The voting rights and anti-corruption provisions in the For the People Act enjoy broad bipartisan support among the American people. They would set national standards making it easier for American citizens who legally have the right to vote to do so. The need for Senate lawmakers to pass this pro-voter, anti-corruption measure has taken on more urgency as conservatives in states around the country are introducing and enacting hundreds of bills to restrict voting rights.

Voting is not just the lifeblood of democracy, it is at the heart of its very definition. Our nation historically has been far from perfect in guaranteeing the unencumbered ability to vote; racially motivated voter suppression once took the form of poll taxes and literacy tests, which demanded federal action. Now, brazen efforts by many states to suppress the votes of Black and brown Americans—and in some cases subvert the popular will of the majority of their voters—demand similar action.

Before senators prioritize “inside the Beltway” Senate procedures, they should carry out their sworn duty to defend our democracy and the most sacred right to vote.

For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Sam Hananel at shananel@americanprogress.org or 202-478-6327.

The post STATEMENT: Voting Rights Are Foundational and Cannot Be Sacrificed, CAP’s Ben Olinsky Says appeared first on Center for American Progress.

Today, Facebook announced that it will continue its suspension of former President Trump until at least early 2023, but it left the door open for his reinstatement on the platform “if conditions permit.” In response, Adam Conner, vice president for Technology Policy at the Center for American Progress, released the following statement:

Facebook continues to refuse to do the right thing and permanently ban former President Trump. Clear rules, as the Oversight Board requested, are essential. But the idea that a sitting president inciting a violent white supremacist insurrection is not a sufficiently clear violation to garner permanent removal is beyond comprehension. Facebook says that it will reinstate Trump’s account in 2023 if “the threat to public safety has receded,” but violent instances such as the January 6 insurrection make it clear that Facebook is complicit in the threat to public safety.

Earlier this year, Conner wrote an op-ed for NBC News in which he argued not only that the Facebook Oversight Board should “recommend the permanent and formal suspension of Trump, to which Facebook should acquiesce,” but also that Facebook “should move onto the necessary work of releasing a full set of data to the public about his platform activity, so that the American public can begin to understand the true scope of the damage he inflicted on our democracy using their platform.” Conner, a former Facebook employee, calculated that Trump posted to his personal Facebook and Twitter accounts more than 2,200 times between the election and the insurrection and used many of those posts to spread incendiary lies and misinformation about the election. Those posts received millions of interactions and shares on Facebook alone.

For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, contact Allison Preiss at apreiss@americanprogress.org.

The post STATEMENT: CAP’s Adam Conner on Facebook Decision To Leave Door Open To Reinstate Trump on the Platform appeared first on Center for American Progress.

The Center for American Progress has been a leader, along with Free Speech For People, in urging the passage of this and similar measures around the country to ensure that corporate CEOs who are accountable to their foreign investors are not influencing U.S. elections. In response, Michael Sozan, a senior fellow at CAP, issued the following statement:

Today, the New York Senate took a giant step forward in protecting democracy. This measure will prevent foreign-influenced U.S. corporations from spending company money to sway New York state’s elections. We look forward to the Assembly passing counterpart legislation in the coming days and making New York the first state in the nation to codify this people-powered policy. This pro-democracy reform will reduce foreign influence in our elections and lessen the outsize power of multinational corporations in our political system.

Related resources:

• “How the Biden Administration Can Reduce the Political Spending of Foreign-Influenced U.S. Corporations” by Michael Sozan
• “Ending Foreign-Influenced Corporate Spending in U.S. Elections” by Michael Sozan
• “Fact Sheet: Ending Foreign-Influenced Corporate Spending in U.S. Elections” by Michael Sozan

For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Sam Hananel at shananel@americanprogress.org or 202-478-6327.

The post STATEMENT: CAP’s Michael Sozan Praises NY Senate Passage of Measure To Ban Foreign-Influenced Corporate Spending in State Elections appeared first on Center for American Progress.

