Congressman John Sarbanes has represented Maryland’s Third Congressional District in the U.S. Congress since 2007.
He currently serves on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the House Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change. He serves as Vice Chair of the House Subcommittee on Health. Congressman Sarbanes also serves on the House Oversight and Reform Committee and its Subcommittee on Government Operations. He chairs the Democracy Reform Task Force, which has assembled HR1, the For The People Act, to reform and strengthen our democracy.
Born and raised in Baltimore, Congressman Sarbanes has experience working in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. He and his family live in Towson, giving him the opportunity to drive home every night and hear from the people he serves in Congress. Listening to their concerns allows him to better represent Maryland and has shaped his work in the House of Representatives.
American Democracy is under assault. More than ever, the wealthy and well-connected are flooding our politics with big-money campaign contributions. Candidates – dependent on these contributions to run competitive campaigns – are caught up in a bad system. Instead of being able to spend their time talking to their constituents and representing their communities, candidates must court big donors. Too often, this also means that public policy suffers. As a result, the public’s trust in government is eroding.
There is a better way. To counter the influence of big money in politics and return power and a voice to the people, Congressman Sarbanes is leading the effort in Congress to fight back. His Government By the People Act (H.R. 20) would provide Americans, and the candidates they support, with the tools they need to compete with big-money politics. This bold proposal would allow Congress to once again reflect the will of people – building a democracy of the many, not the money.
Backed by 160 House co-sponsors, an unprecedented coalition of over 50 national organizations and petition signatures from nearly half a million citizens across the country, the Government By the People Act would help us return to a government of, by and for the people.