Thomas R. Suozzi: “Before I speak about our bipartisan amendment, I would like to thank Representatives Sarbanes and Lofgren for their hard…”

“Before I speak about our bipartisan amendment, I would like to thank Representatives Sarbanes and Lofgren for their hard work on H.R. 1. I would also like to commend Chairman McGovern and his staff on the Rules Committee--and the entire Rules Committee--for making our amendment in order and for working with the Problem Solvers Caucus and other pragmatic Members to foster an inclusive process. Our bipartisan amendment No. 1 to H.R. 1, with 24 Democrats and 20 Republican cosponsors, would require the Federal Election Commission to conduct an audit after each Federal election cycle to determine any incidence of illicit foreign money in the election. The reason we have such a bipartisan-supported amendment is because of the hard work of the Problem Solvers Caucus, chaired by my friends Chairman Reed for the Republicans and Chairman Gottheimer for the Democrats. In January, our colleagues on the Problem Solvers Caucus worked with the leadership to negotiate the 20-20 rule as part of our Break the Gridlock proposal. This amendment is the first amendment to receive preferential treatment under the 20-20 rule by the Rules Committee, and we are happy to see our addition to the rules package has worked its way to encourage transparency and bipartisanship in the 116th Congress. Mr. Chairman, campaign finance law has loopholes, leaving the American electoral process susceptible to illicit funding from foreign nationals, corporations, and governments.…”