[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 123 (Wednesday, September 25, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H6682-H6685]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MOTION TO INSTRUCT CONFEREES ON H.R. 3295, HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT OF
2001
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion.
The Clerk read as follows:
Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas moves that the managers
on the part of the House at the conference on the disagreeing
votes of the two Houses on the Senate amendments to the bill
H.R. 3295 be instructed to take such actions as may be
appropriate to ensure that a conference report is filed on
the bill prior to October 1, 2002.
{time} 1945
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pence). Pursuant to clause 7 of rule
XXII, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson) and the
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney) each will control 30 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice
Johnson).
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such
time as I may consume.
This motion instructs the conferees on H.R. 3295, the Help America
Vote Act, to complete their work and file a conference report prior to
October 1, 2002.
[[Page H6683]]
Mr. Speaker, less than a week ago I joined a number of Members at
this podium and recounted how allegations of voter intimidation,
inaccurate voter registration lists, arbitrary ballot counting
standards, and antiquated machinery deprived so many citizens of their
right to vote and have their vote counted during the 2000 election.
Recent primary elections in Florida and elsewhere have only confirmed
that the problems of 2000 will not go away until we pass and enact
meaningful election reform legislation reform standards, and we must
also provide State and local authorities with resources to improve
their election systems from top to bottom.
It is really very simple, and so I ask how many times do we have to
come to this podium and plead for reform.
I am here to tell my colleagues that we will come before them I guess
as many times as it takes. This is a number one priority for the
Congressional Black Caucus because we believe so strongly in democracy,
and this is the crux of democracy. There is no democracy when we shut
out the first amendment right and not allow people to cast their votes
that are eligible and have those votes counted.
So we cannot be silenced until this body answers the call for
election reform. We in Congress have within our power, indeed almost
within our very grasp, legislation that will take giant strides to
remedy the disenfranchisement of the last election. It has not been an
easy fight to get where we are today, but we are just inches away from
the comprehensive legislation that will secure the constitutional right
to vote for millions of Americans. We must pass this bill, and we must
send it to the President for his signature before another day passes.
I am proud to say that in the fight for election reform we have had
many foot soldiers. I want to thank the gentleman from Maryland (Mr.
Hoyer), who has been battling every day since the 2000 elections to
extend these important protections to all of our Nation's voters. His
leadership is getting us to where we are today on this legislation. It
has been limitless, and I thank him for everything he has done.
In that same spirit, I must also thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr.
Ney) for his hard work in helping us bridge the differences between the
two bills. Indeed, I believe that all members of the conference
committee deserve our gratitude for their work on this challenging
task.
We also have had the terrific support from our colleagues from the
other Chamber, and I would like to especially commend the efforts of
Senator Christopher Dodd, who has worked alongside the caucus and the
civil rights communities to make certain that the issues we care about
most deeply are being addressed in the final bill.
Finally, I must thank my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus
and, in particular, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) and the
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) for working tirelessly. We
have invested so much energy and so much passion in seeing the goal of
making every vote count realized, and now I salute all of the people
who have remained steadfast.
As many of my colleagues know, the CBC has been holding hearings and
forums and speaking out continuously for the past 21 months on this
issue. I believe when it comes to election reform, yet again, we have
served as the conscience of the Congress.
Soon after the Supreme Court announced its decision on Bush v. Gore,
the caucus resolved to develop legislation that addressed these
spectacular failures in the 2000 election. We resolved to make that
legislation our number one priority.
We fought hard to get the Help America Vote Act introduced and passed
by the House of Representatives, and we worked with the Senate to make
sure that the protections they passed were even stronger than those
contained in our bill.
Mr. Speaker, these bills are not far apart and we cannot reconcile
them. This is why I stand here before my colleagues today to encourage
conferees to complete their work and send us a bill that can be signed
into law.
We also know that the legislation before the conferees is not
perfect. I do not think I have ever seen a perfect bill, but it is a
tremendous first step toward meaningful reform. The legislation will
help protect and secure an electoral system in which all Americans are
able to register as voters, remain on the rolls once registered, and
vote free from harassment.
Mr. Speaker, our democracy begins and ends with the fundamental right
to vote. Congress must act immediately to ensure that every American
has the right to vote and to have their votes counted.
Time is running out for the 107th Congress. We have come so close to
the compromise, and the price for not passing election reform is far
too high. It is imperative that the conference committee finish their
hard work and come to an agreement before October 1 because we cannot
afford to let this opportunity slip away.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair will remind Members that it is not
in order to cast reflections on the Senate; that it is not in order to
refer to a Senator except as provided in clause 1 of rule XVII.
Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I stand tonight applauding the efforts of our colleague,
the gentlewoman from Texas; and I stand to support this motion to
instruct. As we like to say around here, work, work, and we mean it
this time on this. It is a good thing to do.
The Help America Vote Act could not be here if it were not for my
colleague from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) and all the other Members on both
sides of the aisle that supported this measure. It is a crucial
measure. It is important to every citizen in the United States, and the
conference committee has to continue to communicate, communicate with
the advocacy groups, local election officials, everybody who has this
bill near and dear to their heart.
