In The News
Congress also has addressed the co-prescribing issue. In 2016, the House passed the Co-Prescribing to Reduce Overdoses Act sponsored by Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.). The bill, which became part of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, authorized 5 years of grants aimed at increasing co-prescribing of naloxone in high-risk patients who are prescribed opioids; however, funds were never appropriated for the grant program.... Sarbanes applauded the new HHS guidelines, calling them "an important and encouraging step forward in our fight against the opioid epidemic." ... "By getting more affordable and easy-to-use overdose reversal drugs into the hands of patients and communities across the country, we can save countless lives," he said in a press release issued Thursday.
House Democrats’ first bill of the year — a sweeping anti-corruption and pro-Democracy reform bill known as House Resolution 1 — is getting a companion bill in the Senate.... Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) is planning to introduce a companion bill in the Senate early next year, he told senators on Tuesday in a Dear Colleague letter obtained by Vox. The bill text would likely be an update of an existing bill Udall introduced in 2017, tweaked to mirror the House legislation.... HR 1 is the first bill House Democrats will tackle once they retake the gavel next year; it’s aimed at stamping out the influence of money in politics, curtailing Washington lobbying, and expanding voting rights. Democrats are hoping to get some Republicans on board as well, but the reality is that Republican leadership in the Senate likely won’t let Udall’s bill make it to the floor. Still, it’s a sign that Democrats in the House and the Senate are serious about proposing a wide swath of reforms that could dramatically change American campaign finance laws, expand voting rights, and institute new rules that crack down on lobbying…. Udall and Senate Democrats have been quietly working on these ideas for a long time. On his bill, Udall is already working with Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (RI), Ben Cardin (MD), Amy Klobuchar (MN), Tammy Baldwin (WI), Dick Durbin (IL) and others, and is looking for more partners. He has also been working with Rep. John Sarbanes (MD), the Democrat spearheading HR 1 in the House, since May.
For nearly two years, Sarbanes has chaired the House Democracy Reform Task Force, a group of legislators seeking to minimize the influence of special interests on elections. He is the principle author of H.R. 1, a bill that addresses ethics and campaign finance reform as well as voting rights protections. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who will likely be the new Speaker of the House, said the bill will be the first order of business when the House reconvenes on January 3rd, 2019.
House Democrats won a majority in the next Congress not because they are unified behind Medicare-for-all — they are not — or because they favor an infrastructure plan — which President Trump does, too. They won in some previously GOP-friendly areas because they promised an alternative to Mr. Trump’s undignified, cynical behavior.... They appear to have received voters’ message. The first major action the new Democratic majority plans to take next year is not the embrace of a left-wing ideological hobby horse, but an ambitious plan to tighten up the nation’s democratic procedures, combat big money in politics and enhance political ethics rules. Senate Republicans may balk at the bill, set to be the first filed in the House next year. But they will have a hard time explaining why.... A proposal that reflects these priorities would not be some loony left-wing monstrosity. Most — if not all — of these reforms should be bipartisan. If “H.R. 1” turns out to be nothing more than a messaging bill, it will reflect more on the opponents who blocked it than on the new Democratic majority pushing it forward.
As we speak with newly elected members of Congress from across the country, we hear one loud, clear, and consistent refrain — that many of them decided to run for office to restore faith in our democratic institutions and return us to a government of, by, and for the people.... Democratic leadership in Congress has heard this call too, and has stated unequivocally that the very first order of business in the 116th Congress will be to introduce and pass a comprehensive reform bill that will diminish the role of money in politics, restore ethics and integrity to our government, and make sure that every American has access to the ballot box.... On Election Day, Americans held a referendum on the kind of government they want to see. Voters here in Pennsylvania and across the country made clear they want to reestablish the shared ideals that have served as the bedrock of our democracy for more than two centuries. They want to end the corrosive influence of wealthy donors and well-connected special interests. They want public servants to serve the public, not strive for self-enrichment. And they want to make it easier, not harder, to vote.... To the people of Pennsylvania and all Americans, we have heard your calls for change, and Democrats stand ready to give you the government you deserve.
