From: The Honorable John P. Sarbanes
Sent By:
raymond.omara@mail.house.gov
Bill: H.R. 20
Date: 1/9/2017

Building A More Responsive and Accountable Democracy

114th Congress Cosponsors (162): Leader Nancy Pelosi, Mr. Steny Hoyer, Mr. James Clyburn, Ms. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Xavier Becerra, Mr. Joe Crowley, Mr. Ben Ray Lujan,
Mr. Steve Israel, Mr. Walter Jones, Mr. John Larson, Ms. Nita Lowey, Mr. Chris Van Hollen, Mr. John Conyers, Mr. Elijah Cummings, Mr. Frank Pallone, Ms. Louise McIntosh Slaughter, Mr. Adam Smith, Mr. Eliot Engel, Ms. Corrine Brown, Mr. Bobby Scott,
Mr. Peter DeFazio, Mr. Raul Grijalva, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson, Mr. Robert Brady, Mr. G. K. Butterfield, Mr. Keith Ellison, Dr. Judy Chu, Mr. Dutch Ruppersberger, Mr. Jared Polis, Ms. Marcia Fudge, Ms. Donna Edwards, Mr. Luis Gutierrez, Mr. Jim Cooper, Mr.
Mike Quigley, Mr. Ted Deutch, Mr. Beto O’Rourke, Ms. Chellie Pingree, Mr. Alan Lowenthal, Ms. Katherine Clark, Ms. Julia Brownley, Mr. Scott Peters, Ms. Eleanor Holmes Norton, Mr. James Langevin, Mr. Jim Himes, Mr. Gene Green, Mr. John Carney, Ms. Suzanne
Bonamici, Ms. Marcy Kaptur, Ms. Janice Hahn, Mr. John Yarmuth, Mr. Hank Johnson, Ms. Grace Meng, Ms. Elizabeth Esty, Mr. Jared Huffman, Mr. Mark Takano, Mr. James McGovern, Mr. Stephen Lynch, Mr. Eric Swalwell, Ms. Doris Matsui, Mr. Andre Carson, Ms. Barbara
Lee, Ms. Ann Kirkpatrick, Mr. Alcee Hastings, Mr. Juan Vargas, Ms. Susan Davis, Mr. Derek Kilmer, Ms. Ann McLane Kuster, Ms. Jan Schakowsky, Mr. Patrick Murphy, Mr. Earl Blumenauer, Mr. Gerry Connolly, Ms. Jackie Speier, Mr. Mike Honda, Ms. Gwen Moore, Mr.
Rick Larsen, Mr. Bill Foster, Mr. Rick Nolan, Mr. Peter Welch, Mr. David Loebsack, Mr. Bill Pascrell, Mr. Paul Tonko, Ms. Carolyn Maloney, Mr. Ruben Gallego, Mr. Mark Desaulnier, Mr. Gregory Meeks, Mr. David Cicilline, Ms. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Mr. Joe Courtney,
Mr. Michael Capuano, Ms. Zoe Lofgren, Mr. Albio Sires, Ms. Rosa DeLauro, Ms. Joyce Beatty, Ms. Niki Tsongas, Ms. Grace Napolitano, Ms. Yvette Clarke, Mr. Jose Serrano, Ms. Betty McCollum, Mr. Alan Grayson, Mr. Sam Farr, Mr. Al Green, Ms. Lois Capps, Mr. Mike
Thompson, Mr. Ted Lieu, Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney, Mr. Jim McDermott, Mr. Don Beyer, Mr. John Delaney, Ms. Lois Frankel, Mr. Joe Kennedy, Mr. Ed Perlmutter, Ms. Lucille Roybal-Allard, Ms. Cheri Bustos, Ms. Suzan DelBene, Ms. Frederica Wilson, Mr. Ron Kind,
Mr. Mark Pocan, Mr. Kurt Schrader, Mr. Jerrold Nadler, Mr. Joaquin Castro, Mr. Charles Rangel, Mr. Brad Sherman, Mr. Steve Cohen, Ms. Kathleen Rice, Mr. John Lewis, Mr. Mark Takai, Ms. Terri Sewell, Mr. Tim Walz, Ms. Diana DeGette, Mr. Bobby Rush, Mr. Jerry
McNerney, Mr. Denny Heck, Ms. Debbie Dingell, Ms. Robin Kelly, Mr. Matt Cartwright, Mr. Ami Bera, Ms. Alma Adams, Mr. Danny Davis, Ms. Bonnie Watson Coleman, Mr. Marc Veasey, Ms. Tammy Duckworth, Mr. Lloyd Doggett, Mr. Tim Ryan, Mr. Donald Norcross, Mr. Brendan
F. Boyle, Ms. Tulsi Gabbard, Ms. Kathy Castor, Ms. Sheila Jackson Lee, Ms. Karen Bass, Mr. Seth Moulton, Mr. Pete Aguilar, Mr. Hakeem Jeffries, Ms. Anna Eshoo, Ms. Brenda Lawrence, Mr. Wm. Lacy Clay, Mr. Dan Kildee, Ms. Linda Sanchez, Mr. Brad Ashford, Mr.
William Keating, Mr. Mike Doyle, Mr. Ruben Hinojosa, Ms. Gwen Graham

Dear Colleague,

I am writing to ask for your support as a co-sponsor of the Government By the People Act of 2017 (H.R. 20).

Most Americans believe our political system is broken. They see the wealthy and well-connected spending millions to influence campaigns and bend public policy in their direction.
And they are frustrated because they feel their voices do not matter in the halls of Congress. We need a better way.

The Government By the People Act would help restore the voice of everyday Americans in our politics – putting the people’s interests ahead of the special interests. By providing
Americans – and the candidates they support – the tools and resources necessary to run a competitive campaign, the Government By the People Act (H.R. 20) would break Congress’ dependence on big money so that we in Congress can better focus on the people’s
priorities.

The legislation accomplishes this through a three-pronged straight forward approach:

• Empower everyday citizens by providing a $25
  My Voice Tax Credit for campaign contributions to Congressional candidates
• Amplify
  the voice of everyday Americans and make them just as powerful as wealthy donors through a
  Freedom from Influence Matching Fund
• Protect the voice of the people, preventing Super PACs and outside special interests from drowning out small-donor backed candidates

Under the reformed system, candidates would be liberated from the seemingly endless chase for big dollar donations and special interest contributions and, once in Congress, would be more
able to channel the will of American people – helping to build a more responsive democracy.

We know Capitol Hill is full of well-intentioned people who came to Washington with noble goals and deeply held principles. Most chose this path out of a strong desire to
serve their community and the broader American public. The pervasive and distorting influence of concentrated money in our politics frustrates the priorities and principles that motivated us to serve in the first place. We owe it to the American people to
embrace bold reforms to restore the public’s faith in this institution – we owe to the American people to build a government of, by and for the people.

If you would like further information about the government By the People Act of 2017 or would like to co-sponsor, please contact Raymond O’Mara of my staff at x54016 or
Raymond.OMara@mail.house.gov.

Sincerely,

John P. Sarbanes

Member of Congress