    [House Hearing, 115 Congress]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

     MARKUP OF: H.R. 634, ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION TERMINATION ACT;
      H.R. 133, TO REDUCE FEDERAL SPENDING AND THE DEFICIT BY TERMINATING
     TAXPAYER FINANCING OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGNS; AND COMMITTEE
      RESOLUTION 115-4, THE COMMITTEE'S VIEWS AND ESTIMATES ON THE FISCAL
                                   YEAR 2018

    =======================================================================

                                    MARKUP

                                   before the

                               COMMITTEE ON HOUSE
                                 ADMINISTRATION
                            HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                         ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 FIRST SESSION

                                   __________

                                FEBRUARY 7, 2017

                                   __________

          Printed for the use of the Committee on House Administration

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                           Available on the Internet:
       http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/house/administration/index.html

                                       ______

                             U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

    25-191                         WASHINGTON : 2017
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
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                       Committee on House Administration

                      GREGG HARPER, Mississippi, Chairman
    RODNEY DAVIS, Illinois, Vice         ROBERT A. BRADY, Pennsylvania,
        Chairman                           Ranking Member
    BARBARA COMSTOCK, Virginia           ZOE LOFGREN, California
    MARK WALKER, North Carolina          JAMIE RASKIN, Maryland
    ADRIAN SMITH, Nebraska
    BARRY LOUDERMILK, Georgia

     MARKUP OF: H.R. 634, ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION TERMINATION ACT;
      H.R. 133, TO REDUCE FEDERAL SPENDING AND THE DEFICIT BY TERMINATING
     TAXPAYER FINANCING OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGNS; AND COMMITTEE
      RESOLUTION 115-4, THE COMMITTEE'S VIEWS AND ESTIMATES ON THE FISCAL
                                   YEAR 2018