The Senate’s failure to approve the January 6 commission is the latest disgraceful display from conservative lawmakers who refuse to protect and defend our democratic institutions, which were threatened by a violent attack incited by the twice-impeached former president. The commission is essential to understanding how this breach of the Capitol occurred, what motivated the attackers, and how to ensure that it never happens again. Refusing to investigate this attack is an insult to Americans and to the Capitol police officers who were dragged and beaten by a violent mob. 

These senators would rather continue to curry favor with Donald Trump and right-wing extremists, insurrectionists, white supremacists, and other radicals who carried out that violence. They refuse to examine one of the darkest days in our nation’s history, and they are shamelessly trying to downplay the severity of the insurrection. Their refusal to acknowledge the reality of what occurred and its implications for our democracy is at one with promoting the “big lie” and attempting to overturn the 2020 election.

It’s time to end the political denial and face the truth.

For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Sam Hananel at shananel@americanprogress.org or 202-478-6327.

The post STATEMENT: CAP’s Mara Rudman Condemns Lawmakers for Blocking January 6 Commission appeared first on Center for American Progress.

Kristen Clarke is an accomplished, talented, committed, and supremely qualified civil rights lawyer who has worked tirelessly to protect voting rights, support fair housing, defend victims of hate crimes, and fight for fairness and justice for all Americans. She is immensely qualified to head the office charged with enforcing these critical rights, especially at a time when our nation faces the growing threat of white supremacist violence, misogynist attacks targeting women of color, and shameless efforts to suppress voter turnout. As we mark the one-year anniversary of the killing of George Floyd, her confirmation means that enforcing civil rights and fighting systemic discrimination will be a priority for the Justice Department.

For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, please contact Sam Hananel at shananel@americanprogress.org or 202-478-6327.

The post STATEMENT: CAP’s Jocelyn Frye Praises Senate Confirmation of Kristen Clarke To Head DOJ Civil Rights Division appeared first on Center for American Progress.

The Center for American Progress has highlighted the critical need for the federal government to reestablish its leadership on access to justice issues. Today’s announcement means that the government will play a key role in making sure the justice system delivers outcomes that are fair and accessible to all, regardless of wealth and status. It’s also critical to connect federal programs to individuals navigating the civil justice system, including in cases related to debt collection, eviction, and domestic violence.

“Federal leadership is essential to transform our current legal system, riddled with unacceptable inequalities, into one that works for all people,” said Maggie Jo Buchanan, director of Legal Progress at CAP. “Already, the administration has made clear its commitment to such a transformation by nominating a historic number of public defenders to the bench in just the past few months. Today’s announcement shows that the administration recognizes how important it is to lift up the vital perspectives of those with expertise in public defense, legal aid, and civil rights as we work toward a just system of law.”

“The timing is perfect for this exciting Biden-Harris administration leadership move, especially to accelerate the federal government’s response to its pandemic recovery efforts,” said Karen A. Lash, a senior fellow at CAP. “Civil justice problems are threaded throughout the most pressing problems for so many people, including housing stability, access to health care, obstacles to getting people back to work, and so much more.”

Maha Jweied, a senior fellow at CAP, noted that in his inaugural remarks, President Biden pledged to make “[t]he dream of justice for all … deferred no longer.” She added: “By signing today’s presidential memorandum and recommitting the federal government to strengthening access to justice for all, he brings us closer to that reality—one where justice is not dependent on where you live, how much money you have, or the color of your skin.”

Related resources:

• “The Need to Rebuild the DOJ Office for Access to Justice” by Maggie Jo Buchanan, Maha Jweied, and Karen A. Lash
• “‘Justice for All’ Requires Access to Justice” by Maggie Jo Buchanan, Maha Jweied, and Karen A. Lash

For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Sam Hananel at shananel@americanprogress.org or 202-478-6327.

The post STATEMENT: CAP Praises Biden for Restoring Federal Leadership on Access to Justice Issues appeared first on Center for American Progress.

