATION LAW TO PRE8 VENT CANDIDATE-AFFILIATED SUPER PACS. 

9 It is the sense of the House of Representatives that— 

10 (1) independent political spending must remain 

11 independent or else it renders contribution limits to 

12 candidates ineffectual; 

13 (2) the efforts by some to evade or skirt exist14 ing campaign finance anticoordination law exposes 

15 the nominal independence of supposedly ‘‘inde16 pendent’’ political spenders who are clearly affiliated 

17 with particular candidates; and 

18 (3) Congress should strengthen the anticoordi19 nation statute to— 

20 (A) shut down candidate-specific super 

21 PACs; and 

22 (B) effectively prohibit direct and indirect 

23 coordination between other outside spenders 

24 and candidates and parties. 

Æ 


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