Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., conducts a news conference in the Capitol on the For the People Act, which will help reign in special interest group money in politics on Wednesday, March 27, 2019.
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said “everything is on the table” to pass a comprehensive voting reform bill, the For the People Act, during a press conference introducing the legislation Wednesday.
“We will see if our Republican friends join us. If they don’t join us, our caucus will come together and decide the appropriate action to take,” Schumer said. “Failure is not an option.”
The bill faces an uphill battle in the Senate where the legislation would require a minimum of 10 Republican votes to defeat a filibuster and move to a final vote on passage.
President Joe Biden said Tuesday he supports revising the Senate filibuster to require the minority to talk on the floor to block legislation, after previously indicating he did not support efforts to eliminate the filibuster completely.
The For the People Act includes provisions that aim to make it easier to register and vote, prevent gerrymandering, improve election cybersecurity and reform campaign finance, among other initiatives.
The House passed companion bill H.R. 1 on March 3 with all but one Democrat voting in favor of and all Republicans voting against the legislation.
“We are standing up to the despicable acts of voter suppression in so many states,” Schumer said. “We know that history’s eyes are upon us.”
The Senate Rules Committee is set to hold a hearing for the bill on March 24.
The introduction of the For the People Act in the Senate comes amid a wave of Republican-backed voter restrictions proposed in state legislatures across the country.
Lawmakers have introduced 253 bills in 43 states with provisions that would restrict voting access as of Feb. 19, according to a Brennan Center for Justice analysis.
