[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 33 (Thursday, February 27, 2014)]
[House]
[Page H2013]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     SPECIAL INTERESTS IN ELECTIONS

  (Mrs. DAVIS of California asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, we need a government by the 
people and for the people, not a government run by the special 
interests and for the corporations. But how do we get there?
  First, we remove barriers to voting. From overcoming hurdles to 
absentee voting and difficulty with registration, to long lines at the 
polls, more can be done to make sure that our elections work for all 
voters.
  We should take a good long look at the thoughtful recommendations of 
the President's bipartisan election commission, which listened to 
voters and to election officials and bundled together the best ideas.
  Second, we can't let the big money interests choose our leaders. We 
need public campaign financing, like the bill recently introduced by my 
colleague, Representative Sarbanes of Maryland.
  In a post-Citizens United world, the voices of special interests will 
be much louder than those of average Americans, unless we act now and 
bring back government run by the people and for the people.

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