June 27, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 109 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session
All in House sectionPrev24 of 120Next
SECURING AMERICA'S FEDERAL ELECTIONS ACT; Congressional Record Vol. 165, No. 109
(House of Representatives - June 27, 2019)
Text available as:
Formatting necessary for an accurate reading of this text may be shown by tags (e.g., <DELETED> or <BOLD>) or may be missing from this TXT display. For complete and accurate display of this text, see the PDF.
[Pages H5243-H5246] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] {time} 1615 SECURING AMERICA'S FEDERAL ELECTIONS ACT The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 1(c) of rule XIX, further consideration of the bill (H.R. 2722) to protect elections for public office by providing financial support and enhanced security for the infrastructure used to carry out such elections, and for other purposes, will now resume. The Clerk will report the title of the bill. The Clerk read the title of the bill. Motion to Recommit Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is the gentleman opposed to the bill? Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. I am in its current form. Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve a point of order. The SPEAKER pro tempore. A point of order is reserved. The Clerk will report the motion to recommit. The Clerk read as follows: Mr. Rodney Davis of Illinois moves to recommit the bill H.R. 2722 to the Committee on House Administration with instructions to report the same back to the House forthwith with the following amendment: Page 72, insert after line 3 the following (and conform the succeeding provisions accordingly): TITLE IV--DISCLOSURE OF FOREIGN NATIONAL ACCESS TO ELECTION INFRASTRUCTURE SEC. 401. DISCLOSURE OF ACCESS TO ELECTION INFRASTRUCTURE BY FOREIGN NATIONALS. (a) In General.--Title III of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.), as amended by section 121, is further amended by inserting after section 303A the following new section: ``SEC. 303B. ACCESS TO ELECTION INFRASTRUCTURE BY FOREIGN NATIONALS. ``(a) In General.--Each chief State election official shall disclose to the Commission the identity of any foreign national known by the chief State election official-- ``(1) to have physically handled-- ``(A) ballots used in an election for Federal office; or ``(B) voting machines; or ``(2) to have had unmonitored access to-- ``(A) a storage facility or centralized vote tabulation location used to support the administration of an election for public office; or ``(B) election-related information or communications technology, including voter registration databases, voting machines, electronic mail and other communications systems (including electronic mail and other systems of vendors who have entered into contracts with election agencies to support the administration of elections, manage the election process, and report and display election results), and other systems used to manage the election process and to report and display election results on behalf of an election agency. ``(b) Timing.--The chief State election official shall make the disclosure under subsection (a) not later than 30 days after the date on which such official becomes aware of an activity described in such subsection. ``(c) Foreign National Defined.--The term `foreign national' has the meaning given that term in section 319 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121).''. (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents of such Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 303A the following new item: ``Sec. 303B. Access to election infrastructure by foreign nationals.''. Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois (during the reading). Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to waive the reading of the motion to recommit. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Illinois? There was no objection. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Illinois is recognized for 5 minutes in support of his motion. Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the motion to recommit. For months, we have heard about the interference in our elections and the report of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, this report right here. But nothing in this bill that we are debating today and voting on today before this body now addresses the concerns that have been raised in this report. Mr. Speaker, nothing in the bill we are debating today addresses the concerns of foreign interference raised in the special counsel's report that I am holding right now. What we know is that Russia attempted to interfere in our 2016 election through a misinformation campaign, email hacking, and by exploring vulnerabilities of registration databases. This is gravely concerning to every Republican and Democrat in this institution. But what does the Federal Government telling States that they must replace their safe, new, and auditable machines have to do with addressing these concerns? What does a hand recount mandate have to do with these concerns? What does recycled paper have to do with these concerns? The tremendous costs associated with these Federal mandates only serve to draw resources away from the real vulnerabilities our States face. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle have also represented that Republicans have done nothing to address foreign interference in our elections, and that, Mr. Speaker, is simply not true. [[Page H5244]] In 2017, this country's election infrastructure was designated as critical infrastructure, thereby allowing the Department of Homeland Security to immediately begin offering voluntary assistance to State and local election officials in the form of cybersecurity advisers, assessments, threat detection and prevention tools, information sharing, and incident response. Additionally, the 115th Congress, last Congress, a Republican- controlled Congress, appropriated $380 million to States prior to the 2018 midterms to bolster election security and $26 million to DHS to add additional staff and carry out their assessment efforts, allowing for unprecedented cooperation between DHS and all 50 States and 1,400 localities in 2018. Earlier this year, $33 million was appropriated to DHS to continue these assistance efforts, and earlier this week, the Republicans, my fellow Republicans, Mr. Walker and Mr. Loudermilk, on the House Administration Committee, introduced our own Election Security Assistance Act. So don't tell me we are not taking this seriously. While so much of the focus has been on foreign interference today, we must not forget that we had a Member not seated this Congress following evidence that political operatives illegally harvested unsealed and only partially filled-out ballots. This practice is legal in many States, but as we have seen, it is ripe for fraud and abuse. Republicans have offered multiple amendments to prohibit this practice in H.R. 1 and, now, the SAFE Act, each failing on a party-line vote. If we can't agree that this fraudulent practice should be banned, let us at least agree that foreign nationals should not be harvesting the ballots of American citizens. Right now, a Russian operative could walk freely around States like California, for example, collecting and turning in absentee ballots, completely altering the outcome of an election. But my colleagues have shown no interest in addressing this huge vulnerability simply because it serves their interest only in certain States. This practice invites a constitutional crisis. America, Mr. Speaker, is watching this vote right now. My amendment today would require the chief election official of each State to disclose to the Election Assistance Commission the identity of any known foreign national who has physically handled ballots, machines, or has had unmonitored access to the storage facilities or tabulation centers used to support elections, or even unmonitored access to election-related information or communication technology. This takes an additional step in rooting out foreign interference and lets the process of legislating about election security finally begin. I urge my colleagues to vote for this motion to recommit. Vote to protect our elections from interference from foreign countries like Russia, China, and all others. Vote to preserve the integrity of our ballot, and vote to restore the American people's trust in our institutions. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my point of order. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The reservation of a point of order is withdrawn. Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I claim the time in opposition to the motion to recommit. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from California is recognized for 5 minutes. Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I want to make an important observation. The gentleman has said that what happened in North Carolina is perfectly legal in other States. Fraud is not legal in any of the 50 States. I would like to note that, in our bill, we do have provisions that vendors must be owned and controlled by citizens or permanent residents of the United States and certain other provisions relative to security; but to conflate the allowance in some States--of 27 States and 9 others that designate allowing your mother or your brother or your neighbor to take your ballot with fraud is really pretty low. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Aguilar). Mr. AGUILAR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. In our democracy, we should actively be seeking ways to involve more people rather than shutting them out of the process. Some States have done this by making voting accessible for homebound voters and others who have trouble physically getting to the polls and allowing an absentee voter to designate anyone of their choosing to drop off a marked ballot. This policy allows for greater participation in elections because some homebound voters have no family or individuals to delegate that role to. They should not be disenfranchised by our laws. Ballot drop-off laws are, in and of themselves, perfectly appropriate election administration laws. If your aunt or uncle is a physician of an H1B visa holder, if you are working a double shift and you hand your ballot to someone who is a Dreamer, if you are married to an individual with TPS status, this would require you to report that individual to the Federal Government. The House Administration Committee is already reviewing the foreign influence on American elections as the chairwoman mentioned, and we welcome the minority working with us in this regard. We know, from a Washington Post story published earlier this year, in which Members here in this Chamber are quoted as developing a strategy to engage in that practice themselves. In fact, our colleagues on the other side of the aisle were quoted as being laser focused on ballot collection in the 2020 elections. So they will have to forgive me if I don't buy into the argument they are making today that their favorite examples of potential problems with the system are actions of a political operative on behalf of a Republican candidate who illegally changed and threw away ballots. This is a suppression tactic. It is the height of hypocrisy that our Republican colleagues would be creating a new Federal standard after this entire debate they had been railing against the same. They will forgive us if we feel that that is a little disingenuous. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to defeat this motion. Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I would close by urging every Member to vote against this motion to recommit and further note that the House Administration Committee will soon be examining foreign influence on our elections. We would welcome the participation of the minority in that important work. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the previous question is ordered on the motion to recommit. There was no objection. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to recommit. The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that the noes appeared to have it. Recorded Vote Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote. A recorded vote was ordered. