WASHINGTON - Ahead of the upcoming vote on the reconciliation package in the U.S. Senate, Democracy Defenders Action sent a letter to Senators urging them to reject the legislation unless deeply anti-democratic provisions are removed and previously stricken measures are not revived. In its current form, the many anti-democratic provisions in the legislation would pose a serious threat to the future of our democracy.

The package includes and enables alarming expansions of executive power and erosion of civil liberties, many of which have no legitimate place in a budget bill.

“Members of the Senate must reject the reconciliation package and send a clear message that the dangerous anti-democratic provisions it contains are non-starters. This bill has the potential to do grave and lasting harm to the democratic institutions, legal safeguards, and civil liberties your constituents rely on. If these provisions remain intact or are reinstated through other legislative vehicles through the reconciliation process, a vote in favor of the package would not merely advance disastrous fiscal policy—it would authorize sweeping expansions of executive power at the expense of accountability, judicial oversight, and public trust.”

The reconciliation process was designed to address budgetary issues, not to reshape core functions of democracy without full debate. Attempting to sneak through major changes that reshape democratic checks and balances under the guise of fiscal legislation is an abuse of the process.

DDA urges senators from both parties to reject the package unless it is thoroughly revised to remove these anti-democratic provisions and to resist efforts to reinstate those already struck.

The full statement of opposition is here.

Democracy Defenders Action brings together a nonpartisan team to work with national, state, and local allies across the country committed to upholding the rule of law, fighting against autocracy and defending the Constitution.