[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 30 (Tuesday, March 11, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H815-H816]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 THE MILITARY VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1997

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 21, 1997 the gentleman from Texas, [Mr. Sam Johnson] is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the voting rights of America's 
servicemen and servicewomen are being challenged. You know, in 1952, 
President Harry Truman said,

       Many of those in uniform are serving overseas or in parts 
     of the country distant from their homes. If they are unable 
     to return to their States, they are unable either to register 
     or to vote. Yet these men and women who are serving their 
     country and, in many cases risking their lives, deserve, 
     above all others, the right to vote in an election year. At a 
     time when these young people are defending our country and 
     its free institutions, the least we can do at home is make 
     sure they are able to enjoy the rights that they are being 
     asked to fight to preserve.

  Having been in the military, I can personally vouch for the 
importance of continuing the right of military personnel to vote in 
Federal, State, and local elections wherever they may be assigned in 
the world. During my 29 years in the Air Force, I often found myself 
thousands of miles away from my hometown of Plano, TX, but regardless 
of whether I was in Asia, Europe, or another far-off place, I was still 
a citizen of the United States and the State of Texas, and I shared the 
same interests and concerns as my fellow Texans.
  Through my years in the military I saw countless acts of sacrifice by 
members of our Armed Forces to protect and ensure the rights of others 
less fortunate than us. I cannot imagine coming to a time in our 
history when someone would take action to deny the right of our 
servicemen and servicewomen to vote.
  Unfortunately, that point was reached last November in Val Verde 
County in southern Texas when the votes of 800 military personnel were 
questioned in a general election. The margin in the sheriff's election 
was 257 votes, and for county commissioner it was 113. The Texas Rural 
Legal Aid has alleged that 800 military absentee ballots were 
improperly counted, and subsequently U.S. District Judge Fred Biery 
violated, in my view, the opinion and the will of the people and issued 
a preliminary injunction to prevent the sheriff and county commissioner 
from taking office. Texas Rural Legal Aid is a taxpayer funded group 
that is supposed to provide legal services for the poor. They receive 
about 80 percent of their funding from the Legal Services Corporation, 
an organization that is fully funded by U.S. taxpayers.
  While the Legal Services Corporation's purpose is supposed to provide 
legal services to the poor, it is frequently embroiled in controversial 
cases which it works to advance liberal social policies. In fact, in 
this particular case the Legal Service Corporation efforts have been to 
the detriment of the poor, who are in need of legal help, but because 
they are so consumed with the Val Verde case, there is no one to offer 
legal services for those truly in need.
  This raises a question: Does the taxpayer funded legal services 
agency have a political agenda? The lengths to which they are willing 
to go to make the case was illustrated in a 23-page questionnaire that 
was sent to all 800 military personnel whose ballots were rejected. 
They were instructed to return their notarized answers within 3 days.
  The questionnaire is intrusive and totally out of line. It asked for 
personal information such as ``What is the

[[Page H816]]

address where your spouse sleeps at night?'' and to top it all off, 
taxpayer money was used again to produce and mail this intrusive 
questionnaire.
  The response on Capitol Hill has been overwhelming. On January 6, 
Senators Gramm and Hutchinson and Representative Bonilla wrote to 
Attorney General Janet Reno and asked her to intervene on behalf of the 
military voters. The Department of Justice answered that they cannot 
act on this until a judgment is rendered. The Senators also received 
the Legal Service's chairman to investigate the lawsuit and cut off all 
Federal funds.
  On February 5, Senators Gramm and Hutchinson introduced the Military 
Voting Rights Act of 1997. This bill will guarantee the right of all 
active military personnel, Merchant Marine, and dependents to vote in 
Federal, State, and local elections. This same bill has been introduced 
in the House by Henry Bonilla and myself. We are fighting the battle 
here in Washington, and others are on the frontlines in Texas. A united 
front will stop this kind of reckless activism from encroaching on the 
rights of all Americans.
  I think this ridiculous lawsuit is a blatant challenge to the 
military's right to vote and sets a dangerous precedent for the denial 
of basic rights, the power of judges to interfere with valid election 
results. It used to be standard practice to impeach judges who nullify 
elections. Maybe it ought to be again.

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