Rep. Torres Demands Truth: Introduces SANTOS Act

On Tuesday of last week, U.S. Representative Richie Torres released a thinkpiece to NBC denouncing his new co-worker, Republican Congressman George Santos, as a “liar, cheat, and fraud.” The all-American biography George Santos ran his platform on, in which he described himself as the “embodiment of the American Dream,” has been revealed to be nothing but a fiction. Though Rep. George Santos was applauded by his party for his win during the midterm elections, investigative reports have since revealed the wide network of deceptions Santos fabricated to mislead his voters.

Santos is evidently the subject of multiple criminal investigations for “embellishing” his résumé, with lies about his career and background sparking confusion as to how exactly he was able to lend such sizable sums to his campaign (to the tune of $700,000).

Earlier this month, Richie Torres and Dan Goldman announced their decision to legislate the SANTOS (“Stopping Another Non-Truthful Office Seeker”) Act in the 118th Congress in response to this fiasco.

Torres says, “His deception is a stain on our Democratic process and threatens to corrupt the very institution in which I am deeply humbled and proud to serve. We must work to ensure that our elected leaders are being truthful and transparent with voters, and I remain as committed as ever to doing just that.”

The SANTOS Act will require that all congressional candidates file their educational background, military service, and employment history. The penalty for knowingly providing false information is a $100,000 fine, one year in prison, or both.

Rep. Torres urges his colleagues to join him in rejecting Congressional Rep. Santos and in demanding answers surrounding his campaign and his personal finance discrepancies. Torres warns Santos is “a master manipulator and liar whose presence among us is beneath the dignity of the offices we’re privileged to hold and the people we’re here to serve.”