When the Democrats take over the U.S. House of Representatives in three weeks, their first order of business is expected to be a wide-ranging bill about political corruption, voter disenfranchisement and cleaning up campaign finance.… H.R. 1 is about putting a positive set of reforms out there to fix some of the systemic problems we have,” said Democratic Representative John Sarbanes, who is leading the effort.… The bill is expected to be introduced soon after the 2019-20 Congress convenes on Jan. 3, with hearings to follow. House committees will prepare separate segments of the bill for a House floor vote, due within the first 100 days of 2019.
Republicans in Michigan and Wisconsin who have moved aggressively to steamroll voters and strip power from incoming Democratic officials appear confident that they will pay no political price, and many analysts seem to concur.... But that assumption overlooks two powerful lessons from the recent midterms: One, that gerrymandering can backfire, particularly when the political winds shift dramatically. And two, that voters are increasingly fed up with assaults on democracy.... In the recent midterms, several Democrats won in strongly GOP districts gerrymandered for Republicans, including the Eighth and 11th Districts of Michigan, the First District of South Carolina, the Fifth District of Oklahoma, and the Seventh and 32nd Districts of Texas. House Democrats in part credit their anti-corruption platform, and have pledged to approve HR 1, a reform package built on voting rights, campaign finance, redistricting, and ethics changes, as their first order of business in January.... “It’s folks from across the political spectrum who are demanding this,” said Maryland Democrat John Sarbanes, who chairs the House’s Democracy Reform Task Force, at a Capitol Hill press conference last month. “It’s not just Democrats. It’s independents, it’s Republicans.”
The first legislation that the new Democratic House majority will pass next year in the 116th Congress is a sweeping package of changes to our campaign finance, ethics and voting laws. We will shine a light on the dark money in our politics, and empower small donors to own elections and drive the agenda in Washington. We will demand that public servants work for the public interest, not the special interest. We will make it easier, not harder, to vote. Together, these bold reforms will restore and protect the voice of the American people in our democracy.... Democrats should not have to pass these reforms alone.... Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush all renewed and strengthened the Voting Rights Act. The late Republican Sen. John McCain joined with progressive Sen. Russ Feingold to pass the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act — the most significant update of campaign finance laws since Watergate. In response to the lobbying scandals of the mid-2000s, 411 bipartisan members of the House and 83 bipartisan senators passed an ethics reform bill that President George W. Bush signed into law.... Democrats in the House are ready to pass bold reforms. We sincerely hope that our colleagues on the other side of the aisle will come to the table to help us restore power to the American people. But if the Republican-led Senate and the Republican president choose not to help fix our democracy, we will look to the American people to replace them with Democrats who will.
As House control is about to switch, it serves as a reminder about Democrats: They like government. And governing.... Democrats say the goal is not necessarily a return to big government or to quickly start impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump — but to reassert Congress' ability to govern, which they say diminished under Republicans.... “We really do want to restore the Democracy, make it work for people,” said Rep. John Sarbanes, D-Md., who is leading the effort on H.R. 1.... “A lot of the tea party people arrived in Washington a few years ago with this mission of tearing government down,” Sarbanes told AP in an interview. “You have Democrats arriving in this class who very much want to fix it, repair it, strengthen it, restore it.”
The Minority Legislative Breakfast brought together politicians throughout Maryland to hear the legislative priorities of minority business leaders. Indeed, the African American Chamber of Commerce of Montgomery County, the Asian American Political Alliance, and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Montgomery County hosted this event, which featured speeches from federal, state, and county level politicians.... Additionally, U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D), Rep. Jamie Raskin (D), Rep. John Sarbanes, State Sen. Craig Zucker, and State Del. Marc Korman spoke at the event.... All politicians noted that Montgomery County has pushed Maryland forward because of its diverse community. But, they still agree more work needs to be done in regard to healthcare, immigration, gun control, and voting rights.