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XX, the Chair will reduce to 5 minutes the minimum time for any electronic vote on the question of passage. This will be a 5-minute vote. The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 189, noes 220, not voting 23, as follows: [Roll No. 427] AYES--189 Aderholt Allen Amodei Armstrong Arrington Axne Babin Bacon Baird Balderson Banks Barr Bergman Biggs Bilirakis Bishop (UT) Bost Brady Brooks (AL) Brooks (IN) Buchanan Buck Bucshon Budd Burchett Burgess Byrne Calvert Carter (GA) Carter (TX) Chabot Cheney Cline Cloud Cole Collins (GA) Collins (NY) Comer Conaway Cook Crawford Crenshaw Cunningham Curtis Davidson (OH) Davis, Rodney DesJarlais Diaz-Balart Duffy Duncan Dunn Emmer Estes Ferguson Finkenauer Fitzpatrick Fleischmann Flores Fortenberry Foxx (NC) Fulcher Gaetz Gallagher Gianforte Gibbs Gohmert Gonzalez (OH) Gooden Gosar Granger Graves (GA) Graves (LA) Graves (MO) Green (TN) Griffith Grothman Guest Guthrie Hagedorn Harris Hartzler Hern, Kevin Herrera Beutler Hice (GA) Higgins (LA) Hill (AR) Holding Hollingsworth Hudson Huizenga [[Page H5245]] Hunter Hurd (TX) Johnson (OH) Johnson (SD) Jordan Joyce (OH) Joyce (PA) Katko Keller Kelly (MS) Kelly (PA) King (IA) King (NY) LaHood LaMalfa Lamborn Latta Lesko Long Loudermilk Luetkemeyer Marchant Marshall Mast McAdams McCarthy McCaul McClintock McHenry McKinley Meadows Meuser Miller Mitchell Moolenaar Mooney (WV) Newhouse Norman Nunes Olson Palazzo Palmer Pence Perry Posey Ratcliffe Reed Reschenthaler Rice (SC) Riggleman Roby Rodgers (WA) Roe, David P. Rogers (KY) Rose, John W. Rouzer Roy Rutherford Scalise Schweikert Scott, Austin Shimkus Simpson Smith (MO) Smith (NE) Smith (NJ) Smucker Spanberger Spano Stauber Stefanik Steil Stewart Stivers Taylor Thompson (PA) Timmons Tipton Turner Upton Van Drew Wagner Walberg Walden Walker Waltz Watkins Weber (TX) Webster (FL) Wenstrup Westerman Williams Wilson (SC) Wittman Womack Woodall Wright Yoho Zeldin NOES--220 Adams Aguilar Allred Amash Barragan Bass Beatty Bera Beyer Bishop (GA) Blumenauer Blunt Rochester Bonamici Boyle, Brendan F. Brindisi Brown (MD) Brownley (CA) Bustos Butterfield Carbajal Cardenas Carson (IN) Cartwright Case Casten (IL) Castor (FL) Chu, Judy Cicilline Cisneros Clark (MA) Clarke (NY) Clay Cleaver Clyburn Cohen Connolly Cooper Correa Costa Courtney Cox (CA) Craig Crist Crow Cuellar Cummings Davids (KS) Davis (CA) Davis, Danny K. Dean DeFazio DeGette DeLauro DelBene Delgado Demings DeSaulnier Deutch Dingell Doggett Doyle, Michael F. Engel Escobar Eshoo Espaillat Evans Fletcher Foster Frankel Fudge Gallego Garamendi Garcia (IL) Garcia (TX) Golden Gomez Gonzalez (TX) Gottheimer Green, Al (TX) Grijalva Haaland Harder (CA) Hayes Heck Higgins (NY) Hill (CA) Himes Horn, Kendra S. Horsford Houlahan Hoyer Huffman Jackson Lee Jayapal Jeffries Johnson (GA) Johnson (TX) Keating Kelly (IL) Kennedy Khanna Kildee Kilmer Kim Kind Kirkpatrick Krishnamoorthi Kuster (NH) Lamb Langevin Larsen (WA) Larson (CT) Lawrence Lawson (FL) Lee (CA) Lee (NV) Levin (CA) Levin (MI) Lewis Lieu, Ted Lipinski Loebsack Lofgren Lowenthal Lowey Lujan Luria Lynch Malinowski Maloney, Carolyn B. Maloney, Sean Massie Matsui McBath McCollum McEachin McGovern McNerney Meeks Meng Moore Morelle Mucarsel-Powell Murphy Nadler Napolitano Neal Neguse Norcross O'Halleran Ocasio-Cortez Omar Pallone Panetta Pappas Pascrell Payne Perlmutter Peters Peterson Phillips Pingree Pocan Porter Pressley Price (NC) Quigley Raskin Rice (NY) Rose (NY) Rouda Roybal-Allard Ruiz Ruppersberger Rush Sanchez Sarbanes Scanlon Schakowsky Schiff Schneider Schrier Scott (VA) Scott, David Serrano Sewell (AL) Shalala Sherman Sherrill Sires Slotkin Smith (WA) Soto Speier Stanton Stevens Suozzi Takano Thompson (CA) Thompson (MS) Titus Tlaib Tonko Torres (CA) Torres Small (NM) Trahan Trone Underwood Vargas Veasey Vela Velazquez Visclosky Wasserman Schultz Waters Watson Coleman Welch Wexton Wild Yarmuth NOT VOTING--23 Abraham Castro (TX) Gabbard Hastings Johnson (LA) Kaptur Kinzinger Kustoff (TN) Lucas Moulton Mullin Richmond Rogers (AL) Rooney (FL) Ryan Schrader Sensenbrenner Steube Swalwell (CA) Thornberry Walorski Wilson (FL) Young {time} 1632 Mr. ROY changed his vote from ``no'' to ``aye.'' So the motion to recommit was rejected. The result of the vote was announced as above recorded. