[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 1 (Wednesday, January 23, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S8]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            ELECTION REFORM

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I commend both leaders for their comments 
about the proposed agenda. While I certainly am not in a position to 
comment on the merits or demerits of the various proposals that have 
been suggested, there is one item in which the distinguished Senator 
from Kentucky and I are particularly interested. We are grateful to the 
majority leader and the Republican leader for making specific reference 
to the election reform proposal the Senator from Kentucky, Mr. 
McConnell, Senator Bond, Senator Schumer, Senator Torricelli, Senator 
Durbin, and others have worked on to bring legislation to the point 
where we think we have a good product to present to our colleagues, to 
the Congress as a whole, ultimately to the President for his signature, 
and, more importantly, to the American people in response to a 
situation that did not merely occur in one State, in one election, but 
as we all know now for a number of years a slow deteriorating process 
of our election system to such a degree that it was crying out reform.
  While we have not solved every single problem, we think we have set 
up a mechanism for the first time to deal with election issues for the 
foreseeable future, under a proposal offered by my colleague from 
Kentucky, a permanent commission, which I think is an excellent 
suggestion. We deal with some fraud issues that Senator Bond thinks are 
very important if we are going to have an election reform issue. While 
we may not have dealt with every issue, we think we have taken a major 
step in addressing some of the concerns he has raised.
  For those of us who are interested in the disabled in this country, 
those who were denied an opportunity to vote who had a right to vote--
many studies indicate that happened in far more cases than any of us 
would like to admit--we think we have put together a pretty good 
package for which we are very proud. That is not to suggest we have 
dotted every ``i'' and crossed every ``t'' and thought about every 
possible reform or improvement, but we think we have about as good a 
product as could be presented to a body such as this for their 
consideration.
  I do not know what the agenda will be of the leadership, but I think, 
for myself and Senator McConnell, we are prepared to go forward when 
they would like us to go. Whenever that is appropriate, we are ready to 
present a proposal we think will enjoy very broad-based support, not 
only in this Chamber but throughout the country, including the National 
Association of Secretaries of State and others who have worked with us, 
and various other organizations around the country that are deeply 
interested in the election process.
  I see my friend from Kentucky, to whom I would be happy to yield, but 
I say first when the bell rings and the leadership decides it is 
appropriate, these two Members and others who joined us and are 
prepared to present a proposal that we hope will enjoy the kind of 
support for which we think it is deserving.
  I yield to my friend from Kentucky.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I echo the remarks of my good friend 
from Connecticut. Election reform had the potential of being an 
intensely partisan issue. While we know that may still develop, let me 
say we have had all of those discussions over the last 6 months in our 
negotiating process, and we have now come together with the hope we 
will be able to go forward in a totally bipartisan way to improve the 
election system in this country.
  As the Senator from Connecticut, who has provided outstanding 
leadership on this issue, has indicated, we have dealt with the fraud 
issue, which is important to a lot of people on this side of the aisle. 
No one has been a more forceful advocate for removing barriers for the 
disabled to exercise the franchise. Senator Dodd carried that ball very 
effectively in our negotiations.
  I thought we needed a permanent repository for this kind of 
expertise, so we set up a commission with Presidential appointees 
equally divided between Republicans and Democrats. It would be the one 
place in America that States and localities could go for objective 
advice, not somebody knocking on the door trying to sell them a 
particular system but objective advice about the best way to meet their 
particular election needs.
  We did not wipe out any particular election system in America. We did 
not mandate the use of any particular election system. We did provide 
some real money that would be dispensed on a matching fund basis by 
this Presidential commission to those who were interested in upgrading 
their system.
  I think we have come forward with a good bill, and I thank my friend 
from Connecticut for his leadership on this subject. I have been happy 
to join with him on it. If and when we do go to this--and we think it 
will be early in the session--we would encourage people to offer 
amendments that are related to the subject. We think this is a bill 
that needs to move along, not be bogged down in extraneous matters 
unrelated to the subject.
  Again, I thank the Senator from Connecticut. I look forward to 
working with him. We are ready to go whenever the leaders decide this 
is the subject matter before us.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.

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