                                  ----------

                           TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

                              House of Representatives,
                             Committee on House Administration,
                                                        Washington, DC.
        The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 11:55 a.m., in Room
    1310, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Gregg Harper
    [Chairman of the Committee] presiding.
        Present: Representatives Harper, Davis, Comstock, Walker,
    Smith, Loudermilk, Brady, Lofgren, and Raskin.
        Staff Present: Sean Moran, Staff Director; Katie Patru,
    Deputy Staff Director for Outreach and Communications; Kim
    Betz, Senior Advisor; Cole Felder, Counsel; C. Maggie Moore,
    Legislative Clerk; Erin McCracken, Communications Director; Rob
    Taggart, Deputy Legislative Clerk/Oversight; Alex Attebery,
    Staff Assistant; Jamie Fleet, Minority Staff Director; Matt
    Pinkus, Minority Senior Policy Advisor; Khalil Abboud, Minority
    Chief Counsel; Eddie Flaherty, Minority Chief Clerk; and
    Meredith Connor, Minority Staff Assistant.
        The Chairman. I now call to order the Committee on House
    Administration for today's Committee meeting. A quorum is
    present so we may proceed. The meeting record will remain open
    for 5 legislative days so that Members may submit any materials
    that they wish to be included therein.
        There are three items that we have on our docket today.
    First, H.R. 634, eliminating the Election Assistance
    Commission; second, H.R. 133, eliminating the Presidential
    Election Campaign Fund; and, finally, Committee Resolution 115-
    4, the Committee's Views and Estimates on the Fiscal Year 2018.
        Our first measure, H.R. 634, ends the Election Assistance
    Commission. H.R. 634 transfers the Election Assistance
    Commission's few remaining functions to the Federal Election
    Commission. It is my firm belief that the EAC has outlived its
    usefulness and purpose. When first created after the 2000
    election, the EAC was established to distribute money to States
    to upgrade voting machines and make improvements to election
    processes. Early on, the EAC distributed more than $3.1 billion
    to States for these purposes. However, over the last several
    years, the EAC has yet to receive additional funding.
    Notwithstanding the lack of resources, the temporary agency
    remains. Most of its functions have come to a close, and those
    remaining are easily transferable to the Federal Election
    Commission. Almost all of its mandated reports have been
    issued. The EAC's testing and certification program for voting
    machines is, for the most part, unused. For the past several
    years, the EAC has had so little substantive responsibility
    that it has spent more than half its budget on overhead
    expenses. It is time for the EAC to be officially ended.
        The next measure we will consider is H.R. 133, which
    eliminates the Presidential Election Campaign Fund altogether.
    In the 113th Congress, I introduced the Gabriella Miller Kids
    First Research Act. This important bill, which was later
    enacted, redirected millions of dollars in taxpayer money away
    from political parties' national conventions and put it toward
    enhancing pediatric research based upon collaboration. Today,
    we will consider H.R. 133, introduced by Representative Tom
    Cole, which eliminates the Presidential Election Campaign Fund
    altogether and uses it to return funds to supplement the 10-
    year Pediatric Research Initiative Fund to fight childhood
    diseases and reduce the Federal deficit.
        In 2008, Barack Obama became the first candidate to reject
    the use of this funding for the general election, opting
    instead to use privately raised funds. Since then, no major
    primary candidate nor party Presidential nominee has accepted
    general election grants. It is clear that this fund is
    antiquated and no longer in step, with taxpayers making their
    own decisions to support a candidate. These funds can and
    should be used for a greater purpose.
        The last item before us is Committee Resolution 115-4, the
    Committee's Views and Estimates of the Fiscal Year 2018. The
    Congressional Budget Act of 1974 requires Congressional
    committees to submit to the Committee on the Budget their views
    and estimates of Federal programs that will have a significant
    budgetary impact. The Committee will continue its work to
    conduct oversight and identify future potential savings at the
    Federal Election Commission. One way to reduce the budget needs
    of the FEC is to eliminate the Presidential Election Campaign
    Fund, which will be accomplished by one of the measures before
    us today.
        Lastly, the Committee supports the House's work of
    coordinating cybersecurity practices and policies across the
    legislative branch. As an institution, we must work to be in
    step with today's technology and work hard to protect data that
    we rely on each and every day.
        I would now like to recognize my colleague and the
    Committee's Ranking Member, Mr. Brady, for the purpose of
    providing an opening statement.
        Mr. Brady.
        Mr. Brady. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Mr. Chairman, despite its important mission, this is the
    latest of many repeated attempts to abolish the Election
    Assistance Commission. I have opposed these efforts in the
    past, and I oppose them again today. The EAC is the only
    Federal agency charged with making elections more fair,
    accurate, accessible, and efficient. Election administrators
    across the country faced extraordinary challenges during the
    2016 election when hackers tried to access voter registration
    database in more than 20 States. And the United States Senate
    Select Intelligence Committee recently launched a bipartisan
    investigation into foreign interference in the Presidential
    election. The EAC provided key support to States and
    municipalities facing these unprecedented difficulties, and
    they will continue to do so as they prepare for the next
    election. This is a time when we should be focusing on
    strengthening the only Federal agency charged with making
    elections work for all Americans, not trying to eliminate it.
    And I will also have an amendment to do just that.
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        The Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Brady.
        I would now ask if any other Member of the Committee wishes
    to be recognized for the purpose of providing an opening
    statement. First, on the Republican side?
        Democratic side?
        Mr. Raskin. If I might. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        You know, most democratic countries on Earth have a Federal
    election commission, a national election commission, that
    oversees the integrity and the honesty of the vote count and
    deals with all of the manifold problems that present themselves
    in an election system. We have just the Federal Election
    Commission which is focused just on campaign finance and whose
    dysfunction is infamous. The Election Assistance Commission was
    an attempt to bring some modernization and focus to our
    electoral process. And so, you know, I would prefer if we went
    in the other direction and we doubled down on it and we really
    tried to deal with the repeated assaults on people's voting
    rights and the lack of uniformity and the chaos that often
    afflicts our elections.
        So, with that, I guess I will just say I am very open to
    listening to the critique of the Election Assistance
    Commission, and maybe there are things that we can do to reform
    it, to bolster it, to make it more effective. But I think that
    simply disbanding it at this point sends completely the wrong
    message about our commitment to integrity and uniformity in our
    elections.
        And I yield back. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
        The Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Raskin.
        Any other Members wish to be heard?
        I would now call up and lay before the Committee H.R. 634,
    a bill to eliminate the Election Assistance Commission.
        Without objection, the first reading is dispensed with, and
    the bill is considered read and open for amendment.
        [The bill follows:]

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        The Chairman. Would any Member like to make a statement or
    an amendment?
        Mr. Brady.
        Mr. Brady. Yes, Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment in the
    nature of a substitute.
        [The amendment of Mr. Brady follows:]

