Hillary Clinton on Government Reform Secretary of State; previously Democratic Senator (NY); 2016 Democratic nominee

Sub-sections under Government Reform:
• Campaigns & Voting
• Voting Record
• Other issues under Government Reform

You can win by 3 million votes and still lose

Automatic voter registration and 20-day early voting

Clinton called for universal and automatic voter registration and a 20-day (or more) period of early voting in every state, before every election. Clinton's speech identified the work of protecting and expanding voting rights as a critical part of her campaign. Clinton talked about the fact that African Americans consistently rank among the most deeply affected by the contours of Voter ID laws, must wait in the longest lines on Election Day and cast ballots at polling sites that very often house fewer machines and poll workers than other sites. That, Clinton told the crowd, "is no accident."

Trump: "You don't have to have voter ID to now go in and vote and it's a little bit scary." Trump says without voter ID, "people are going to walk in, they are going to vote 10 times maybe. Who knows?"

We need Supreme Court to stand up to the powerful

I am not beholden to Super PACs or Wall Street

CLINTON: You're referring to a Super PAC that we don't coordinate with, that has decided that they want to support me. They are the ones who should respond to questions. Let's talk about our campaigns. I'm very proud of the fact that we have more than 750 thousand donors.

SANDERS: What we are talking about is a corrupt campaign finance system. It is undermining American democracy. We had a decision to make early on, do we do a Super PAC? We said no. Secretary Clinton's Super PAC received $25 million dollars last reporting period, $15 million dollars from Wall Street. Our average contribution is $27 dollars.

CLINTON: But, the real issue, I think, that the Senator is injecting into this is that if you take donations from Wall Street, you can't be independent.

I will streamline wasteful and redundant programs

CLINTON: There are a number of programs are redundant and not producing the results that people deserve. There are a lot of training programs and education programs that I think can be streamlined. I would like to take a hard look at every part of the federal government and do the kind of analysis that would rebuild some confidence that we're taking a hard look about what we have and what we don't need anymore.

Expand executive action on immigration, guns, & corporations

It was the third major policy area where she vowed executive action, anticipating that a Republican Congress won't back her proposals. In each case, she would go beyond what the Obama administration has done.

She has promised to expand President Barack Obama's executive action on immigration, shielding more people in the U.S. from deportation, even as the existing policy is being challenged in the courts.

Clinton also has said she would try to rewrite firearms regulations so more sellers are required to conduct background checks on potential gun buyers. There is scant support for new gun restrictions among Republicans.

Wall Street donates to me because I rebuilt them after 9/11

CLINTON: I represented New York on 9/11 when we were attacked. We were attacked in downtown Manhattan where Wall Street is. I did spend a whole lot of time and effort helping them rebuild. That was good for the economy and it was a way to rebuke the terrorists who had attacked our country.

Q [after break]: A viewer tweeted, "I've never seen a candidate invoke 9/11 to justify millions of Wall Street donations until now." Yes, you were a champion of the community after 9/11, but what does that have to do with taking donations?

CLINTON: I worked closely with New Yorkers after 9/11 for my entire first term to rebuild. So, I've had a lot of folks give me donations who say, "I don't agree with you on everything, but I like what you do. I like how you stand up."

FactCheck: Yes, more legislation & sponsorships than Obama

• It compares only the Clinton-sponsored bills that became law with all bills sponsored by Obama.
• It includes legislation Obama sponsored in the Illinois state Senate.
• It tells us that Obama has sponsored more legislation than Clinton, when in fact he has sponsored less.

Transparent government includes federal agency blogs

Never abuse the purpose of signing statements

Change system from the inside, not from the outside

End no-bid contracts, end revolving door in government

A: I believe we’ve got to have fundamental reform in Washington. I’m in favor of, especially after Bush and Cheney and Rove, to clean up what they’re leaving behind--to end the no-bid contracts, the revolving door in government. I think it’s absolutely essential that, you know, we get rid of all of the contracting out of government jobs, which has really undermined the quality of services. But you know, I think it is also the case that I have fought for all of these issues against a lot of special interests for a very long time. I fought the drug companies and the insurance companies in ‘93 and ‘94. I fought them again on the Medicare prescription drug benefit. I fought the banks on bankruptcy reform. So I think that my record on standing up and fighting for people really speaks for itself.

