[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 41 (Thursday, March 7, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H2511-H2512]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               DEMOCRATS ARE LIVING UP TO OUR COMMITMENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New 
Mexico (Mr. Lujan) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LUJAN. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to stand before you today in 
strong support of H.R. 1.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to start by thanking Congressman Sarbanes, 
Speaker Pelosi, Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren, and my colleagues for their 
work on this issue.
  H.R. 1 is historic legislation. It will restore transparency in our 
government and put the power back in the hands of the people.
  It will reduce the role of dark money in politics and make it easier 
to vote.
  Perhaps most importantly, it will reaffirm that this is the people's 
House and our work here is for them. There could be nothing more 
fundamentally important than that.
  Too many have lost faith in the process; too many have lost faith in 
their government. They look around and wonder who is on their side, who 
is fighting for them. They see rules rigged against them, and every day 
it gets harder and harder for their neighbor to buy insulin or for 
their daughter to shake off the incredible burdens of student loan 
debt.
  This legislation, H.R. 1, is an important step in how we stand up for 
our communities and for the people. It is a tool that allows us to act 
on the many issues impacting working men and women, the family that I 
was raised in.
  It will also give Americans a greater voice in their government. This 
legislation will allow automatic voter registration and create a 
national holiday for election day.
  I am also proud to submit an amendment to H.R. 1 that will expand 
election infrastructure grants to promote voter participation, secure 
our elections, and increase funding for these efforts to engage all 
parts of our society in our democracy.

[[Page H2512]]

  Looking ahead to next week, I am looking forward to reintroducing 
with my colleagues the Native American Voting Rights Act. This 
legislation will make sure that communities are not left behind as we 
strengthen our democracy.
  House Democrats committed to the American people that we would 
fundamentally change Washington if elected to the majority; we 
committed that our work would be for the people. This week, we are 
living up to that commitment.

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