HR 1 passed the House during the last Congress after Democrats won back the majority, but it failed to advance in the Republican-controlled Senate. Now Democrats also control the White House and the Senate, but it is still likely to hit a roadblock in the Senate where it's not clear there would be enough Republican support to overcome a filibuster. Democrats describe the package as anti-corruption legislation that would expand voting access and improve accountability and transparency in Washington. "I don't think the urgency has ever been greater," Rep. John Sarbanes of Maryland, who led the effort to pass the legislation, told CNN in an interview. "All of these things are designed to restore people's faith in democracy at a time when we can see with our own eyes that things are pretty shaky," the congressman said.

Source: The Nation March 04, 2021 04:41 UTC