By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 1-4-19
Co-opting the “clean up Washington” mantra of the current Republican President and the “by the people, for the people” language of a former Republican president, House Democrats Friday (Jan. 4) officially unveiled their first bill of the new session, the For the People Act (H.R. 1), which would, among many other things, boost campaign ad disclosures on TV and extend them to paid online ads.
Newly re-elected House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the point of the bill was to clean up corruption and restore integrity in Washington, saying that was the takeaway mandate from the Democrats’ midterm victories.
That includes preventing the voice of corporations and moneyed interests to drown out the voice of the people and set the political agenda, the Democrats said in a press conference officially unveiling the bill and the “For the People” agenda championed by Rep. John Sarbanes of Maryland. Sarbanes said the people felt “locked out” of the process and needed to be let back in. » Read More