I commend the gentlewoman from Texas, all of those who have worked so
hard for this bill. We cannot lose this bill. We have to continue to
work. I know we are running out of time, but I am sure that many minds
can come together and can produce a product that we are going to be
proud of long after we are not serving in this body.
The Help America Vote Act is good for the Nation. I fully support the
gentlewoman's motion to instruct.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to
the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me the
time.
I want to congratulate her and thank her for the extraordinary job
that she has done over the last 18 months on this particular issue. She
has been tireless in her efforts to promote the assurance that every
American not only has the right to vote but that every American will
have their vote counted correctly.
I also want to mention two of my very good friends and colleagues on
the floor, the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Brown) and the gentlewoman
from Florida (Mrs. Meek), two members from Florida who firsthand
experienced and their constituents experienced the difficulties of
voting in November of 2000.
I also want to recognize the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney), our
chairman, who has done such an outstanding job getting us to this
point. Without his measured and effective leadership, we would not be
where we are.
I want to go back to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice
Johnson) because as chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus and
vice chair of the Democratic Caucus Special Committee on Election
Reform she has tirelessly advocated that the 107th Congress keep its
eye on the prize and pass meaningful, comprehensive election reform.
Mr. Speaker, in only 42 days this Nation will hold its first Federal
election since November 2000. Nobody can predict with certainty how
smoothly those elections will go. Certainly we experienced a primary in
Florida that did not go well. After almost 2 years, studying what went
wrong in November 2000, I am convinced that confidence in this Nation's
election system will not be restored until this Congress
[[Page H6684]]
enacts meaningful national standards and offers State and local
authorities the resources to improve their election infrastructure.
I am pleased to report, as the chairman has said, that Congress is on
the threshold of doing just that, thanks in large measure to my
colleague and good friend from Ohio (Mr. Ney), whom I have already
mentioned. We are closer than ever to enacting the most comprehensive
package of voting reforms since the Voting Rights Act of 1965, reforms
that will require States to offer provisional ballots to all voters;
reforms that will require States to maintain state-wide computerized
registration lists to ensure the most accurate, up-to-date rolls and
minimize the number of voters who are incorrectly removed from the
rolls; reform that will reward States for retiring obsolete voting
machines, especially the notorious punch card machines and their
dangling chads; reforms that will require voting systems to be
accessible to all individuals with disabilities, including nonvisual
accessibility for the blind; reforms that will allow voters to review
and correct their ballots before they are ultimately cast. We call that
second-chance voting. Every voter ought to be assured that their vote
is correctly cast and will be accurately counted.
Reform that does not weaken, let me reiterate this, reforms that do
not weaken any existing voting rights laws and includes meaningful
enforcement; reform that ensures military and civilian voters who live
and work overseas are able to vote and have their vote counted.
Mr. Speaker, this motion is intended to ensure that we on the
conference committee complete our work prior to October 1, 2002. Given
the extraordinary progress the conference committee has made in the
past 14 days, there is no legitimate reason we cannot meet that
deadline. I know the chairman shares my view on that. Indeed, given the
larger context in which we operate, I would submit that this Congress
has a moral responsibility and obligation to enact election reform
before we adjourn the 107th Congress.
Mr. Speaker, over the last year, this country has committed vast
resources to ridding the world of those who would employ the tools of
terror to destroy systems of government that derive their legitimacy
from the ballot box. In just the past few weeks, we in Congress have
been challenged to contemplate the use of overwhelming military might
to bring to heel one of the great despots of the past 50 years, a
figure whose utter contempt for democracy and the people he rules is
the only reason he has held power for so long.
{time} 2000
As we consider such profound measures to extend democracy where it
does not now exist and strengthen it where it is fragile, we have an
urgent, moral responsibility to do the same at home. I urge adoption of
this motion. I congratulate the chairman for his support of this motion
and last week's motion to urge us to complete our work. This motion is
timely. Passage is late, but it is never too late to do the right
thing.
Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to
the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Brown).
Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, today, September 24, I stand
before this body in our Nation's Capitol, nearly 2 years after the
Supreme Court selected the President of the United States. To this day
nothing has been done, while the American people wait and wait. No new
laws have been signed. No agreements have been reached to correct the
2000 election problems.
In fact, the Bush administration clearly shows that election reform
is not a part of their agenda. Immediately after the 2000 election, the
only legislative item that was brought up has been tax cuts, tax cuts,
tax cuts. It does matter who is in charge. I heard one of the committee
chairmen on television discussing Congress giving war powers to the
President, and he said over and over again, over and over again, the
President is the only person that is elected by all of the people.
Time out. Did I miss something? Over 500,000 Americans voted for Al
Gore. Al Gore, not George W. Bush. The Supreme Court decided on a 5-4
decision that George W. Bush would be the President, and to date
nothing has been done to correct it.