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        The Chairman. Okay.
        Mr. Brady. Again, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        The EAC was created by my friend, our Democratic whip,
    Steny Hoyer. And on a bipartisan basis, after the 2000
    election, it has made significant progress toward improving
    elections administrations across the country over the past 15
    years. The EAC provides local and State election officials with
    best practices information and voting machine certifications
    and other critical support. Last year, the Commission's Be
    Ready `16 effort helped more than 8,000 independently operating
    election jurisdictions in the country prepare for election day.
    At a time when elections administrations are facing serious
    difficulties from threats from foreign hackers to outdated and
    failing voting machines, it is critical that the EAC is
    equipped with the tools it needs. That is why I urge my
    colleagues on this Committee to support this amendment to
    reauthorize the EAC until 2022. The amendment also provides
    necessary funding for requirements payments to States to be
    used for the upgrading of security of voter registration
    process and database and requires the EAC to undertake an
    assessment of its own cybersecurity and IT systems. These
    provisions will ensure that most States' Federal elections
    administrators are in the position to adequately guard against
    attempted foreign influence in our elections. The EAC needs
    reformed, not replaced. And my amendment does just that.
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        The Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Brady.
        Are there any other Members who wish to be recognized on
    the offered amendment?
        Ms. Lofgren, you are recognized.
        Ms. Lofgren. I just want to speak in favor of Mr. Brady's
    amendment. You know, thinking back to the creation of the
    Election Assistance Commission, this wasn't a Democratic plan,
    and it wasn't a Republican plan. It was a bipartisan effort.
    Why? Because we all knew that there were problems with the
    administration of elections, and the election in 2000 was a
    mess. And rather than just worry about it, we worked together,
    Democrats and Republicans, to put together this Commission.
    Now, it is not perfect. And I think Mr. Brady's amendment does
    some important things to improve it. But to think that in light
    of the information we have received that databases are being
    attacked by Russia, that we have potential cyber holes in some
    of our voting systems, and at a time when some in politics are
    casting doubt on the integrity of the voting system itself, now
    is not the time to do away with the only entity at the Federal
    level that is obliged to try and secure the system itself. If
    not for an outcome, just for the integrity of the voting
    system. I think that Mr. Brady's amendment makes important
    improvements. But the important thing is it wouldn't eliminate
    the Election Assistance Commission. For the life of me, I
    really don't understand what the rush is, what the impetus is
    to eliminate instead of repair and reform this important
    effort. So I hope that we can support Mr. Brady's amendment and
    do so on a bipartisan basis as we did when the Commission
    itself was created.
        And, with that, I would yield back.
        The Chairman. Thank you, Ms. Lofgren.
        Are there any other Members who wish to be recognized on
    the offered amendment?
        Mr. Raskin. Mr. Chair.
        The Chairman. Mr. Raskin, you are recognized.
        Mr. Raskin. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. I add my
    voice in support of the Ranking Member's amendment in the
    nature of a substitute. We have just come out of a Presidential
    election which has been roundly criticized on all sides for
    various inadequacies and problems that arose. Sixteen
    intelligence agencies of the United States, our entire
    intelligence community, issued a report demonstrating, at least
    to my satisfaction, that there was a deliberate campaign of
    cyber sabotage, espionage, fake news, and propaganda directed
    at the Presidential campaign by Vladimir Putin and agents of
    the Russian Government from Moscow. President Trump himself has
    said that there were 3 to 4 million fraudulent votes cast. And
    there have been criticisms in a number of the States of various
    legal changes that have taken place. Those changes actually
    took place in the context of the Supreme Court's 5-to-4 ruling
    in Shelby County v. Holder, which removed the heart of the
    Voting Rights Act by essentially emasculating the pre-clearance
    requirement, which had been in place for 50 years. So this was
    first Presidential election in a half century where we did not
    have the advanced protections of the Voting Rights Act for the
    pre-clearance of changes taking place at the State level. And
    so I think it would send a dangerous message to the people of
    the United States and to the world for us now to essentially
    abolish the only Federal agency we have tasked with looking at
    the problems in our election system. And I think that the
    Ranking Member's idea of reforming the Election Assistance
    Commission dealing with whatever problems have come up makes a
    lot more sense than simply scrapping it altogether.
        I yield back, thank you.
        The Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Raskin.
        Any other Members wishing to be heard on this amendment?
        Seeing none, the question is on the amendment offered to
    H.R. 634.
        All those in favor of this amendment, signify by saying
    aye.
        All those opposed, signify by saying nay.
        In the opinion of the chair, the nays have it, and the
    motion is not agreed to.
        Any other amendments?
        Mr. Brady. I request a recorded vote.
        The Chairman. A recorded vote has been requested. So the
    clerk will call the roll.
        The Clerk. Mr. Davis.
        Mr. Davis. Nay.
        The Clerk. Mr. Davis votes nay.
        Mrs. Comstock.
        Mrs. Comstock. Nay.
        The Clerk. Mrs. Comstock votes nay.
        Mr. Walker.
        Mr. Walker. Nay.
        The Clerk. Mr. Walker votes nay.
        Mr. Smith.
        Mr. Smith. Nay.
        The Clerk. Mr. Smith votes nay.
        Mr. Loudermilk.
        Mr. Loudermilk. Nay.
        The Clerk. Mr. Loudermilk votes nay.
        Mr. Brady.
        Mr. Brady. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Brady votes aye.
        Ms. Lofgren.
        Ms. Lofgren. Yes.
        The Clerk. Ms. Lofgren votes aye.
        Mr. Raskin.
        Mr. Raskin. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Raskin votes aye.
        Chairman Harper.
        The Chairman. No.
        The Clerk. Chairman Harper votes no.
        The ayes, three; noes, six.