1978: chaired Legal Services Corp. while at Rose Law Firm

LSC provided attorneys from the federal system to represent the needy in a variety of cases. Thus, the LSC became a magnet for liberals committed to changing society through the court system. What the children of the 1960s coul not achieve through the ballot box, they hoped to gain by the lawsuit.

With Hillary as a member of the premier law firm in Arkansas, the Rose Law Firm, it just so happened that these LSC activities were poised to expand legal services across the nation in a way that had the potential to generate a large amount of business for Rose.

This was a conflict of interest of which Hillary was obviously aware but refused to openly acknowledge, fueled by her strong belief in the moral center of the cause.

Create a public service academy, like military academy

1970s: Worked on 18-year-old voting Amendment

Cut gov’t contractors and end privatization of government

$5M in New York state “pork barrel” bills thru 2004

• $350,000 for a regional survey by Albany’s Center for Economic Growth
  Hillary explained, “to audit the capital region’s high-tech infrastructure and R&D assets, to develop a master inventory of the resources available.”
• $4 million for Rochester’s National Center for Excellence
  Hillary explained, “to work with academic institutions to lock in NY’s top spot in photonics & fiber optics, and to build a state-of-the-art photonics R&D lab.”
• $250,000 for Central NY’s “Vision 2010 Economic Development Strategy”
  Hillary explained, “this will add 50,000 net new jobs by 2010”
• $250,000 for Rural Opportunities Inc.
  Hillary explained, “to attract private investment capital to upstate NY.”

Triangulation replaces partisanship with a dynamic center

When opposing camps are in two polar positions, they can decide to move toward a third position--like the apex of the triangle--what came to be called "triangulation." This was essentially a restatement of the philosophy Bill had developed as Governor & as Chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council. In the 1992 campaign, he championed moving beyond the "brain-dead" politics of both parties to craft a "dynamic center." More than old-fashioned compromise of splitting the difference, triangulation reflected the approach Bill had promised to bring to Washington.

When, for example, the Republicans tried to claim ownership of welfare reform, an issue Bill had been working on since 1980, Bill would avoid saying no. Instead, he would support the objectives of reform but insist on changes that would improve the legislation and attract enough moderate support to defeat the extreme Republican position.

Defined appropriate high crimes for impeaching Nixon in 1973

After working on procedures, I moved on to research the legal grounds for a presidential impeachment and wrote along memo summarizing my conclusions about what did--and did not--constitute an impeachable offense. Years later, I reread the memo. I still agreed with its assessment of the kinds of "high Crimes and Misdemeanors" the framers of the Constitution intended to be impeachable.

Visited many non-governmental programs on India trip

Whitewater investigation ends; Hillary questions $52M spent

“I’m just glad this is finally over,” Hillary Clinton said. Finally free of the issue that marred her tenure as first lady and the early part of her Senate campaign, Hillary Clinton expressed confidence Whitewater had been a non-issue all along, saying most people had “made up their minds a long time ago.” She said, “I think that taxpayers have a right to ask why was all this money spent, especially since ... the conclusions were readily available five years ago.”

New Democrat: Government is not the solution to all problems

Give big states a big slice of federal pie

We need strong and efficient governments

Government should help people, not support bureaucracy

1973: Researched Nixon's White House tapes

"I was kind of locked in this soundproof room with the big headphone on, listening to tapes," she told the Arkansas Gazette. "There was one we called the tape of tapes. It was Nixon taping himself listening to the tapes, making up his defenses to what he heard on the tapes. So you would hear Nixon talk and then you'd hear very faintly the sound of a taped prior conversation, and you'd hear him say, 'What I meant when I said that was...' I mean, it was surreal."

Only explicit felonies should trigger impeachment

As the wife of an impeached president, she took the opposite position, arguing that according to the Constitution only explicit felonies--apparently felonies graver than perjury--could trigger impeachment. She admonished that to impeach a president on these grounds was a violation of the rule of law and of the Constitution.

Hillary today praises her own 1974 work, saying that during the impeachment debacle of her husband, she often reread her old Watergate memos. She reports that she still agrees with her assessment.

Unprecedented Russian interference in presidential election

TRUMP: I don't know Putin, but he has no respect for our president and no respect for [Hillary Clinton].