Let me tell Members about Florida. With 16 million people, Florida
spent just $32 million for election reform efforts. Just to the north
of us, Georgia, with 8 million, spent $54 million. In an effort to
distract the American public from issues like election reform, health
care and prescription drug coverage, which was promised to our seniors,
in the middle of a mid-term election we are distracted by a war. I
think the American people need to weigh in; and if we want to take the
questions about the election out, then we need to pass a bill and move
forward with election reform.
Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to
the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Meek).
Mrs. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for
yielding me this time, the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the motion to instruct the
election reform conferees to produce a conference report and produce it
as soon as possible. Election reform is long overdue. We continually
come to this podium and stress the importance of election reform, but
no one seems to be listening. That is, those people who are in the
leadership are not listening. If they were, election reform would have
come to the floor many, many months ago.
How many more voting catastrophes like the week before last in
Florida will be required for this Congress to get the message that our
people need real election reform, and they need it now? I am just
wondering how many more catastrophes must happen.
I do not have enough time to detail all of the many problems that are
wrong with elections in this country, not only in south Florida, but
manifested much more strongly in south Florida. I have read the same
newspaper and magazine accounts that other Members have read,
suggesting that election reform conferees have not yet been able to
work out their differences. I do not see why there should be so many
differences in a right that the Constitution gives each of us. It is
perplexing to me, and it appears that election reform may be dead for
this particular session just because of this kind of treatment.
This outcome is absolutely unacceptable. It is unacceptable to the
people of the United States of America that we as a Congress cannot
pass an election reform bill. We can send it to the President for his
signature before this session ends. That is extremely important, Mr.
Speaker. The voting of the last 2 weeks revealed the many problems that
plagued the 2000 Presidential election. Why does it take so long to get
the idea? So we are back again. It is a nightmare.
Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to
the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).
(Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise
and extend her remarks.)
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, let me add my appreciation to
the conferees on the House side, and particularly the gentleman from
Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney) for the
diligent work that they have offered. Let me also acknowledge and give
appreciation to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson),
the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, and someone who has
captured the essence of the vitality of this legislation by pushing and
encouraging its passage.
I rise to support this motion to instruct, particularly on the basis
of the hard work of the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Brown) and the
gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Meek) and the gentleman from Florida
(Mr. Hastings), as well as the Democratic Task Force which I had an
opportunity to participate in. I say that because we have seen around
the country in every place that we have gone hearings that have
indicated the great need for election reform.
The work that was done in the Committee on the Judiciary, of which I
am
[[Page H6685]]
a member, headed by the legislative initiative of the gentleman from
Michigan (Mr. Conyers), the ranking member, captured the ailments, the
illness of the election system and tried to put together a legislative
initiative that was encompassing, that was embracing, that answered the
questions about the many horror stories we heard in November 2000:
individuals turned away; intimidation at the polls; people who
registered to vote and yet were turned away. It is imperative before we
go into the Federal elections that we come together in a consensus and
pass election reform.
I do feel that the House conferees have been working together in
moving toward final passage, and I believe the other body has the same
amount of focus. It is now time to set a time frame for us and not let
this legislation die in this session. I do not believe anyone desires
it to do so. I believe the American people want to see election reform.
Mr. Speaker, after 9-11 when we have all recommitted ourselves to the
values of this Nation, the values of democracy and freedom and equality
and the right to speak one's mind, it would be a tribute to again
reinforce our values by passing such a legislative initiative as
election reform.
Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, who has the right to close?
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Putnam). The gentlewoman from Texas (Ms.
Eddie Bernice Johnson) has the right to close.
Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute.
Mr. Speaker, this is an important motion to instruct. I appreciate
the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson) for her insight
and her input into this process. All of the speakers that participated
tonight have added greatly to the process. This is an important
measure. America needs it, and I appreciate this motion to instruct
because it will give us an additional push and say this is the sense of
the House. I urge all of my colleagues on this side of the aisle to
support the motion to instruct.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such
time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, we have heard some powerful words this evening from my
colleagues on how important it is that Congress pass election reform
legislation, and pass it quickly. Although it will not affect the
November elections, they are approaching and there simply is no time to
waste.
As we all know, the most fundamental issue facing all of us during
this Congress is restoring the public's faith in democracy. To restore
that faith in democracy, we must make sure that every vote cast is
counted. We have said repeatedly that we have been attacked because of
the jealously of our freedom. We must make that freedom real, and the
only way we can do that is to make sure that every vote cast is counted
and is cast without intimidation.
The legislation we have passed will take important steps toward
protecting the sacred right to vote. It is time that we take action.
House and Senate conferees have come so close to a compromise on H.R.
3295 and now they must finish the job. I call upon members of the
conference committee to reach agreement before October 1 and submit the
legislation to us for final passage. I am in strong support of this
motion to instruct.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate on the motion to
instruct has expired.
Without objection, the previous question is ordered on the motion to
instruct.
There was no objection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to instruct
offered by the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson).
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the
yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
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