Republican senators to blast S1 as 'Fund the Politicians Act' on floor

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EXCLUSIVE: A group of Republican senators led by Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst are taking to the Senate floor to blast the Democrats’ sweeping election reform bill, calling it the "Fund the Politicians Act."

According to remarks obtained exclusively by Fox News, Ernst and her colleagues will hit the Senate floor on Wednesday afternoon to eviscerate the For the People Act — the Democrats’ controversial legislative priority that is seeing bipartisan opposition — as a bill that "prioritizes themselves."

"This bill creates a federal campaign fund to finance the expenses of candidates for Congress," Ernst’s remarks read.

"Instead of addressing the important issues that are on the minds of my fellow Iowans — like the rising cost of gasoline, bread, milk, and all sorts of household goods — this bill literally takes money out of the paychecks of working Americans and puts it into the campaign coffers of Washington politicians," the senator continues.

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Ernst, who serves as vice chair of the Senate GOP Conference, points out that the For the People Act "nationalizes elections" and "subsidizes politicians’ campaigns," even those a voter may disagree with. She also warned that there is no "opting out" of the bill.

"Washington would tell the rest of the country how you can select your representatives," the remarks say. "It does so by creating a federal work-around of state voter ID laws by effectively eliminating the enforcement of state ID requirements at the polls."

The Iowa Republican said the bill is part of the "Democrats’ larger scheme and total power grab to tilt our political system in their favor," such as nixing the filibuster, adding "new states, like the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, that will elect Democrat senators," and packing the Supreme Court.

"There are just 50 Democratic senators, but 60 votes are required to end debate on legislation in the Senate," Ernst’s remarks say. "Therefore, the Democrats must eliminate the filibuster in order to pass S. 1."

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"That’s right, changing the rules in order to fundamentally change the country," she adds, pointing out the Democrats used the filibuster "327 times last year alone" while the party was in the minority.

In her prepared remarks Ernst writes the bill "is not about democracy," but rather "changing the rules and tipping the scales to favor Washington Democrats."

The senator is expected to be joined by several of her Republican colleagues on the floor, including Sens. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.; Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa; Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.V.; Rick Scott, R-Fla.; Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; Jim Inhofe, R-Ok.; Roger Marshall, R-Ks.; and Todd Young, R-Ind.

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The For the People Act has been torn into by conservatives as the Democratic majority attempts to ram it through the Senate, with progressives in the party demanding the Senate end the filibuster to pass the bill and other liberal initiatives.

Last month, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer sent a letter to his party informing them he would be forcing a vote on the bill in the waning weeks of June.

"In the last week of the June work period, the Senate will vote on S.1, the For the People Act, legislation that is essential to defending our democracy, reducing the influence of dark money and powerful special interests, and stopping the wave of Republican voter suppression happening in the states across the country in service of President Trump’s Big Lie," Schumer wrote.

Fox News' Kelly Laco contributed to this report.