CLINTON: Well, that's because he'd rather have a puppet as president of the United States. It's pretty clear that the Russians have engaged in cyberattacks against the US, that you encouraged espionage against our people, that you are willing to spout the Putin line, break up NATO, do whatever he wants to do, and that you continue to get help from him, because he has a very clear favorite in this race. So I think that this is such an unprecedented situation. We've never had a foreign government trying to interfere in our election. We have 17 intelligence agencies who have all concluded that these cyberattacks, come from the highest levels of the Kremlin and they are designed to influence our election. I find that deeply disturbing.

TRUMP: She has no idea whether it's Russia, China, or anybody else.

Senate duty to vote on Supreme Court nominees

CLINTON: I did oppose Justice Alito and Chief Justice Roberts, because after listening to them, I did not believe that their judicial philosophy and approach was one that would be the best for the country. But we had a process; the nomination was made, and we went through the process. What the Republicans today are saying is "We don't want the president to send us a nominee." That is very different.

Q: But with the filibuster, if you had been successful, then Judge Alito would not have gotten a vote on the floor of the Senate.

CLINTON: That's the way the Senate operates. You get to have a vote. You get to use the rules. The president is trying to talk some sense into the Senate Republicans to actually do their constitutional duty.

GOP is trying to suppress voter registration

CLINTON: Look, we need more Americans to be involved in the political process. And I give Senator Sanders a lot of credit for really lighting a fire under many people--young, old, everybody--who sees a chance to be involved and have their voice heard. Look at what's happening with the Republicans. They are doing everything they can to prevent the voices of Americans to be heard. They're trying to prevent people from registering to vote. So, we do need to take on the Republicans very clearly and directly. But the other thing I just wanted quickly to say is, I think President Obama deserves more credit than he gets for what he got done in Washington, despite the Republican obstructionists.

Consider Constitutional Amendment against Citizen's United

Voter suppression revives old demons of discrimination

"We do-- let's admit it--have a long history of shutting people out: African Americans, women, gays and lesbians, people with disabilities," she said. "And throughout our history, we have found too many ways to divide and exclude people from their ownership of the law and protection from the law."

Clinton criticized the Supreme Court's recent decision to strike down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, urging Congress to reconsider the 1965 landmark law and calling on citizen activists to mobilize.

Fight obstacles to voting disguised as election fraud claims

Clinton assailed what she considers an "unseemly rush" to make it harder for African Americans, Hispanics and other minorities to vote. She noted that this year, more than 80 bills restricting voting rights have been introduced in 31 states. "We've seen a sweeping effort across our country to construct new obstacles to voting, often undercover and addressing a phantom epidemic of election fraud," she said.

Clinton singled out 4 states in particular: FL, SC, TX, as well as NC, home to what she called the "greatest hits of voter suppression." Clinton said, "There are many problems in life that we can't fix, but preserving fairness and equality in our voting system is one that we can and that we should."

Get D.C. full voting rights, plus more direct federal funds

A: When I was first lady, I fought to increase their Medicaid match so that they would get more money in the district. It is the epicenter of the AIDS epidemic, unfortunately, right here in D.C. I worked to make sure that the adoption and foster care system was improved so that we could get more kids into permanent homes. When I helped to pass the Children’s Health Insurance Program, we made sure that D.C. would be well taken care of. So I’ve already produced results for the people of this district, and I intend to do a lot more as president. I want to get full voting rights for D.C. I think it is an injustice that has to be remedied. I want to be a better partner in working with the district on everything from its transportation challenges to its health care problems.

Stand for public financing and getting money out of politics

HILL-PAC is one of politics biggest money-raisers

For her 2008 presidential bid, she set a goal of $100 million raised through the primaries. To reach her target, she’s decided to forgo public financing, just as Bush did in 2000 and 2004.

While Barack Obama has decided to reject donations from political action committees and lobbyists, Hillary has embraced the politics of the Penthouse Party. Raising money in the suites, she hopes to send her campaign workers out to flood the streets, and in most primaries to date she’s doing just that. In early June 2007, the Clinton campaign had more paid workers in New Hampshire, 54, than every other Democrat combined.

Public financing would fix campaign donor problems

A: Well, I’m very much in favor of public financing, which is the only way to really change a lot of the problems that we have in our campaign finance system. You know, as soon as my campaign found out that he was a fugitive from justice, we did return any contribution that we could in any way link to him.

Q: Back in the 1996 campaign, Johnny Chung plead guilty to illegally funding of money, under very similar circumstances. How do you convince the American people that you have changed?