In response to the markup, Michael Sozan, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement:

With committee consideration complete, momentum continues to build toward passage of the For the People Act. This once-in-a-generation legislation remains deeply popular with the American people, who understand that strengthening our democracy should not be a partisan issue. Unfortunately, opponents continue to try to derail this bill, as conservatives on the Senate Rules and Administration Committee attempted to do during committee markup.

The next few months will decide what our democracy looks like for decades to come. With several states passing anti-voter legislation aimed at suppressing voters of color, and with conservatives vowing again to resort to partisan gerrymandering, the Senate must quickly pass the For the People Act.

Related resources:

• “Momentum Grows for Bold Democracy Reform” by Michael Sozan

For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Sam Hananel at shananel@americanprogress.org.

The post STATEMENT: CAP’s Michael Sozan Praises Senate Committee Markup of For The People Act appeared first on Center for American Progress.

While participation in democracy is most commonly associated with activities such as voting or running for office, it takes a full range of civic engagement activities to build a strong society. Having a criminal record, however, greatly limits people’s ability to partake in these activities. Beyond the explicit restrictions on the voting rights of those convicted of serious crimes in certain states, a criminal record can significantly damage an individual’s ability to secure stable employment, higher education, and safe housing—making it much more difficult for them to have the time and opportunity to volunteer at nonprofits, attend local government meetings, or join parent-teacher associations. With so many Americans dealing with the devastating effects of a criminal record, a large percentage of the U.S. population is unable to fully engage with their communities.

A lifetime of limits for millions

Nearly 1 in 3 American adults hold some type of criminal record, including misdemeanors and arrests. As a result, nearly half of all American children have at least one parent with a criminal record. Furthermore, the United States incarcerates both more total people and more people per capita than any other country.

As noted above, the consequences of a criminal record can continue for a lifetime. And America has one of the most punitive collateral punishment systems in the world, with one report documenting more than 44,000 separate “collateral consequences” in state and federal law imposed on those with records. Such penalties continue to punish justice-involved individuals long after a sentence ends, affecting their access to employment and licensing, housing, and political participation.

Background checks for employment, in particular, often have dire consequences for justice-impacted individuals, as job applicants are at least 50 percent less likely to get a callback if they have a criminal record. Overall, an estimated 1 in 4 Americans are “locked out of the job market” due to such collateral consequences, costing the economy $87 billion in gross domestic product annually—not to mention the devastating impact that such exclusions have on working families. A 2010 study found that by age 45, a man who has been released from incarceration and has reentered the labor force earns $15,600 less per year than his peers who were never incarcerated, even when controlling for work experience lost during incarceration.

Of course, background checks are used in a variety of other contexts in addition to employment. As a result, a criminal record also makes it much less likely to be accepted to college or have a rental application approved, limiting opportunity in a number of significant ways.

Due to these barriers, many of those with records will struggle to provide for themselves and their families. In such circumstances, meaningful civic engagement may not only be a low priority but also be impossible to achieve. And the harms here are likely to be compounding, as studies have found that civic engagement can actually help improve the economic outcomes of low-income families.

In addition, it is important to underscore that injustices within America’s criminal system have led those from structurally marginalized communities—including people of color, LGBTQ individuals, and those with mental health disorders—to be much more likely to have a record than other Americans. While these inequities are unacceptable for a variety of reasons, within the democracy context, they operate to further silence already underrepresented voices.

Bolstering civic participation through clean slate initiatives

Fortunately, it is possible for justice-involved individuals to escape the lingering and debilitating consequences of a criminal record. After waiting a certain amount of time and meeting various requirements, many with records can become eligible to have their records expunged, helping to mitigate the harms they pose. Yet the legal petition process that individuals must navigate to actually get those eligible records cleared is time-consuming, resource-intensive, and complex. Moreover, it is resulting in millions of records going unsealed, allowing the economic consequences—and their impact on U.S. democracy—to fester and grow.

