Free Republic

Two Democratic congressmen announced on Thursday they would not seek another congressional term in 2024, opening seats in Maryland and North Carolina. Rep. John Sarbanes (MD), who served 18 years in the chamber over the course of nine terms, said he plans to return to nonprofit work. “For some time now, I have found myself drawn back to that kind of work—wanting to explore the many opportunities to serve that exist outside of elected office,” he said in a statement. Rep. Jeff Jackson (NC) announced that he would instead run for state attorney general, a decision that comes in the...

**SNIP** Lawmakers had already been compiling a fresh package of bills in the aftermath of special counsel Robert Mueller's findings in the Trump-Russia probe. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democrats are now pushing ahead with votes because it's part of "what the American people elected us to do." **SNIP** Even though the nation’s intelligence agencies said from early 2017 that it was clear Russia tried to influence the 2016 election in favor of Trump, Republicans who led both chambers did not move comprehensive legislation to address the issue. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has declined to hold a vote...

Rep. John Sarbanes, D-Md., represents arguably the most gerrymandered congressional district in the country, and he wants to keep it that way. His latest piece of legislation, H.R. 1 “For the People Act,” would force taxpayers to fund congressional campaigns. Congress has a knack for naming legislation after its opposite intended effect. If you’ve spent more than a weekend in Washington, you know that a bill named “For the People” is likely a far cry from actually benefiting the public. The “Incumbent Protection Act” would be a more fitting name for this piece of legislation. Forcing citizens to fund political...

Once again, there is a push for Congress to be exempt from what they demand of others. But this time it isn’t an onerous health care plan. On Friday, Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi introduced H.R.1, the “For the People Act,” according to CNS News. A summary of the bill is available online and gives a quick look at what is included in the 571-page legislation. Maryland’s Democratic Rep. John Sarbanes, D-Md.is the lead author of the bill, as well as the chairman of the Democracy Reform Task Force. CNBC reported that Sarbannes said in a statement that “Once we clean...

Democratic lawmakers and campaign finance reform advocates quickly bashed Wednesday’s Supreme Court decision to strike down total limits on individual campaign contributions, warning of future corruption in elections. Meanwhile, Republicans largely cheered the ruling from the narrowly divided court, which found it unconstitutional to impose caps on the aggregate amounts that one person can donate to campaigns, parties and political action committees. Calling himself “all for freedom,” Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Wednesday commended the ruling, saying “donors ought to have the freedom to give what they want to give.” And Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who had filed...

(CNSNews.com) - Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.) told CNSNews.com at a "Sustainability Education Summit" hosted by the U.S. Education Department on Tuesday that environmental education in schools can "promote the agenda" of climate change and population growth through the influence it has on children. “Like I keep saying over and over again, if you get young people invested in those ideas early on, that will result in those kinds of positive policy developments," Sarbanes told CNSNews.com. "So, whether it’s climate change, whether it’s population growth, whether it’s all these factors that impact the health of our world, raising that awareness early...