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        The Chairman. The nays have it, and the amendment is not
    agreed to.
        Are there any other amendments?
        Ms. Lofgren is recognized for the purpose of presenting an
    amendment.
        Ms. Lofgren. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment. As I have
    indicated earlier, I think it is a big mistake to eliminate----
        The Chairman. The amendment is considered as read.
        [The amendment of Ms. Lofgren follows:]

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        Ms. Lofgren. Thank you--to eliminate the Commission itself.
    But if that is the intent of the majority, it seems that we
    should not do that at least until the EAC has provided--has
    completed a very important function, and that is administering
    the payments to States to allow them to upgrade their State
    voter registration databases and processes. This is a critical
    task and particularly in light of the attempted breaches of 20
    State voter registration databases last year. The EAC is the
    only Federal agency tasked with improving election
    administration. It is in a unique position to provide this
    important support to the States. And I think that, even if the
    majority believes the Commission should go away, this task
    needs to be completed first. You know, we are lucky in
    California. Our Secretary of State is also an electrical
    engineer and a computer savvy guy. He has really taken hold of
    this. But that is variable among the States.
        And to think that, although there is no evidence that the
    actual vote totals were tampered with by foreign aggressors,
    cyber aggressors, there is evidence of attempts to manipulate
    the voter registration database. It would be a mistake for us
    to think that you couldn't affect the outcome of an election in
    that way. And it could go either way. I mean, you could go and
    take a profile of individuals who are likely to vote Republican
    and mess with their registrations. Or, likewise, you could do
    the same thing to voters who are likely to vote Democrat. You
    could affect the impact--you could--the outcome of an election
    by manipulating the database. And so it is really, really
    important that all of the States have their database security
    in place. Some are ahead of others.
        But the EAC is in a key role to provide that assistance. So
    let's let them finish that. Even if you don't like--and I don't
    understand why--you don't like the other activities, it would
    really be a big, big mistake to eliminate this before that
    function is accomplished. So that is my amendment. I hope that
    we can agree to do this.
        With that, I would yield back.
        The Chairman. Thank you, Ms. Lofgren.
        Are there another other Members who wish to be heard on
    this amendment?
        Mr. Brady, you're recognized for 5 minutes.
        Mr. Brady. Mr. Chairman, I support Ms. Lofgren's amendment.
    We can't expect our local election officials to be
    cybersecurity experts, nor should they have to confront foreign
    governments trying to undermine our elections. This amendment
    supports them, and I hope that our colleagues will support it.
    Thank you.
        The Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Brady.
        Any other Members wishing to be heard on this?
        Mr. Raskin. Mr. Chair.
        The Chairman. Mr. Raskin, you are recognized for 5 minutes.
        Mr. Raskin. Thank you very much.
        I also support this and think it is absolutely essential if
    we are going to proceed with dissolving the Election Assistance
    Commission. Again, we all know the election that we just came
    out of. We know the findings of the intelligence agencies of
    the United States. We certainly don't want to turn a blind eye
    to the fact that there was cyber sabotage, cyber espionage, and
    an attempt to derail the electoral process of the world's first
    great democracy. And I think it is a very small concession on
    the part of the majority simply to say that we should upgrade
    the security of the States' voter registration lists and voter
    registration processes before we simply disband the whole
    process. And I hope that we would all be able to agree on a
    bipartisan basis that is something we can do.
        We have also learned that there continue to be a number of
    problems bedeviling the voter registration process. And this
    came out, of course, after the President asserted that there
    were millions of fraudulent votes cast. And turns out that
    there are lots of people affiliated with the Trump
    administration who are multiply registered in different States:
    Steve Bannon, Tiffany Trump, Sean Spicer, Jared Kushner, Steve
    Mnuchin. And that is not out of any act of malevolence on their
    part. It is simply because we are dealing with creaky and
    obsolescent systems that need to be reformed. And that was the
    whole genesis behind the Election Assistance Commission in the
    first place. They obviously have not finished their work in a
    number of areas. But certainly not in this most critical area.
    And I do hope that all of us would be able to support Ms.
    Lofgren's amendment.
        I yield back. Thank you.
        The Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Raskin.
        The question is now on the amendment offered by Ms. Lofgren
    to H.R. 634.
        All of those in favor of this amendment, signify by saying
    aye.
        All those opposed, signify by saying nay.
        In the opinion of the chair----
        Ms. Lofgren. Mr. Chairman, may I have a recorded vote?
        The Chairman [continuing]. And the motion is not agreed to.
        Ms. Lofgren. Could I have a recorded vote, please?
        The Chairman. There has been a recorded vote requested. So
    the clerk will call the roll.
        The Clerk. Mr. Davis.
        Mr. Davis. No.
        The Clerk. Mr. Davis votes no.
        Mrs. Comstock.
        Mrs. Comstock. No.
        The Clerk. Mrs. Comstock votes no.
        Mr. Walker.
        Mr. Walker. Nay.
        The Clerk. Mr. Walker votes nay.
        Mr. Smith.
        Mr. Smith. No.
        The Clerk. Mr. Smith votes no.
        Mr. Loudermilk.
        Mr. Loudermilk. Nay.
        The Clerk. Mr. Loudermilk votes nay.
        Mr. Brady.
        Mr. Brady. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Brady votes aye.
        Ms. Lofgren.
        Ms. Lofgren. Yes.
        The Clerk. Ms. Lofgren votes yes.
        Mr. Raskin.
        Mr. Raskin. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Raskin votes aye.
        Chairman Harper.
        The Chairman. Nay.
        The Clerk. Chairman Harper votes nay.
        The ayes, three; nays, six.

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        The Chairman. The nays have it, and the amendment is not
    agreed to.
        Are there any other amendments?
        Seeing none, I move the Committee favorably report H.R.
    634. The question is on the motion.
        All those in favor, signify by saying aye.
        All those opposed, signify by saying nay.
        In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it, and the
    motion is agreed to.
        A recorded vote has been requested. So the clerk will call
    the roll.
        The Clerk. Mr. Davis.
        Mr. Davis. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Davis votes aye.
        Mrs. Comstock.
        Mrs. Comstock. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mrs. Comstock votes aye.
        Mr. Walker.
        Mr. Walker. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Walker votes aye.
        Mr. Smith.
        Mr. Smith. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Smith votes aye.
        Mr. Loudermilk.
        Mr. Loudermilk. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Loudermilk votes aye.
        Mr. Brady.
        Mr. Brady. No.
        The Clerk. Mr. Brady votes no.
        Ms. Lofgren.
        Ms. Lofgren. No.
        The Clerk. Ms. Lofgren votes no.
        Mr. Raskin.
        Mr. Raskin. No.
        The Clerk. Mr. Raskin votes no.
        Chairman Harper.
        The Chairman. Aye.
        The Clerk. Chairman Harper votes aye.
        The ayes, six; noes, three.

