Protecting Our Democracy Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding, and I congratulate her on her great leadership chairing an important committee of the House, and thank her for bringing this legislation to the floor today.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Adam Schiff for his leadership in putting this legislation together, and I will get to that in a moment.

But first, I just want to say how proud we are today. Every day that we serve in this House, a House of the people, is a privilege. No matter what honors others may bestow on us in this House, whether we are Speaker, or leader, or whip, or whatever, nothing, no honor is greater than to be able to step on the floor and say that we speak for the people of our district; that they have chosen us to come here, as was intended by our Founders.

Mr. Speaker, 245 years ago, in an act of daring that would redefine the world, our Founders--imagine the courage they had--declared their independence from an oppressive monarch. They said: ``We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.'' The pursuit of happiness was written into the founding document.

And they continued:

Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the people's duty to throw off such government, to provide new guards for their future security.

They were speaking about England.

Our Founders would then forge those guards for our own government, the democratic institutions enshrined in the Constitution which, for nearly 2-1/2 centuries, have safeguarded the security and well-being of the American people.

But, disturbingly, the last administration saw our democracy in crisis, with a rogue President who trampled over the guardrails protecting our Republic.

Now, Congress has the solemn responsibility and opportunity to safeguard our democracy, ensuring that past abuses can never be perpetrated by any President, of any party.

The Protecting Our Democracy Act ensures the strength and survival of a democracy of, by, and for the people, defending the rule of law, revitalizing our system of checks and balances, and restoring our democratic institutions.

Thank you to Chairman Adam Schiff and the chairs of the committees of jurisdiction, Judiciary being one of those, the Committee on Oversight and Reform, another, and many cosponsors for their leadership on this transformative package of democracy reforms which will put in place essential safeguards to prevent any President from abusing the public trust, no matter what his or her party is.

This legislative package is sweeping and future-focused, looking to the future, designed to restate the rule of law now and for generations to come.

Our chairs have crafted a robust reforms package that can stand up to and prevent attempts to undermine our democracy including: The abuse of pardon power, abuse of office for personal enrichment, the solicitation of foreign assistance in our elections, retaliatory attacks on whistleblowers and inspectors general, politicization of the tools of justice, and contempt of Congress' oversight powers on behalf of the American people, including our lawful subpoena power and the power of the purse.

These steps ensure that no one, not even a President, is above the law.

During the Constitutional Convention, one of our Founders, George Mason, asked: ``Shall any man be above justice? Above all shall that man be above it, who can commit the most extensive injustice?''

In his great wisdom, George Mason knew that the injustice committed by the President erodes the rule of law, the very notion, the idea of fair justice, which is the bedrock of our democracy. And if we allow a President to be above the law, we surely do so to the peril of our Republic.

Addressing Presidential abuse, therefore, goes to the very heart, the very survival of our democracy. We are a democracy; three coequal branches government, each a check and balance on the other that cannot be undermined. Otherwise, we are a monarchy, and that is what we chose not to be.

Let me close by recalling another scene from that Constitutional Convention. On its final day, as our Constitution was adopted, Benjamin Franklin was greeted by folks as he descended the steps from Independence Hall. People know this story. Children in school learn it.

The people asked, what do we have, a republic or a monarchy? Benjamin Franklin responded, ``A republic, if you can keep it.''

This was the vision of our Founders, and we are grateful to them for it. This is what our men and women in uniform defend, freedom, our democracy, and we are grateful to them for it.

This is what we owe our children as we go forward, to meet their aspirations to live in the United States of America, with liberty and justice for all. And we are responsible it.

May we be worthy of the vision of our Founders, the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform, and the aspirations of our children.

The Congress--as Article I, the first branch of government--will uphold our solemn duty to keep our Republic by passing the bill, for the people.

I say this with great appreciation to all who worked so hard to put this together. I support this bipartisan amendment that is on the floor right now, and I thank those who worked together in a bipartisan way to put that forward, and I hope that we can have a successful day for the people, again, honoring our Founders, our men and women in uniform, and for the children.

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, the amendments contained in this package will help ensure that the executive branch is accountable to the American people. This package includes amendments that were offered by both Democrats and Republicans.

These amendments bolster the many reforms in the Protecting Our Democracy Act that will protect against future abuses by the executive branch. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote ``yes'' on this package of amendments, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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