NEWS: Sen. Schiff Reintroduces His Landmark Proposal to Protect Democracy, Close Legal Loopholes Enabling Widespread Abuses of Presidential Power

Schiff's Protecting Our Democracy Act is comprehensive legislation to strengthen accountability and transparency, restore Congress' checks and balances on the Executive Branch, and protect America from foreign interference

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) introduced his updated Protecting our Democracy Act in the Senate, relaunching his push to advance his landmark legislative package to curb presidential abuses of power, strengthen checks and balances on the Executive Branch, and add additional guardrails to better protect American democracy.

The legislation, first championed by Schiff as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, includes additional provisions to address numerous new abuses of power that Donald Trump and members of his administration have engaged in since his return to the White House in January.

"Since returning to office, Donald Trump has accelerated the process of tearing down our system of checks and balances and weakening our democracy. His presidency at its core has been about consolidating power and eroding the rule of law, to enrich himself, his family and friends. When his tenure in the Oval Office comes to an end, we must reinforce the separation of powers and ensure that no President can again bring us so close to one-man rule," said Senator Schiff.

Senator Schiff rallied with pro-democracy groups and lawmakers supportive of this legislative package in commemoration of Constitution Day. The Senator's full remarks at the rally can be viewed here. Schiff's remarks can be downloaded here.

The legislative package includes provisions that:

• Reinforce Congress' power of the purse and discretion over federal spending decisions, and its oversight role over the executive branch
• Prevent presidents from granting pardons to family, friends, or themselves, or from using the office to enrich themselves, or utilizing government resources for campaign purposes
• Strengthen protections for federal whistleblowers who report government waste, fraud, or abuse
• Explicitly prohibit political campaigns and parties from soliciting or accepting foreign assistance to influence an election

The landmark package also includes language added to reflect the latest abuses in the Trump Administration, including creating an Inspector General position for the Executive Office of the President, strengthening recusal requirements for federal government employees with financial conflicts of interest from previous employers, closing a loophole in the federal bribery statute, and requiring financial disclosures from recipients of presidential pardons who gave a gift to the president that granted their pardon.

The bill is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

The legislation is supported by Accountable.US/Accountable.NOW, Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Clean Elections Texas, Defend The Vote Action Fund, Democracy Defenders Action, Democracy Matters, End Citizens United, Fix Democracy First, Florida For All, FFRF Action Fund, Government Information Watch, Human Rights First, Lawyers for Good Government, League of Conservation Voters, National Organization for Women, National Women's Law Center Action Fund, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, Oregonizers, People For the American Way, People Power United, Project On Government Oversight, Protect Democracy, Public Citizen, RepresentUs, Secure Elections Network, The Workers Circle: Jewish Culture for a Just World, and Voices for Progress.

"The Protecting our Democracy Act will bolster guardrails against future presidential abuses of power and will strengthen Congress' ability to check executive overreach. At this critical moment, Congress must pass PODA to ensure that presidents from either party cannot abuse their authority, target their perceived political enemies, or personally enrich themselves while in office," said Justin Florence, Managing Director & Co-Founder, Protect Democracy.

"The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) welcomes the introduction of the Protecting Our Democracy Act,"said Faith Williams, Director of the Effective and Accountable Government Program and The Project On Government Oversight. "This important legislation will help hold the executive branch accountable at a time of extreme challenges to our system of checks and balances. It will also address gaps in anti-corruption laws and practices that POGO has long worked to fix. Congress must pass this bill to give itself the tools it needs to reduce corruption and abuse of power - the public deserves nothing less."

"The lawless beginning to Trump's second term has crystalized the necessity for reforms. The President's norm-breaking and illegal actions have shown us all that he believes he is unfettered by and above our system. Americans deserve a government bound by law, not enemies lists, as well as constitutional protections that secure justice beyond the reach of any single administration. The Protecting our Democracy Act-which has been put forth during both republican and democratic administrations alike - would reign in an out-of-control executive, and begin to rebuild the shattered norms our democracy requires to function," said Lisa Gilbert, Co-President, Public Citizen.

"As Americans from all walks of life feel the effects of unprecedented attacks on and weaponization of our democracy, the Protecting Our Democracy Act offers an alternative path forward that rejects authoritarianism and reaffirms the core principles that make our government of, by, and for the people," said Debra Perlin, Vice President, Policy at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). "By combating corruption, requiring transparency and enforcing constitutional checks and balances, the Protecting our Democracy Act would help ensure that the executive branch serves the American public, not the other way around. We thank Senator Schiff for continuing to champion this transformative legislation and fighting for the wellbeing of our democracy."

A section-by-section summary can be found here.

A fact sheet on the legislation can be found here.

Full text of the bill is available here.

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