Hagerty Files Amendments to Democrats’ Partisan ‘For the Politicians Act’

Photo Credit: The Office Of Senator Hagerty

Published May 12, 2021 

Washington, D.C. – United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, on May 10^th filed a number of amendments ahead of the committee’s scheduled markup of S.1, titled the “For the People Act.”  

According to Hagerty’s office, the Act is more appropriately called “For the Politicians Act” because it is designed to keep the current politicians in power.  

“This bill is a blatant power grab of a scale that has never been attempted before and should be rejected on a bipartisan basis. However, if Democrats in Washington are going to move forward with this massive rewrite of election and campaign rules for all 50 states—under the guise of a fake crisis—then I’m going to fight it at every step,” Senator Hagerty said. 

Hagerty Delivers Opening Statement on Democrats’ “For the Politicians Act” at Senate Rules Committee:

Hagerty’s amendments are focused on protecting election integrity, preventing a federal takeover of elections from the states, and restricting the use of taxpayer funds. 

Hagerty has also filed his PROTECT Electoral College Act as an amendment that would strike all of the S.1 language and substitute Hagerty’s legislation instead.  

The PROTECT Electoral College Act would require a nonpartisan, state-by-state review of the 2020 election procedures and protect the Electoral College process and the authority it commits to state legislatures to set election laws by prohibiting future federal election funding from being awarded to states that are unconstitutionally disregarding their state election laws. 

“As a Senator, I will work to safeguard fair and secure elections tailored to Tennessee’s needs, protecting every Tennessean’s ballot and right of self-government,” Hagerty said. 

Hagerty has filed amendments that: 

·         Strike all of the bill language and substitute the PROTECT Electoral College Act. 

·         Specifically prohibit registering or facilitating the registration of an illegal alien through the automatic registration process in the bill that occurs when a person obtains any license or benefit from a government agency.  

·         Delay effectiveness of the entire bill until July 1, 2027, after the next election of every person voting on it, to prevent the current majority from changing the rules of their own elections in an attempt to keep power and avoid losing future elections. 

·         Strike the provision allowing ballot harvesting by persons who are paid, political operatives. 

·         Prohibit illegal aliens from serving as ballot harvesters under the bill. 

·         Strike the provision requiring the counting of ballots received for a week after Election Day.  

·         Strike the provision allowing the President to appoint a partisan majority on the FEC to control future election regulations and disputes, noting that this proposal is comparable to President Maduro’s recent conduct in Venezuela. 

·         Strike findings supportive of Washington, D.C. statehood and replaces them with language finding that Washington, D.C. should not be a state because the Framers’ purposefully established it as a federal district not dependent upon any state, as reflected in the Constitution. 

·         Provide that the campaign-taxpayer-match funds provided under this bill should first be allocated to preventing additional overdose deaths in the U.S. from the synthetic opioid fentanyl, rather than channeled to political candidates at best, until that crisis has been addressed. 

·         Strike the provision prohibiting voter ID laws, so that states can determine whether to require voter ID. 

·         Strike the provision requiring states to allow un-vetted, same-day voter registration at the polls on Election Day. 

·         Strike the provisions of the bill providing $6 of taxpayer funds to campaigns for every $1 actually donated. 

·         Strike the redistricting provisions of the bill likely to lead to a federal court in Washington, D.C. redrawing every congressional district in the U.S. 

·         Specifically prohibit registering or facilitating the registration of an ineligible voter through the automatic registration process in the bill that occurs when a person obtains any license or benefit from a government agency. 

·         Strike the provision requiring states to offer 24/7, potentially unsecured ballot drop boxes. 

·         Prohibit campaign-taxpayer-match funds from being used by candidates to pay themselves a salary. 

·         To mirror Tennessee law, prohibit the automatic felon voter registration provisions from applying to felons convicted of voter fraud; treason; murder or rape; sexual offenses against children; or bribery or public corruption. 

·         Strike the provision allowing ballot harvesting by persons other than immediate family members or verified caregivers. 

·         Require all ballot drop boxes to be located inside a government building and subject to 24/7 surveillance. 

·         Prohibit the donor-shaming provisions of the bill from applying to religious organizations. 

·         Prohibit the donor-shaming provisions of the bill from applying to non-profit organizations.