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        The Chairman. The ayes have it, and the motion is agreed
    to.
        Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon
    the table.
        Does any Member wish to submit supplemental or minority
    views?
        Mr. Brady. Mr. Chairman, I announce that the minority will
    request 2 additional days provided by the House rules to submit
    minority views.
        Mr. Chairman, I also ask unanimous consent for the letters
    of support for the EAC be entered into the record.
        [The information follows:]

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        The Chairman. Pursuant to clause 2 of rule 11, that is
    without objection. Pursuant to clause 2 of rule 11, the member
    is entitled to 2 additional calendar days to file such views in
    writing and signed by the member and filed with the clerk of
    the Committee.
        And I will also ask unanimous consent to insert into the
    record a 2015 resolution from the National Association of
    Secretaries of State reaffirming resolutions from 2005 and 2010
    encouraging Congress not to reauthorize or fund the EAC.
        Without objection, that is entered into the record.
        [The information follows:]

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          The Chairman. I now call up and lay before the Committee
    H.R. 133.
        Without objection, the first reading is dispensed with, and
    the bill is considered read and open for amendment.
        [The bill follows:]

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        The Chairman. Would any Member like to make a statement?
        Mr. Davis. Mr. Chairman.
        The Chairman. I will first recognize the Ranking Member,
    Mr. Brady, 5 minutes.
        Mr. Brady. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Mr. Chairman, public finance has played a role in our
    Presidential election since 1976 when the PECF was first
    created in the wake of the Watergate scandal. The PECF allows
    taxpayers to voluntarily set aside $3 to contribute to the
    public financing of our elections. That is what the taxpayers
    wanted to do with $3. That was their clear intent.
        Over the past 40 years, Presidential candidates on both
    sides of the aisle have taken advantage of this funding. I know
    the recent candidates have not used this system, but that means
    the system needs to be improved, not repealed.
        My colleague Representative David Price of North Carolina
    has worked on this for years, and he has some very good ideas
    that the Committee should consider. Campaign finance reform is
    undoubtedly one of the most important and pressing issues we
    face. Outside groups spent nearly $1.5 billion to influence the
    2016 election. And the rise of anonymous unlimited corporate
    spending has made it increasingly difficult for individual
    citizens to have a voice in our elections. This is not the time
    to terminate the only public financing system at the Federal
    level, but it is the absolutely right time to make it better.
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        The Chairman. Any other Members wish to be heard?
        I now recognize Mr. Davis for 5 minutes.
        Mr. Davis. Thank you, Chairman Harper.
        I want to thank you for bringing this important piece of
    legislation to our attention. As history has shown us, since
    2008, participation by the candidates running for President has
    gone down. And as a matter of fact, every 2016 candidate for
    President--every major candidate shied away from using public
    funds, so much so we have a balance of $317 million sitting in
    the Presidential Election Campaign Fund.
        And, Chairman Harper, your bill would take $63 million of
    that and put it toward fighting pediatric cancer. During my
    tenure as a Member of Congress, I am thrilled this Committee
    has found a way to better appropriate the resources of the
    dying Presidential Election Campaign Fund. The rest of the
    money would go to paying down the national debt. I got to tell
    you, Chairman Harper, you and I have worked together on these
    issues. And I was personally touched by the story of one of my
    constituents, Jonny Wade, a courageous 8-year-old from my
    district, who passed away tragically this past year from a rare
    form of brain cancer on Christmas Eve of 2015. I rallied other
