Beyond the Voting Provisions of S.1: What Does the For the People Act Do for National Security and Government Ethics?

A virtual presentation sponsored by Open Source Election Systems

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The For the People Act is the broadest reform of federal elections since the Voting Rights Act of 1965, with new provisions that address ballot box access, campaign finance, foreign interference, and government ethics. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill (H.R. 1) on March 4, 2021; it is now to be voted on by the U.S. Senate during the week of June 21, 2021.

This nonpartisan panel of public policy experts and elected officials will discuss the merits of the act and evaluate its novel provisions. Discussion will focus on the S. 1 provisions that deal with national security, transparency, and government ethics, provisions that have been largely overlooked surrounding the bill’s more controversial voting reforms.

Panelists will cover these proposed measures:

• More mandated disclosure of financial links by campaigns
• Rules that prevent coordination between Super PACs and campaigns
• Revamped voting recordkeeping, audits, and recounts
• Stronger prevention of U.S. citizens from becoming tools of foreign governments, including via the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA)
• Reformed disclosure requirements by certain executive branch employees
• Expanded conflict-of-interest laws, more divestment disclosure, and presidents’ disclosure of their tax returns

Panelists

Noah Bookbinder, President and Chief Executive Officer, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)

Gov. Arne Carlson, former Governor of Minnesota, 1991-1999

Congresswoman Angie Craig (D-MN), representative from Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District

Amb. Norman Eisen, Brookings Senior Fellow; former special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee and U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic

Prof. Richard Painter, S. Walter Richey Professor of Corporate Law, University of Minnesota Law School; former chief White House ethics lawyer during the George W. Bush administration

Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA), representative from Pennsylvania’s 5th Congressional District

Moderator

Prof. Claire Finkelstein, Algernon Biddle Professor of Law and Professor of Philosophy, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School; Academic Director, Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law

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