Democrats have their package of reform bills in hand. Here's how everything happened together.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Friday revealed the Democratic Party's first bill for 2019: a set of voting rights, campaign financing and ethical reforms [19659003] intended to help restore the integrity of the government, one of the party's key campaign promises in the mid-term elections of 2018.

The story of the birth of this draft of law shows that Democrats have long been preparing for a new set of reforms aimed at changing the way Washington operates.

The details of the proposal are still under development and the bill has not yet been named, but the Democratic Party has outlined what it is will include Friday : creation of a publicly funded election system for congressional campaigns, automatic voter registration, ethical reforms for the executive branch and the Congress, enforcement of laws relating to the Judicial ethics at the Supreme Court, cessation of party gerrymandering, laws on disclosure of the black currency and reinstatement of Article 5 of the law on the right to vote, which had forced some states to obtain preclearance before making changes that affect the vote.

The last time the party controlled Congress, it failed to pass a campaign finance reform bill or further reform of the franchise. However, this time, they can count on years of preparatory work from a dedicated group of lawmakers that Pelosi has been empowering since 2011 to gather ideas for reform, to support them within the party, and then to turn them into a set of legislative measures.

This process was led by Maryland's six-member Congressman John Sarbanes, who became a strong advocate for campaign finance reform after being frustrated by the pressure on political candidates to that they raise funds from major donors.

Sarbanes had long been determined to try to get things moving. "I woke up one day and – I can not go on as before," he told HuffPost in 2013.

He did a personal experiment . 19659002] during his own campaign mimicking, even if only roughly, the New York City campaign financing system which provides $ 5 in public funds for every dollar raised through small donations. It may have been a gadget, but the congressman took it seriously and turned his experience into a personal cause that helped make congressionally funded Congressional campaigns a reality. He sufficiently convinced his colleagues to support him and thus became the main spokesperson for reform in the House

This successful plea in the caucus prompted Pelosi to appoint him to lead the group of work on the reform of party democracy in February 2017. He focused on developing and building support for democratic reform legislation and responding to the continuing flow of ethical malpractices. of the Trump administration. Pelosi empowered Sarbanes and the task force by imposing no limit on his work.

" It has not been more normative than to say, in a sense, to muster the best evidence of where our democratic system fails and to begin. bringing together good ideas and proposals to address this problem, "said Sarbanes.

With the help of a diverse group of vice presidents, Sarbanes held public meetings and round tables at Across the country, meeting pollsters and reform advocates and debating legislation with fellow lawmakers, this has enabled the working group to mobilize broad support and empower legislators from all regions of the country.

"He is a powerful leader of a broad coalition," said representative Annie Kuster (DN.H.) about Sarbanes, 19659032] The final product includes the bill on financing public of Sarbanes, the law of Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) Aiming to restore Article 5 of the law on the right to vote, the law of Rep. Marc Pocan (D-Wis.) Demanding ballots paper voting machines, the legislation of Kuster inter telling members to use taxpayer funds to resolve sexual harassment requests and the work of the Voting Rights Caucus of Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Texas) aimed to increase the number of voters in advance and vote, as well as financing the electoral infrastructure. 19659031] Meanwhile, the election of President Donald Trump, the ethical fiasco of his corrupt administration and the steady flow of criminal convictions from his campaign agents helped give the task force the urgency to give a different face.

"This made the task force mission all the more critical and brought us to a place where we wanted to be ready at the first opportunity to present a different vision of how the system should work, "said Sarbanes.

The work of the task force was incorporated into the Democrats' election campaign as "the best deal for our democracy" in May. The candidates had already adopted reformist positions by rejecting the companies' contributions to the CAP and approving broad reforms. These ideas were popular topics of the election campaign, where voters were convinced that nothing could be done in Washington because of the corrupting influence of money.

"One of the most popular applause I've had during any speech was that I did not take any business contribution to the CAP," said elected representative Tom Malinowski (DN .J.). "I found it a promise that drew people from all sides of the political divide."

"During our campaigns, we heard people talk about their concerns about lack of trust in elected officials or money invested in their funding. or their concerns about dollars in politics, and we heard you, "echoed the elected representative Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.). "We want to make a change. We want to advance this program that shows you need to trust us.

Sarbanes campaigned with candidates, including Malinowski and Spanberger, to pass the party's new party reform message, with the goal of electing a new class dedicated to reform to help adopt the law.

"They came with this reform message pinned to the chest as a class," said Sarbanes. "And thankfully, thanks to the work of this task force and the accusation brought by Chief Pelosi, we were ready to have a solid and consistent framework of a complete package." [19659005NewlegislatorswillstillhavetimetoaddtothebillinthecomingmonthsSarbanesandtheWorkingGroupVice-ChairsstillmeetwithmemberstodiscusstheirideasHewilldiscussthebillintheProgressiveCaucusofCongressnextweekAndthebillwillgothroughthreecompetentcommissions:theadministrationthejudiciarythecontrolandthereformofthegovernment

Democrats, whether elected or long-serving, say they believe that these reforms must first be put in place in order to tackle the problem. other issues that interest them, such as lower prices of pharmaceuticals, reform of trade agreements and the establishment of gun control.

"We can not do anything with the government if the government is corrupted by money and control of special interests," rep. I love. Raskin (D-Md.) Said.

Democrats also hope that the bill offers some hope to Americans who want to do something about the misdeeds of the Trump administration.

"I think this bill is like a lifesaver where we can say: OK, yes, we may have stumbled a little bit as a country, but damn it, we get up and we go back to a sense of normalcy. "Representative Elijah Cummings (D-Md.)

The bill will undoubtedly be defeated to face obstacles if it wipes out the House.The Senate Republicans are headed by the leader of the Major Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the strongest opponent of campaign finance reform in US politics, nor do they support the extension of voting rights. Trump is unlikely to sign his name on a law that imposes it on new ethics laws that would force him to sell his business.

Sarbanes says even if Republicans torpedo their legislation, it's a win-win for Democrats. he says, must show up as the anti-corruption party, not only because it's the right thing to do, but also because that's what the public is asking for.

"I'd like to live in a world where the right thing to do is also a political winner," Sarbanes said.