    Members during the State of the Union to wear our Team Jonny
    bracelets to show support for funding more pediatric cancer
    research. And I have worked with my colleagues to push more
    funds through the appropriations process. In 80 percent of
    children, when cancer is detected, it has already spread to
    other parts of the body. And unlike many adult cancers that can
    be diagnosed early, pediatric cancers are more difficult to
    detect.
        New therapies going under clinical trials at the NIH, such
    as CAR T-cell therapy, where a patient's T-cells are removed
    and engineered to fight cancer cells, are showing promise. But
    we need to do more to make sure that these therapies can
    improve and have a widespread impact to save children like
    Jonny Wade. And research funding for NIH, including that for
    the Gabriella Miller Kids First Act, can do just that. I fully
    support this legislation and urge my colleagues on this
    Committee to vote yes on H.R. 13e.
        The Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Davis.
        Are there any other Members wishing to be heard on H.R.
    133, the bill eliminating the Presidential Election Campaign
    Fund?
        Mrs. Comstock. Yes, Mr. Chairman.
        The Chairman. Mrs. Comstock, you are recognized for 5
    minutes.
        Mrs. Comstock. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I too appreciate
    your work that you have done on the Gabriella Miller Act. Mark
    and Ellyn Miller, Gabriella's parents, do live in my district.
    And so I appreciate that now that we have a situation where
    participation in this fund is--because exactly no major
    candidate of 2016--and that precedent was started in 2008--this
    is money that is sitting there that could be much better used
    for this purpose. And I appreciate the start that we made on
    this. And I think--in the past. And I think this additional
    money is very much needed and will be very much appreciated on
    this front. In terms of the outside spending increasing, I
    think that has really come as a result of campaign finance
    reform. So however we are going to deal with campaign finance
    reform--and I think we all have a lot of ideas on how to do
    that--this fund has died of its own, you know, lack of use. And
    it would be much better utilized for pediatric cancer. And, in
    fact, I might like to see more of that $317 million going
    toward that, but I could address that at another time. But I
    appreciate the work done here and support the measure.
        The Chairman. Thank you, Mrs. Comstock.
        Any other Members wishing to be heard on this?
        Would any Member like to offer an amendment?
        Seeing none, without objection, the amendment will be
    considered as read.
        Are there any other Members who wish to be recognized?
        Okay. So no amendment. So if not, I move that the Committee
    favorably report H.R. 133. The question is on the motion.
        All those in favor, signify by saying aye.
        All those opposed, signify by saying nay.
        In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it, and the
    motion is agreed to. And--yes.
        Mr. Brady. Mr. Chairman.
        The Chairman. Mr. Brady.
        Mr. Brady. I ask that the minority will request 2
    additional days provided by the House rules to submit minority
    views.
        Mr. Chairman, I also ask unanimous consent----
        The Chairman. Mr. Brady, if I may interrupt. There is a
    request for a recorded vote. I apologize. My apologies.
        Okay. So a recorded vote has been requested. So the clerk
    will call the roll.
        The Clerk. Mr. Davis.
        Mr. Davis. Yes.
        The Clerk. Mr. Davis votes yes.
        Mrs. Comstock.
        Mrs. Comstock. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mrs. Comstock votes aye.
        Mr. Smith.
        Mr. Smith. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Smith votes aye.
        Mr. Loudermilk.
        Mr. Loudermilk. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Loudermilk votes aye.
        Mr. Brady.
        Mr. Brady. No.
        The Clerk. Mr. Brady votes no.
        Ms. Lofgren.
        Ms. Lofgren. No.
        The Clerk. Ms. Lofgren votes no.
        Mr. Raskin.
        Mr. Raskin. No.
        The Clerk. Mr. Raskin votes no.
        Chairman Harper.
        The Chairman. Aye.
        The Clerk. Chairman Harper votes aye.
        The ayes, five; noes, three.