A: Well, this is a problem for every campaign. I have more than 100,000 donors, the vast majority of whom have given me less than $100. We’re spending an enormous amount of time and effort raising money, mostly to be clear to go on television. It is not good for our political system. There has to be a way that public financing becomes the law.

Presidents should reveal donations to their foundations

A: I actually co-sponsored legislation that would have sitting presidents reveal any donation to their presidential library, and I think that’s a good policy.

Q: Until such legislation, would the Clinton Foundation, make their donors public?

A: Well, you’ll have to ask them.

Q: What’s your recommendation?

A: Well, I don’t talk about my private conversations with my husband, but I’m sure he’d be happy to consider that.

Move to public election financing, not banning lobbyists

CLINTON: I believe we have to change Washington. I’ve stood up against the special interests, I’ve taken them on. But there is this artificial distinction that people are trying to make. Don’t take money from lobbyists, but take money from the people who employ and hire lobbyists and give them their marching orders. Those are the people that are really going to be pushing back. I think we can do a much better job if we say we have got to move toward public financing, get the money out of American politics, because it’s the people who employ the lobbyists who are behind all the money in American politics.

Same-day voter registration; no oppressive ID requirements

A: I introduced a piece of legislation called the “Count Every Vote Act.” We heard firsthand from people in Cleveland who had been disenfranchised, all the people who waited for 10 or 12 hours because the precincts they were in only had two voting machines, whereas down the road, in a more affluent and whiter precinct, people could vote in a couple of minutes. We need to end the disparities in resources. We need to have same day voter registration and earlier absentee voting. We need to make it clear that we’d like to try a holiday or a weekend for voting because more people will be able to get off work and actually do it. And we need to end the oppressive ID requirements that are turning people away from the polls and restore the voting rights of ex-felons.

Verified paper ballot for every electronic voting machines

Right to vote is precious & needs protection

HILLPAC raised $31M through 2002

During the 2002 election cycle, Hillary was among the Senate’s top donors, disbursing more than $1 million to candidates and to party committees.

Hillary raises almost half of her funds from outside the state, with trial lawyers and law firms as her top categories. She endearingly bestows the title ‘Hill Raisers’ on those who collect large sums for her. Lesser mortals can log onto the Hillary website and become ‘Hill’s Angels’

Soft money ban & independent ad ban for Senate campaign

Count Every Vote Act: end voting discrimination by race

That is why I’ve introduced the Count Every Vote Act in the Senate because I want to make sure that we are not embarrassed again as a nation. We are the oldest democracy in the world, and we need to act like it and restore integrity to our electoral process. Our democracy requires nothing less.

Voted YES on granting the District of Columbia a seat in Congress.

• Considers D.C. a congressional district for purposes of representation in the House.
• D.C. shall not be considered a state for representation in the Senate.
• Limits D.C. to one Member under any reapportionment.
• Increases membership of the House from 435 to 437.
• Entitles Utah to one additional Representative until the next census, and modifies the reapportionment formula thereafter.

Opponents recommend voting NO because:

Sen. BYRD: In 1978, I voted for H.J. Res. 554, that proposed amending the Constitution to provide for representation of D.C. [That amendment passed the Senate but was not ratified by the States]. While I recognize that others believe that the Constitution authorizes the Congress to "exercise exclusive legislation" over D.C., the historical intent of the Founders on this point is unclear. I oppose S.1257, because I doubt that our Nation's Founding Fathers ever intended that the Congress should be able to change the text of the Constitution by passing a simple bill.

Proponents support voting YES because:

Sen. HATCH. There are conservative and liberal advocates on both sides of this issue,and think most people know Utah was not treated fairly after the last census. For those who are so sure this is unconstitutional, [we include an] expedited provision that will get us to the Supreme Court to make an appropriate decision. It will never pass as a constitutional amendment. There are 600,000 people in D.C., never contemplated by the Founders of this country to be without the right to vote. They are the only people in this country who do not have a right to vote for their own representative in the House. This bill would remedy that situation.

Voted NO on requiring photo ID to vote in federal elections.

Proponents support voting YES because:

Sen. DOLE. I am proposing a commonsense measure to uphold the integrity of Federal elections. My amendment to require voters to show photo identification at the polls would go a long way in minimizing potential for voter fraud. When a fraudulent vote is cast and counted, the vote of a legitimate voter is cancelled. This is wrong, and my amendment would help ensure that one of the hallmarks of our democracy, our free and fair elections, is protected. Opinion polls repeatedly confirm that Americans overwhelmingly support this initiative.

