This afternoon, Rep. Dean Phillips took to the House Floor to voice his full support for H.R. 1, the For the People Act. The bill is a sweeping government, ethics and election reform package and was the first bill Phillips co-sponsored in Congress. The House will vote on the bill this week.

Phillips will participate in a livestreamed town hall discussion on H.R.1 tonight at 6 PM CST on the NowThis Politics Facebook page.

Below is the full text of Rep. Phillips’s remarks:

Madame Speaker,

I rise to voice my full-hearted support of H.R. 1, the For The People Act.

As I spend time with parents and business owners, retirees and millennials, Republicans and Democrats back home in Minnesota, one thing is clear: people are losing faith in the integrity and fairness of our political system.

And for good reason.

When I arrived in Washington I witnessed firsthand the corrupting influence of money in our politics. Envelopes with PAC checks offered after handshakes, and a culture in which votes often seem to have price tags attached.

We can do better. And we must do better.

That’s why I say no matter your number one issue, please make campaign finance reform your number two – because we cannot address our country’s greatest challenges when we place special interests over our common interests.

So let’s pass H.R. 1 and begin the hard and principled work of restoring our democracy for the people.

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