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        The Chairman. The ayes have it. The motion is agreed to.
        Mr. Brady.
        Mr. Brady. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        I announce that the minority will request 2 additional days
    provided by the House rules to submit minority views.
        Mr. Chairman, I also ask for unanimous consent for the
    letters of support for PECF to be entered into the record.
    Thank you.
        The Chairman. Without objection.
        [The information follows:]

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        The Chairman. I now call up and lay before the Committee
    Committee Resolution 115-4, the Committee's Views and Estimates
    for Fiscal Year 2018.
        Without objection, the first reading is dispensed with and
    the resolution is considered read and open for amendment.

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        Would any Member like to make a statement?
        The Chairman.
        Would any Member like to offer an amendment?
        Without objection, if not, no amendments, I move the
    Committee favorably report Committee Resolution 115-4.
        The question is on the motion.
        All those in favor, signify by saying aye.
        All those opposed, signify by saying nay.
        In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it, and the
    motion is agreed to.
        Mr. Brady. Mr. Chairman.
        The Chairman. Yes, sir, Mr. Brady.
        Mr. Brady. I announce that the minority will request 2
    additional days provided by the House rules to submit minority
    views.
        The Chairman. Without objection.
        Without objection, the motion is considered laid upon the
    table.
        For all the matters considered here today, I would ask
    unanimous consent that the staff be authorized to make
    technical and conforming changes if necessary.
        Without objection, so ordered.
        That concludes today's markup.
        Without objection, the markup is adjourned.
        [Whereupon, at 12:29 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.]

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