Opponents recommend voting NO because:

Sen. FEINSTEIN. If one would want to suppress the vote in the 2008 election, one would vote for this because this measure goes into effect January 1, 2008. It provides that everybody who votes essentially would have to have a photo ID. If you want to suppress the minority vote, the elderly vote, the poor vote, this is exactly the way to do it. Many of these people do not have driver's licenses. This amendment would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to actually carry out. It goes into effect--surprise--January 1, 2008 [to affect the presidential election]. I urge a "no" vote.

Voted NO on allowing some lobbyist gifts to Congress.

Proponents of the amendment say to vote NAY on the tabling motion because:
• Using the term "registered lobbyist'' will create a huge loophole. The Ethics Committee treats the actual listed lobbyists as registered lobbyists, but not the organization.
• So, for example, a company can give a Senator free tickets to a show or a baseball game, as long as a lobbyist doesn't actually offer or handle them. If the lobbyist's secretary makes the call, that would be permitted.
• If these companies can still give gifts, we won't have a real lobbyist gift ban. We won't be able to look the American people in the eye and say, "We just banned gifts from lobbyists,'' because we didn't.

Opponents of the amendment say to vote YEA on the tabling motion because:
• I can tolerate not accepting gifts from lobbyists. But this amendment goes a step further which is problematic.

  For example, I am a big fan of McDonald's. What about the kids working behind the counter? Would they be considered registered lobbyists because McDonald's has lobbyists? Would I not be able to go to lunch with my longtime friend who owns 12 McDonald's?

• Every company in the Fortune 1000 employs a lobbyist, either a private firm or an in-house lobbyist. Under this amendment, every person who works for Exxon, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and countless other businesses that employ lobbyists in Washington would be considered registered lobbyists.
• If we want to ban the CEO and chairman of the board of the company from paying for a meal, or the head of a labor union, do that specifically. But this is so broadly developed I think it goes way beyond that.

Voted NO on establishing the Senate Office of Public Integrity.

Proponents of the bill say to vote YEA because:
• We have heard from the media about the bribes and scandals, but we have heard only silence from the House Ethics Committee. One of the greatest travesties of these scandals is not what Congress did, but what it didn't do.
• The American people perceive the entire ethics system--House and Senate--to be broken. We can pass all the ethics reforms we want--gift bans, travel bans, lobbying restrictions--but none of them will make a difference if there isn't a nonpartisan, independent body that will help us enforce those laws.
• The Office of Public Integrity established in this amendment would provide a voice that cannot be silenced by political pressures. It would have the power to initiate independent investigations and bring its findings to the Ethics Committees in a transparent manner.

Opponents of the bill say to vote NAY because:
• The Constitution gave us not only the right but the duty to create our own rules, including the rules concerning our ethics. They are enforced internally by the Senate itself.
• The decisions made under this amendment would be no different than right now. The final decision will be made by the Senate Ethics Committee. All this really does is find a way to further publicize that complaints have been made.
• We have people accusing us almost daily of having done something wrong and publishing it through blogs and all that. I think we should be very careful in setting up another tool for these bloggers to create more charges against the Senate.
• I cannot support an amendment that either replaces the Senate Ethics Committee or adds another layer to our already expensive and time-consuming process. I urge the Senate to defeat this provision.

Voted YES on banning "soft money" contributions and restricting issue ads.

Voted NO on require photo ID (not just signature) for voter registration.

Voted YES on banning campaign donations from unions & corporations.

Voluntary public financing for all general elections.

Return Politics to the People
At a time when much of the world is emulating American values and institutions, too many Americans have lost confidence in their political system. They are turned off by a partisan debate that often seems to revolve not around opposing philosophies but around contending sets of interest groups. They believe that our current system for financing campaigns gives disproportionate power to wealthy individuals and groups and exerts too much influence over legislative and regulatory outcomes.

The time for piecemeal reform is past. As campaign costs soar at every level, we need to move toward voluntary public financing of all general elections and press broadcasters to donate television time to candidates.

The Internet holds tremendous potential for making campaigns less expensive and more edifying and for engaging Americans directly in electoral politics. We should promote the Internet as a new vehicle for political communication and champion online voting.

Goals for 2010
• Introduce voluntary public financing for all general elections.
• Allow properly regulated voter registration and voting online.
• Implement civic education courses in every public school.