To address this problem, states such as Pennsylvania and Michigan have begun to adopt what are known as “clean slate” laws, legislation that shifts the burden of expungement from those with records to the government, which is much better positioned to efficiently expunge records. Localities use technology to automatically clear or seal eligible records, immediately opening up economic opportunities and a world of possibilities for those with their record newly cleared. These clean slate reforms are overwhelmingly bipartisan, and while they have so far only been enacted at the state level, there is interest in federal action as well.

Across the jurisdictions that have enacted these reforms, clean slate’s effectiveness is clear. In Pennsylvania, for instance, more than 33 million eligible criminal cases and 45 million eligible criminal offenses have been sealed. To compare these results to those under the former petition process: 52 times as many misdemeanors have been sealed thanks to clean slate versus petition. Those helped by the policy include young adults who after struggling to find a path forward due their past records, have now been able to apply to college with confidence. Likewise, people of all ages have been able to secure stable employment, often for the first time in years, and even become business owners—all helping to strengthen local communities across the state.

Conclusion

Continued enactment of clean slate initiatives across the county will be essential to ensuring that those with records are fully able to engage in their communities. This type of participation—currently limited for far too many—is an important part of strengthening not only the individual lives of those affected but also our democracy as a whole. American society is better when all can contribute and engage within its systems. Policymakers should act now to remove needless restraints on such participation.

Maggie Jo Buchanan is the director of Legal Progress at the Center for American Progress. Nick Jacobson is a former intern for Legal Progress at the Center.

The post Clean Slate Is Critical for a Healthy Democracy appeared first on Center for American Progress.

Today’s vote recognizes that it’s time to end the historic disenfranchisement of the people of Washington, D.C. This measure would finally grant the roughly 700,000 residents of the nation’s capital the same voting rights and representation in Congress as every other American. And it would give the district’s government the same power as every other state – to govern its people when it comes to local decisions without interference from Congress or the president. The U.S. Senate must now pass this measure and admit Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, as the 51st state so that Washington residents can gain the full voting rights guaranteed to every American by the U.S. Constitution.

For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Sam Hananel at shananel@americanprogress.org or 202-478-6327.

The post STATEMENT: CAP’s Will Roberts Praises House Passage of D.C. Statehood Bill, Urges Senate to Follow appeared first on Center for American Progress.

Starting from day one, the Biden-Harris administration launched an ambitious agenda to help vulnerable and underserved communities across the country with a volley of executive actions designed to course-correct and tackle the nation’s most urgent crises. These swift and bold steps will help communities that have far too often been harmed, marginalized, and overlooked by government policies. In the months ahead, the administration can bolster many of its priorities through strong federal leadership and the incorporation of access to justice strategies that aim to strengthen both the civil and criminal legal systems.

The Center for American Progress has previously called for reestablishing the Obama-era Office for Access to Justice (ATJ) within the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) as a key step to accomplishing its justice priorities. Before it was shuttered by the Trump administration, the ATJ helped coordinate efforts across the federal government aimed at improving results for low-income and other underserved communities within America’s legal systems. The new administration’s recent executive actions on racial justice, the COVID-19 pandemic response, and immigration, among other issues, underscore just how beneficial a central hub of this sort would be to integrate access to justice responses with solutions to drive long-lasting change.

Advancing racial equity

The administration’s recent executive order on racial equity charges the federal government with pursuing a “comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all, including people of color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality.” Marginalized communities face significant barriers when it comes to navigating the U.S. legal system, which has dramatically limited opportunity and advancements in equity. Reforming the legal system, then, will be essential to achieving meaningful reforms for communities of color.

Research demonstrates that a strong civil legal aid ecosystem helps advance housing security, employment, family stability, consumer protection, and public safety by ensuring that all individuals understand and can exercise their rights, regardless of their ability to pay—but legal aid programs across the country are currently stretched far too thin. Furthermore, while it is axiomatic that true criminal justice reform requires meaningful input and guidance from public defenders and affected communities, these individuals’ voices and perspectives are too often absent from policy debates. When the ATJ was in force, the federal government led efforts to increase funding for civil legal aid and public defense programs, improve policies that affected those programs, and increase stakeholder involvement in reform efforts; reestablishing the office would therefore help strengthen implementation of this executive order.

