Press Releases

WASHINGTON D.C. — Today, Rep. French Hill (AR-02) released the following video statement regarding H.R. 1, the "For the People Act".

Over the past few months, I have heard from thousands of Arkansans concerned about the integrity of our elections.

In the aftermath of uncertainty following the 2016 election of President Trump and the fear of Russian election meddling, and most recently worries about a “stolen” 2020 election with violent consequences, I want to assure each of you that I am fighting for election confidence and want to restore faith in our system of voting.

For example, I do support a commission to review the allegations of voting irregularities in 2020 and offer advice to our states.

However, in my view, House Democrats’ election and campaign finance reform bill: H.R. 1, the “For the People Act”, is not the solution.

Our Founding Fathers designed our Constitution with a balance of power between the federal government and states for a reason – they believed certain authorities, including those related to elections, were best left up to individual states.

H.R. 1, the “For the People Act”, goes directly against the design of our Founders. It concentrates unwarranted power to Washington D.C. and strips individual states of their Constitutional authorities, jeopardizing and federalizing election integrity.

Put forward by Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats, this bill is nothing more than a federal power grab. It would remove states’ ability to decide how congressional districts are drawn. It would require states to do away with their valid voter ID laws and common-sense rules for voter registration mandating even “same day” voter registration on election day. This bill promotes voting by mail and makes permanent the “pandemic style” election system that many states had to adopt during COVID-19.

For decades, rogue states like China, Russia, and Iran have proven their willingness to meddle in our elections.  Centralizing election authority in Washington D.C. will only strengthen their efforts and make the United States more vulnerable to foreign election interference.

House Democrats’ efforts to concentrate power in Washington also increases partisanship. This bill changes the structure of the Federal Election Commission from a six-member, bipartisan commission, to a five-member commission with a partisan slant.

H.R. 1 undermines the First Amendment rights of all Americans by allowing the federal government to fund political campaigns – in my view, an unethical use of American taxpayer dollars.

This bill also weaponizes the IRS by allowing it to decide an organization’s tax-exempt status based on political leanings.

It does not eliminate the influence of money in politics. Instead, this bill feeds it. This bill allows the federal government to use taxpayer dollars to sway the outcomes of elections and dictate which political viewpoints are “acceptable”.

This proposal is identical to one introduced by House Democrats in the 116^th Congress, which passed on a party line vote. While President Biden and Congressional Democrats may be stressing unity through the airwaves, this partisan, far-left bill reaffirms that Democratic leaders remain out of touch with the American people Even with slim majorities in Washington, power, not the will of their constituents, is their main focus.

Voting is the ultimate freedom of expression in this country. My Democratic colleagues claim this bill will put power back in the hands of the people.

The unfortunate reality is that their H.R. 1, the “For the People Act”, is power for the politicians, not the American people.