Criminalize false or deceptive info about elections.

OFFICIAL CONGRESSIONAL SUMMARY: Amends federal criminal law to prohibit any person from knowingly deceiving any other person regarding:

1. the time, place, or manner of conducting any federal election; or
2. the qualifications for or restrictions on voter eligibility for any such election.

SPONSOR'S INTRODUCTORY REMARKS: Sen. OBAMA: Voter participation is fundamental to our democracy, and we must do all we can to encourage those who can to vote. I also hope voters go to the polls with accurate information about what is on the ballot, where they are supposed to vote, and what our Nation's voting laws are.

It might surprise some of you to know, but even in this awesome age of technological advancement and easy access to information, there are folks who will stop at nothing to try to deceive people and keep them away from the polls. These deceptive practices all too often target and exploit vulnerable populations, like minorities, the disabled, or the poor.

Deceptive practices often rely on a few tried and true tricks. Voters are often warned that an unpaid parking ticket will lead to their arrest or that folks with family members who have been convicted of a crime are ineligible to vote. Of course, these warnings have no basis in fact, and they are made with one goal and one goal only: to keep Americans away from the polls.

The bill I am introducing today provides the clear statutory language and authority needed to get allegations of deceptive practices investigated. It establishes harsh penalties for those found to have perpetrated them. Deceptive practices and voter intimidation are real problems and demand real solutions like those offered in my bill.

LEGISLATIVE OUTCOME:Referred to Senate Committee on Rules and Administration; never came to a vote.

Reject photo ID requirements for voting.

OFFICIAL CONGRESSIONAL SUMMARY: Expresses the sense of Congress that:

1. a requirement that U.S. citizens obtain photo identification cards before being able to vote has not been shown to ensure ballot integrity and places an undue burden on citizens' legitimate voting rights; (
2. the Department of Justice should challenge any state law that limits a citizen's ability to vote based on discriminatory photo identification requirements; and
3. any effort to impose national photo identification requirements for voting should be rejected.

SPONSOR'S INTRODUCTORY REMARKS: Sen. OBAMA: I am submitting a resolution to express the Senate's strong disapproval of recent efforts to disenfranchise Americans. Unfortunately, too many electoral reform efforts seem intent on limiting access to the ballot as opposed to expanding it. In the mid-20th century, the poll tax was the preferred means of disenfranchising large minority populations, specifically African Americans. Today, the poll tax is taking on a new form--a photo identification requirement for voters.

According to the National Commission on Federal Election Reform, such a requirement would "impose an additional expense on the exercise of the franchise, a burden that would fall disproportionately on people who are poorer and urban." Nevertheless, a number of States, including Georgia, have recently passed laws mandating government-issued photo identification for voters at the polls. Nationwide, at least 12% of eligible drivers do not have a driver's license. And Georgia has made it difficult for rural and urban folks to obtain their voter photo identification.

The Carter-Baker Commission on Federal Election Reform acknowledges that there is "no evidence of extensive fraud in U.S. elections or of multiple voting."

LEGISLATIVE OUTCOME:Referred to Senate Committee on Rules and Administration; never came to a vote.

Post earmarks on the Internet before voting on them.

OnTheIssues.org Explanation: This bill attempts to limit earmarks by publicizing them. Rather than banning earmarks, this bill requires that earmarks and other last-minute add-ins get posted on the Internet. Posting provisions on the Internet for 3 days is intended to restrict lobbyists influence on earmarks that would otherwise go unnoticed.

OFFICIAL CONGRESSIONAL SUMMARY:

Curtailing Lobbyist Effectiveness Through Advance Notification, Updates, and Posting Act or the CLEAN UP Act: Amends the Standing Rules of the Senate to:
• Identify and explain separately each provision of a bill & identify the Member who proposed such provision.
• Make each bill provision available to the general public by means of the Internet for at least 72 hours before its consideration.
• Prohibits consideration of an appropriation bill unless a list of all earmarks in the bill and accompanying reports is available in the same manner.
• Allows a waiver of such prohibitions by a two-thirds majority vote of Members.

Establish the United States Public Service Academy.

Introductory statement by Sponsor:

Sen. CLINTON: I rise today to introduce legislation that will create an undergraduate institution designed to cultivate a generation of young leaders dedicated to public service. The US Public Service Academy Act (The PSA Act) will form a national academy to serve as an extraordinary example of effective, national public education.