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the passage of the bill. The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that the ayes appeared to have it. Recorded Vote Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote. A recorded vote was ordered. The SPEAKER pro tempore. This is a 5-minute vote. The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 225, noes 184, not voting 23, as follows: [Roll No. 428] AYES--225 Adams Aguilar Allred Axne Barragan Bass Beatty Bera Beyer Bishop (GA) Blumenauer Blunt Rochester Bonamici Boyle, Brendan F. Brindisi Brown (MD) Brownley (CA) Bustos Butterfield Carbajal Cardenas Carson (IN) Cartwright Case Casten (IL) Castor (FL) Chu, Judy Cicilline Cisneros Clark (MA) Clarke (NY) Clay Cleaver Clyburn Cohen Connolly Cooper Correa Costa Courtney Cox (CA) Craig Crist Crow Cuellar Cummings Cunningham Davids (KS) Davis (CA) Davis, Danny K. Dean DeFazio DeGette DeLauro DelBene Delgado Demings DeSaulnier Deutch Dingell Doggett Doyle, Michael F. Engel Escobar Eshoo Espaillat Evans Finkenauer Fletcher Foster Frankel Fudge Gallego Garamendi Garcia (IL) Garcia (TX) Golden Gomez Gonzalez (TX) Gottheimer Green, Al (TX) Grijalva Haaland Harder (CA) Hayes Heck Higgins (NY) Hill (CA) Himes Horn, Kendra S. Horsford Houlahan Hoyer Huffman Jackson Lee Jayapal Jeffries Johnson (GA) Johnson (TX) Keating Kelly (IL) Kennedy Khanna Kildee Kilmer Kim Kind Kirkpatrick Krishnamoorthi Kuster (NH) Lamb Langevin Larsen (WA) Larson (CT) Lawrence Lawson (FL) Lee (CA) Lee (NV) Levin (CA) Levin (MI) Lewis Lieu, Ted Lipinski Loebsack Lofgren Lowenthal Lowey Lujan Luria Lynch Malinowski Maloney, Carolyn B. Maloney, Sean Mast Matsui McAdams McBath McCollum McEachin McGovern McNerney Meeks Meng Moore Morelle Mucarsel-Powell Murphy Nadler Napolitano Neal Neguse Norcross O'Halleran Ocasio-Cortez Omar Pallone Panetta Pappas Pascrell Payne Perlmutter Peters Peterson Phillips Pingree Pocan Porter Pressley Price (NC) Quigley Raskin Rice (NY) Rose (NY) Rouda Roybal-Allard Ruiz Ruppersberger Rush Sanchez Sarbanes Scanlon Schakowsky Schiff Schneider Schrier Scott (VA) Scott, David Serrano Sewell (AL) Shalala Sherman Sherrill Sires Slotkin Smith (WA) Soto Spanberger Speier Stanton Stevens Suozzi Takano Thompson (CA) Thompson (MS) Titus Tlaib Tonko Torres (CA) Torres Small (NM) Trahan Trone Underwood Van Drew Vargas Veasey Vela Velazquez Visclosky Wasserman Schultz Waters Watson Coleman Welch Wexton Wild Yarmuth NOES--184 Aderholt Allen Amash Amodei Armstrong Arrington Babin Bacon Baird Balderson Banks Barr Bergman Biggs Bilirakis Bishop (UT) Bost Brady Brooks (AL) Brooks (IN) Buchanan Buck Bucshon Budd Burchett Burgess Byrne Calvert Carter (GA) Carter (TX) Chabot Cheney Cline Cloud Cole Collins (GA) Collins (NY) Comer Conaway Cook Crawford Crenshaw Curtis Davidson (OH) Davis, Rodney DesJarlais Diaz-Balart Duffy Duncan Dunn Emmer Estes Ferguson Fitzpatrick Fleischmann Flores Fortenberry Foxx (NC) Fulcher Gaetz Gallagher Gianforte Gibbs Gohmert Gonzalez (OH) Gooden Gosar Granger Graves (GA) Graves (LA) Graves (MO) Green (TN) Griffith Grothman Guest Guthrie Hagedorn Harris Hartzler Hern, Kevin Herrera Beutler Hice (GA) Higgins (LA) Hill (AR) Holding Hollingsworth Hudson Huizenga Hunter Hurd (TX) Johnson (OH) Johnson (SD) Jordan Joyce (OH) Joyce (PA) Katko Keller Kelly (MS) Kelly (PA) King (IA) King (NY) LaHood LaMalfa Lamborn Latta Lesko Long Loudermilk Luetkemeyer Marchant Marshall Massie McCarthy McCaul McClintock McHenry McKinley Meadows Meuser Miller Mitchell Moolenaar Mooney (WV) Newhouse Norman Nunes Olson Palazzo Palmer Pence Perry Posey Ratcliffe Reed Reschenthaler Rice (SC) Riggleman Roby Rodgers (WA) Roe, David P. Rogers (KY) Rose, John W. Rouzer Roy Rutherford Scalise Schweikert Scott, Austin Shimkus Simpson Smith (MO) Smith (NE) Smith (NJ) Smucker Spano Stauber Stefanik Steil Stewart Stivers Taylor Thompson (PA) Timmons Tipton Turner Upton Wagner Walberg Walden Walker Waltz Watkins Weber (TX) Webster (FL) Wenstrup Westerman Williams Wilson (SC) Wittman Womack Woodall Wright Yoho Zeldin NOT VOTING--23 Abraham Castro (TX) Gabbard Hastings Johnson (LA) Kaptur [[Page H5246]] Kinzinger Kustoff (TN) Lucas Moulton Mullin Richmond Rogers (AL) Rooney (FL) Ryan Schrader Sensenbrenner Steube Swalwell (CA) Thornberry Walorski Wilson (FL) Young {time} 1641 So the bill was passed. The result of the vote was announced as above recorded. A motion to reconsider was laid on the table. ____________________
All in House sectionPrev24 of 120Next