In The News
Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.) called the rule "political theatre." ... "With the inclusion of the Holman Rule in the House rules package, House Republicans have made it clear that they plan to continue their assault on our nation’s civil servants and to subject hardworking federal employees to the ideological and political whims of Congress," Sarbanes said in a statement.
The good news? At this very moment, there are legislative proposals waiting for passage in Congress that would change the way these races get funded. And with the 115th U.S. Congress being sworn in on January 3rd, these reform measures deserve renewed and serious attention…. U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes’s (D-MD) Government By The People Act would begin to level the playing field by leveraging small donations up to $150 with public matching funds at a ratio of 6 to 1 - and 9 to 1 for candidates who choose not to accept contributions over $150. Candidates who don’t have easy pots of big money to target would actually have a chance when challenging well-heeled, safe incumbents.
Action at the federal level may be a long way off, but Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.), a leading advocate in Congress for public financing and other campaign finance reforms, said he believes success at the state and local level makes it easier to sell his colleagues on federal legislation. Aside from leading the push for public financing in Congress, Sarbanes has supported reforms in Montgomery County and Howard County in his home state of Maryland. He also travels the country to campaign for state and local reforms…. “The efforts at the state and local level now just adds to the list of examples that I can point to, and others can point to, to say here’s a better way,” Sarbanes said…. The creation of more public financing systems at the state and local level would also mean that more politicians would use them as they move forward. Public financing will move into Congress as city councilors become state legislators who become congressmen.
Republican members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform were invited to the forum, but none attended. The idea that Trump’s potential conflicts should not be a partisan issue was stressed multiple times, but Rep. John Sarbanes argued that Republicans’ lack of attendance forced the conversation to have an air of partisanship…. “If Republicans want his administration to be successful, I’m going to assume that most of them do, then they should have an appetite for his addressing these conflicts of interest,” Sarbanes told BuzzFeed News after the forum. “I think the public is going to play a very important role here because as people begin to focus on these conflicts and start to process it… then they’re going to start to put pressure on the president and Republicans and they may realize, hey this is something that we’ve got to pay some real attention to.”
Even though they hold no committee gavels in their hands and no subpoena power to command witnesses to testify, House Democrats are going to try and provide oversight of the Trump administration whether Republicans want to or not…. On Wednesday, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), ranking member on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, showed what that would look like. In a meeting room in the Capitol Visitor Center, Cummings and four other Democrats ― Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), John Sarbanes (D-Md.) and Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-V.I.) ― convened a hearing with three ethics experts to examine President-elect Donald Trump’s conflicts of interest.
Although virtually ignored by corporate media, some in Congress did hear our voices—most notably Representative John Sarbanes (D-MD) who immediately collected roughly 100 Congressional signatures on a petition to hold hearings on our demands.... John Sarbanes is a hero to many, shining the light on the mother of all issues: democracy itself. Recently we felt honored to chat with him. Below is the second half of our conversation (see Part One here).
In July, Sarbanes helped the County secure a $10 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to help fund the proposed 14-mile BRT along U.S. 29, which is estimated to cost $67 million…. “You know, it is not easy to get these TIGER grants, because a $10 million TIGER grant for this kind of a project represents a real win for Montgomery County and demonstrates the strength of the application,” Sarbanes said…. Sarbanes said he lobbied Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx to pledge the TIGER grant to the County for the BRT…. “I even called Secretary Foxx right in the final minutes of these decision and said, ‘You got to do this, this is a very competitive grant,’’ Sarbanes said.
You can’t have conflicts of interest that are that significant, present those to the public and have a straight face about it,” Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.) said.... Sarbanes says to expect Democrats to continue to demand that these conflicts of interest be resolved.... “I think Trump’s going to give us endless examples or instances of things that on their face are offensive to people’s sense of what’s proper,” he said. “He’s already doing it.”
Rep. John Sarbanes has introduced a bill to ban lobbyists from Presidential transition teams in response to reports President-elect Donald Trump's team includes several people who have lobbied on behalf of major corporations…. Titled the "No Lobbyists on Presidential Transition Teams Act," the bill would amend the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 to ban President-elects and Vice President-elects from paying registered lobbyists to be a part of Presidential transition teams.
A bill introduced Wednesday in Congress by a Maryland representative would prevent President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence from using taxpayer dollars to hire lobbyists onto the presidential transition teams…. Rep. John Sarbanes introduced the No Lobbyists on Presidential Transition Teams Act (H.R. 6324)…. "On the campaign trail, President-elect Trump promised to 'drain the swamp' in Washington," Sarbanes said in a statement. "But he’s not living up to that promise by stocking his transition team with corporate lobbyists. This bill is a meaningful step toward reducing the undue influence of wealthy and entrenched special interests in Washington."