HR 1 overhaul would set new holiday and new rules for lobbyists, elections and justices – By Kate Ackley (Roll Call) / Mar 3 2021
Sweeping bill will trigger new debate over filibuster in the Senate
The House approved a sweeping political money, elections, influence and ethics measure Wednesday, but the bill faces an uncertain fate in the Senate, where it will trigger renewed debate over the legislative filibuster.
Championed by Democrats and dubbed HR 1 to symbolize its high priority, the overhaul package passed the House 220-210 in a late-night vote.
Lawmakers also moved up action to Wednesday from Thursday on a different bill, aimed at police procedures. That measure passed the House 220-212, but its Senate fate is also murky. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus had asked that a vote happen before April on the legislation named after George Floyd, who was killed by Minneapolis police last year.
That bill would ban chokeholds and no-knock warrants and institute other police accountability measures through the use of federal grant incentives and restrictions. It would relax the qualified immunity doctrine that shields police from lawsuits for actions performed on the job, which is one of Republicans’ objections to the bill.