The tragic events of September 11 and the devastation of natural disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita underscore how much our Nation depends on strong public institutions and competent civilian leadership at all levels of society. Congress must take a step forward to ensure competent civilian leadership and improve our Nation's ability to respond to future emergencies and to confront daily challenges.

This legislation will create the US Public Service Academy to groom future public servants and build a corps of capable civilian leaders. Modeled after the military service academies, this academy will provide a four-year, federally-subsidized college education for more than 5,000 students a year in exchange for a five year commitment to public service.

The PSA Act will meet critical national needs as the baby-boomer generation approaches retirement. Already, studies show looming shortages in the Federal civil service, public education, law enforcement, the non-profit sector and other essential areas.

Unfortunately our young people are priced out of public service careers all too often. By providing a service-oriented education at no cost to the student, the PSA Act will tap into the strong desire to serve that already exists among college students while erasing the burden of enormous college debt.

The establishment of a United States Public Service Academy is an innovative way to strengthen and protect America by creating a corps of well-trained, highly-qualified civilian leaders. I am hopeful that my Senate colleagues from both sides of the aisle will join me today.

Prohibit voter intimidation in federal elections.

Makes it unlawful for anyone before or during a federal election to knowingly communicate false election-related information about that election, with the intent to prevent another person from exercising the right to vote. Increases from one year to five years' imprisonment the criminal penalty for intimidation of voters.

Introductory statement by Sponsor:

Sen. OBAMA: This bill seeks to address the all-too-common efforts to deceive voters in order to keep them away from the polls. It's hard to imagine that we even need a bill like this. But, unfortunately, there are people who will stop at nothing to try to deceive voters and keep them away from the polls. What's worse, these practices often target and exploit vulnerable populations, such as minorities, the disabled, or the poor. We saw countless examples in this past election.

• Some of us remember the thousands of Latino voters in Orange County, California, who received letters warning them in Spanish that, "if you are an immigrant, voting in a federal election is a crime that can result in incarceration."
• Or the voters in Virginia who received calls from a so-called "Virginia Elections Commission" informing them--falsely--that they were ineligible to vote.
• Or the voters who were told that they couldn't vote if they had family members who had been convicted of a crime.

Opposes same campaign finance rules to all organizations.

The Christian Coalition Voter Guide inferred whether candidates agree or disagree with the statement, 'Removing campaign free speech restrictions that are placed on some organizations but not others' The Christian Coalition notes, "You can help make sure that voters have the facts BEFORE they cast their votes. We have surveyed candidates in the most competitive congressional races on the issues that are important to conservatives."

Prohibit 'voter caging' which intimidates minority voting.

Rep. CONYERS: "Since the late 1950's, the pernicious practice of 'voter caging' has been used to discourage or prevent eligible voters from casting their vote. Recent elections have shown that caging tactics are not outdated, and in fact, have disenfranchised voters in recent midterm and Presidential elections. While caging efforts have traditionally been directed at minority communities, all voters are susceptible to these attempts at voter intimidation and suppression.

"The undemocratic practice of voter caging involves sending mail to voters at the addresses at which they are registered to vote. Should such mail be returned as undeliverable or without a return receipt, the voter's name is placed on a 'caging list.' These caging lists are then used to challenge a voter's registration or eligibility.

"In my home State of Michigan, I have seen firsthand how caging efforts are used to harass, bully, and ultimately disenfranchise, eligible voters. With a Michigan lawmaker advocating 'suppress the Detroit vote,' I cannot help but think that is synonymous with 'suppress the Black vote' as Detroit is 83% African American. These voter suppression campaigns always seem to target our most vulnerable voters--racial minorities, low-income people, homeless people, and college students.

"Caging tactics meant to suppress the vote do more than impede the right to vote. They threaten to erode the very core of our democracy. By eliminating barriers to the polls, we can help restore what has been missing from our elections--fairness, honesty, and integrity."

S.2305: PROHIBITION ON VOTER CAGING: No State or local election official shall prevent an individual from registering or voting in any election for Federal office, or challenge an individual's registration status or eligibility to vote, if the sole basis for such decision or challenge is evidence consisting of a voter caging document or voter caging list; or an unverified match list. Source: Caging Prohibition Act (S.2305/H.R.5038) 2007-S2305 on Nov 5, 2007

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