Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 5314 - Protecting Our Democracy Act

STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY

(House)
(Rep. Schiff, D-CA, and 168 cosponsors)

The Administration supports House passage of H.R. 5314, the Protecting Our Democracy Act.

In the last several years, our democracy has experienced sustained attacks, even before an armed mob sought to overturn the will of the people in a duly certified election and a wave of voter suppression laws swept state legislatures. Our constitutional structure is designed to preserve democracy and prevent authoritarianism. That promise is imperiled when a President places himself above the law, disregards the separation of powers, retaliates against legitimate whistleblowers, allows corruption to take hold, or enables foreign interference in our elections.

The Protecting Our Democracy Act seeks to restore the rule of law and create new guardrails to prevent such abuses of power.

The Administration applauds the sponsors' preparation of a bill devoted to the formidable, but essential, challenge of reinforcing the norms and safeguards that prevent our democracy from eroding. The Administration will continue to work with Congress throughout the legislative process to pass a bill that is grounded in constitutional principles and a commitment to protecting and improving our democracy, and that appropriately addresses the balance of powers between the three branches of our Federal government, including by upholding the longstanding interests of the Executive Branch that are essential to effective governance and efficient use of taxpayer resources and consistent with our constitutional structure. In doing so, the Administration will work to ensure that no branch of government is able to abuse its authority or undermine a co-equal branch's constitutional prerogatives, no matter who is in power.