For example, in the civil justice context, the executive order mandates that federal agencies conduct an equity assessment, allocate federal resources to advance fairness and opportunity, promote equitable delivery of government benefits and equitable opportunities within federal programs and services, engage with members of underserved communities, and establish an equitable data working group. The White House Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable (LAIR), an initiative formerly staffed by the ATJ, previously carried out similar tasks with the goal of better serving people who need civil legal assistance. Thanks to that precedent, a revitalized LAIR could quickly support federal agencies’ responses to the executive order by building in an essential civil justice perspective early in their processes to benefit individuals—especially individuals from underserved racial and ethnic communities—struggling with housing cases and other critical civil legal problems.

In the criminal justice context, the former ATJ was the only executive office with responsibility for lifting up the public defense function and increasing resources for public defense providers. The federal government should significantly expand this work, consistent with the executive order, which would also be in line with President Joe Biden’s oft-repeated goal of increasing support for public defenders. Incorporating public defenders’ expertise is vital to crafting policy change that will directly benefit the individuals who are most often subject to prejudices in the law—namely, Black and brown communities.

Pandemic response

The executive order on the federal pandemic response and recovery established a COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force headed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide recommendations for mitigating the health inequities caused or exacerbated by the pandemic and preventing these inequities in the future.

Previous work undertaken during the Obama-Biden administration demonstrates how incorporating access to justice initiatives could bolster the implementation of this executive order. The ATJ and LAIR worked across government agencies, including HHS and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), to spotlight the connection between health outcomes and civil legal need. In addition to this public education component, the office directly helped advance federal policy to better support medical-legal partnerships (MLPs). These partnerships are a type of service delivery model that allows people to receive legal help while accessing medical services. Renewed federal leadership on access to justice could support this critically important effort by promoting best practices for embedding MLPs within HHS- and VA-supported health centers in underserved communities. Importantly, research shows that legal help can improve access to health care, reduce medical debt, and improve health outcomes, while also reducing overall medical costs. Furthermore, federal guidance could support MLPs’ ability to address legal problems arising from the pandemic that affect public health, such as evictions and foreclosures, that have fallen most heavily on low-income individuals and communities of color.

Immigration

The Biden administration’s executive order on immigration and integration and inclusion efforts directs the secretary of state, attorney general, and secretary of homeland security to “identify barriers that impede access to immigration benefits and fair, efficient adjudications of these benefits and make recommendations on how to remove these barriers.” Federal action to improve access to justice would be of particular assistance to this effort as it relates to increasing access to counsel in immigration proceedings, which studies show improves outcomes for individuals as well as immigration court efficiency.

Previously, for example, the ATJ helped launch the justice AmeriCorps Legal Services for Unaccompanied Children Program and supported HHS and DOJ efforts to provide know-your-rights trainings and other resources to individuals in immigration court proceedings. The ATJ also joined interagency efforts to combat notario fraud, which is when individuals who are unauthorized to provide legal representation in immigration proceedings prey on individuals in need of legal assistance. The office also helped advance language access for individuals with limited English proficiency in immigration and other administrative hearings and proceedings. Reinforcing these practical, on-the-ground efforts is necessary to help immigrant families navigate the complex immigration court system and ensure their voices are heard.

Conclusion

In his inaugural address, President Biden pledged, “The dream of justice for all will be deferred no longer.” His recent executive actions speak to both the new administration’s dedication to this goal and the seriousness of the challenge ahead. While not an exhaustive accounting of all the ways that federally led access to justice work could help accomplish the Biden-Harris agenda, the above examples demonstrate just some of the relevant strategies that could help advance the administration’s goals on a range of issues. Breathing new life into federal leadership on access to justice issues, including by reestablishing the ATJ office, will be vital in the months and years ahead to improve the lives of people across the country.

Maggie Jo Buchanan is the director of Legal Progress at the Center for American Progress. Maha Jweied is a senior fellow at the Center. Karen A. Lash is a senior fellow at the Center.

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