Press Releases

Sarbanes, Kilmer Call on POTUS to Fill Federal Election Commission Posts

Sep 24, 2019
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressmen John Sarbanes (D-Md.) and Derek Kilmer (D-Wash.) today called on President Donald J. Trump to immediately nominate commissioners to fill vacancies at the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and restore its ability to enforce campaign finance law. With only three commissioners out of a possible six commissioners, the FEC lacks a quorum and cannot complete its most basic regulatory and oversight responsibilities.

Task Force Chair Sarbanes Offers Full Support for D.C. Statehood [Video]

At Oversight Committee Hearing, Congressman Sarbanes Argues That D.C. Statehood, “Is Something That the Residents of the District of Columbia Have Earned Over the Course of Their History”
Sep 19, 2019
WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a momentous House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing today on the Washington, D.C. Admission Act (H.R. 51), Congressman John Sarbanes (D-Md.) offered his full support for D.C. statehood and the people of the District of Columbia.

Pelosi, Lowey, Lofgren, Sarbanes Issue Joint Statement on Majority Leader McConnell’s Ongoing Failure to Protect America from Foreign Attacks and Secure American Elections

Sep 19, 2019
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi; Chairwoman Nita Lowey, House Appropriations Committee; Chairperson Zoe Lofgren, House Administration Committee; and Democracy Reform Task Force Chair John Sarbanes released the following statement today after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) caved to Democratic pressure to support an appropriations amendment that would provide $250 million in election security grant funding to state and local governments, well below the $600 million in grant funding passed by the House and far less than the amount independent experts say we need.

Sarbanes Statement on Resignation of FEC Vice Chair Petersen

Aug 27, 2019
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Democracy Reform Task Force Chair Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.) released the following statement today on the resignation of Federal Election Commission (FEC) Vice Chair Matthew Petersen, which reduces the number of commissioners on the agency’s six-member panel to three, one below the legal limit for a quorum, thereby barring the agency from enforcing America’s campaign finance laws.

Task Force Vice Chair Phillips Delivers Weekly Democratic Address, Highlighting House Democrats’ Efforts to Clean Up Corruption in Washington

Aug 23, 2019

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Democracy Reform Task Force Vice Chair Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) delivered the Weekly Democratic Address. In this week’s address, the Congressman highlighted progress House Democrats have made For The People, including the passage of H.R.

Sarbanes, Pappas Highlight Efforts to Fight Big Pharma and Lower Prescription Drug Prices for the American People

Aug 22, 2019

EXETER, N.H. – Democracy Reform Task Force Chair Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.) and Congressman Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) today held a roundtable discussion with President of End Citizens United Action Fund Tiffany Muller and local stakeholders in New Hampshire to discuss how reducing the influence of money in politics can help curb the skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs.

Sarbanes, Cicilline, Whitehouse, Outline Democrats’ Efforts to Clean Up Corruption in Washington

Aug 22, 2019

NORTH PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Democracy Reform Task Force Chair Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.) today joined Congressman David N.

Sarbanes Statement on Mueller Testimony

Jul 24, 2019
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Democracy Reform Task Force Chair Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.) released the following statement today after former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director and Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III delivered testimony before the House Committee on the Judiciary and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence about his Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election.

Sarbanes Highlights H.R. 1, the For the People Act, As One of House Democrats’ Signature Accomplishments in the 116th Congress [Video]

Jul 23, 2019
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives today, Democracy Reform Task Force Chair Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.) cited H.R.1, the For the People Act, as one of House Democrats’ signature accomplishments in the 116th Congress.

Sarbanes Statement on SCOTUS Decision to Permit Extreme Partisan Gerrymandering in America

Jun 27, 2019
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Democracy Reform Task Force Chair Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.) released the following statement today after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 5-4 conservative ruling that allows extreme partisan gerrymandering to continue in America.

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