Press release:
Nate McMurray, Democrat running for Congress in NY-27, intends to address loopholes that lead to corruption in Congress and fight for the bills that have died in the Senate without review.
The “For the People Act,” or HR 1, was proposed this year, but never made it to the Senate floor, is one such piece of legislation. HR1 comprehensively addressed financing of elections, ethics reform, and expanding voting rights.
These issues were a critical focus during McMurray’s race against Chris Collins in 2018, but the legislation has been stonewalled by the Republican Senate.
“HR 1 needs to be taken seriously by Senate Republicans, because at the end of the day, corruption is not a partisan issue. As it stands, though, Republicans will not pass this legislation all at once,” McMurray said, “We need leaders that say, ‘look, the buck stops with us.’
"We’ve seen the damage that corruption can cause in the democratic process, and we need to look at each element of this legislation and fully address it.When I’m elected, I intend to work with my colleagues and propose legislation that we will get through Congress.”
McMurray’s proposal for addressing corruption in government includes proposals to:
- Enact stricter limits on political contributions from special interests, lobbyists and wealthy special interests. McMurray has voluntarily imposed a ban on corporate PAC money for his campaign, but believes this should be the law for all candidates.
- Keep investigation inquiries open -- even after a member has left their seat.
- Strip corrupt members of Congress of their pensions when found guilty of violating the public trust.
- Prohibit members of Congress from sitting on for-profit corporate boards.
- Pass tougher campaign finance laws and more transparent disclosures of outside political spending.
- Overturn the disastrous Citizens United decision, which opened the floodgates for unlimited, untraceable spending in our elections.
