WASHINGTON, D.C.— People For the American Way applauded today's House passage of H.R. 4617, the Stopping Harmful Interference in Elections for a Lasting Democracy (SHIELD) Act. PFAW Executive Vice President for Policy and Program Marge Baker released the following statement:
"Today 227 patriotic members of the House cast their votes to strengthen the integrity of our democratic elections and fortify them against the foreign interference our intelligence agencies have identified. Incredibly, that number of House members included not one single Republican. This is unfathomable in light of the fact that we have been warned repeatedly that foreign tampering will certainly be attempted again, and while the President of the United States is facing an impeachment inquiry for inviting that same foreign tampering. House Republicans have become so terrified of offending this president that they would rather abandon their patriotism and principles than cast a vote that might irk him, and that is a sad spectacle indeed. Unfortunately, the same seems to be true of Senate Republicans."
PFAW, an organization with more than 1.5 millions members nationwide, earlier sent a letter to the House of Representatives expressing strong support for the SHIELD Act. The act was originally sponsored by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA/19).
The letter notes that the legislation:
- Creates a duty to report illicit offers of campaign assistance from foreign governments and their agents.
- Helps prevent foreign interference in future elections by improving transparency of online political advertisements.
- Closes loopholes that allow foreign nationals and foreign governments to spend in U.S. elections.
- Restricts exchange of campaign information between candidates and foreign governments and their agents.
- Prohibits deceptive practices about voting procedures.
Read the full text of the letter here.
About People For the American Way
People For the American Way is a progressive advocacy organization founded to fight right-wing extremism and build a democratic society that implements the ideals of freedom, equality, opportunity and justice for all. We encourage civic participation, defend fundamental rights, and fight to dismantle systemic barriers to equitable opportunity. Learn more: https://www.pfaw.org.
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