Democrats Eye Using Reconciliation To Pass The For The People Act

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Senate Rules Committee Chair Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) suggested that Democrats might use reconciliation to pass the For The People Act.

As first pointed out by John Stoehr:

Amy Klobuchar hinted that the Democrats might stuff the For the People Act into the second massive infrastructure bill & pass it without GOP support under reconciliation by calling it "election infrastructure." Saving democracy without killing the filibuster. THREAD https://t.co/FIaiCkslSZ

— The Editorial Board (@johnastoehr) June 25, 2021

Rachel Maddow recently asked Klobuchar about other options for passing the For The People Act, and she answered, “Well, there`s a lot of things. We`re working on an infrastructure package right now. And there`s going to — you know, there`s the bipartisan group that`s negotiating hard, but there`s also going to be a second package, and we can include election infrastructure in there.”

It now makes sense why the For The People Act went through Klobuchar’s Senate Rules Committee. Senate Democrats may have been leaving the option open to use reconciliation all along.

Election infrastructure is a term to keep an ear open for. Democrats could use reconciliation to pass the Manchin compromise as part of the infrastructure bill because there is funding in the For The People Act for election protection and reform.

This is why the Manchin compromise and Schumer getting 50 votes to advance the debate on the For The People Act were both vital because they opened the door to the Senate passing the key parts of the For The People Act with reconciliation.

Getting rid of Citizens United would be great for the health of our democracy, but at this moment, it is more important that Democrats stop the nationwide wave of Republican voter suppression laws. Democrats could protect and expand voting rights, and they would only need the 50 votes that they have already demonstrated that they have to do it.

The For The People Act could yet become the law of the land, and if reconciliation is the vehicle, there is nothing that Republicans can do to stop it.

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Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

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Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association

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