[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 127 (Wednesday, October 2, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H6948-H6951]
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
Mrs. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion to instruct
conferees on the Help America Vote Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion.
The Clerk read as follows:
Mrs. Meek of Florida 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--
(1) to convene a public meeting of the man-agers on the
part of the House and the managers on the part of the Senate;
and
(2) to ensure that a conference report is filed on the bill
prior to October 4, 2002.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
[[Page H6949]]
Florida (Mrs. Meek) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney) each will be
recognized for 30 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Meek).
Mrs. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, this motion instructs the conferees on H.R. 3295, the
election reform legislation, to complete their work and file a
conference report prior to October 4, 2002. I speak with a sense of
urgency, Mr. Speaker. It has been almost 2 years since the 2000
Presidential election, an election that created a crisis of confidence
in our Nation's election system. Last month we had a primary election
in Florida that reinforced the need for immediate action on election
reform, as it confirmed that many problems that plagued the 2000
Presidential election in Florida are continuing, Mr. Speaker.
{time} 1315
Mr. Speaker, it has been more than 9 months since the House of
Representatives passed the Help America Vote Act, H.R. 3295. It has
been more than 5 months since the Senate passed their version of
election reform legislation, Senate bill 765, the Martin Luther King,
Jr., Equal Protection of Voting Rights Act of 2002. The Senate passed
it by a vote of 99 to 1, yet the conferees still have not completed
this. There is a sense of urgency, I repeat.
Two weeks ago I spoke on the floor here in support of the motion to
instruct the election reform conferees offered by the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. Waters) instructing the conferees to file a conference
report by October 1, 2002. Everyone said the right thing about the need
to produce an election reform conference report by October 1, 2002, and
yet no conference report was filed. The clock is still ticking, Mr.
Speaker.
At that time, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney) remarked,
I believe that the conferees, Mr. Speaker, on the election
reform bill are within sight of an agreement that will bring
critically needed aid and assistance to improve elections in
the United States, and I believe this motion to instruct will
have a positive effect of reminding the conferees on both
sides of the aisle that reasonable negotiations are critical
to getting this conference report done in the very near
future.
The Chairman also observed,
There is much work left to be done, and I know we are
running out of time, but I believe we can meet that
challenge. I look forward to being on the floor in the near
future and enacting a bill with broad bipartisan support, a
bill that makes it easier to vote and harder to cheat, a bill
that would demonstrate to all Americans that this Congress
can put aside partisanship and improve the election process
for all of our citizens.
Last week I returned to the floor, Mr. Speaker, to speak in strong
support of this motion to instruct the election reform conferees
offered by my good friend the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice
Johnson), again directing the election reform conferees to produce a
conference report before October 1, 2002. Once again, everyone said
that the right thing at that time was the need for the conferees to
conclude their work, and yet, once again, an election reform conference
report has yet to be filed.
Mr. Speaker, I know that the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney), the
chairman, and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the ranking
member, and Senators Dodd, McConnell, Schumer, Bond, the gentleman from
Michigan (Mr. Conyers), the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters),
the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson), the gentleman
from Florida (Mr. Hastings), the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr.
Langevin), and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Blunt) have worked very
hard on the issue of election reform, and I thank all of them for their
efforts. Yet, Mr. Speaker, as the Washington Post observed in an
excellent editorial yesterday, it is long past the time for conferees
to work out their differences.
As the Post observed,
The negotiators see eye to eye on most aspects of the
legislation. Both sides agree that Federal grants should
support State election-reform efforts. They have agreed on
the size of this support: $3.5 billion over 5 years. They
agree that Federal standards should guarantee the basic
quality of elections: There should be accurate registers of
voters in each State; voters should get a chance to correct
their votes if they mess up their ballot first time around;
there should be access to the polls for voters with
disabilities. Both sides also agree that the goal of
encouraging participation in elections needs to be
balanced by vigilance against fraudulent participation.
The sticking points are modest by comparison.
How these issues get resolved matters less than whether
they get resolved: The worst of all outcomes is that the
legislation dies for lack of negotiating energy. A dozen
States have passed election-reform plans,
including my State of Florida,
that will be implemented only if Federal funding is
available; if these plans are left to languish, more disputed
elections lie in the future. At a time when the Nation's
political balance, both in the House and in the Senate, is so
nearly even, the importance of accurate vote counting ought
to be obvious. And at a time when voter turnout is at an all-
time low, bolstering public confidence in the machinery of
democracy is especially urgent.
Mr. Speaker, the Washington Post has it right. We need action on
election reform, and we need it now. I repeat, we need this now. This
is an urgent situation. Thus I am compelled to return to the floor
today to offer this motion instructing the conferees to complete their
work and file a conference report prior to October 4, 2002.
Mr. Speaker, need I say it again? Election reform is long overdue.
Wherever I travel, my constituents and many other Americans ask what is
going to be done about election reform; what are we going to do to
correct these problems in the election system? The confidence of the
Nation is being certainly inhibited by the lack of election reform. How
many more election day catastrophes, like last month's voting in
Florida, will be required for this Congress to get the message that our
people need a real election reform bill, and they need it now?
Mr. Speaker, we must protect the right to vote. Too many have
sacrificed too much to secure this right for any of us to shrink from
our responsibility to protect it. Equal protection of voting rights
laws requires an electoral system in which all Americans are able to
register as voters, remain on the rolls once registered, and vote free
from harassment. Ballots must not be misleading, and, again, every vote
must count. Every voter must count equally, and every vote must count.
I have read these newspapers over and over again, and I have read the
indication that election reform conferees have not yet been able to
work out their differences and suggesting that election reform,
therefore, may be dead this session. Election reform should not be dead
this session. As I noted last week, this outcome is absolutely
unacceptable to say that election reform is dead for this session. We
should be able to pass a strong election reform conference report and
send it to the President for his signature before this session ends.
Mr. Speaker, I do not question the conferees' good intentions. In
fact, I presume their good faith. But the time for words has passed. It
is time for action. It is time for the conferees to act. We need to get
this conference report done and report it out. I am here to remind all
of the conference members and the conferees of the gentleman from
Ohio's (Mr. Ney) comments that I quoted and encourage them to act on
it.
Mr. Speaker, we must not forget the lessons of the 2000 election and
last month's Florida fiasco. The most fundamental issue facing all of
us during this Congress is restoring the public's faith in democracy.
It appears that many of us have forgotten that, but it is extremely
important that we keep this in front of the American public. To restore
that faith in democracy, we must make sure that every vote cast is
counted. None of us can rest until we ensure that every vote counts and
is counted.
I urge all of my colleagues to support my motion to instruct election
reform conferees to file a conference report prior to October 4, 2002.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.
Let me just say I appreciate the gentlewoman's motion to instruct. We
are going to agree with the motion to instruct. In fact, I just want to
present this in the correct way. We are speaking, as we are speaking,
so, therefore, I am going to have to actually yield back the balance of
my time so we can go on and get this product done.
[[Page H6950]]
I am working with our colleague the gentleman from Maryland (Mr.
Hoyer) and the other members of the conference. We need a product. We
want to have a product. We want something that works. We do not want an
issue; none of us want that. We all want something that is going to
help the American people.
I appreciate the gentlewoman pushing in the correct way on this
conference committee motion.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mrs. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may
consume to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).
(Mr. HOYER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me the
time.
Let me begin by recognizing the outstanding leadership of the
gentlewoman from Florida. I am not objecting. She is a close friend.
She is a close friend. I am a strong admirer. She has had an
extraordinary career in this House, State senate, in the Legislature of
Florida and her community. The cause of election reform has no greater
advocate. She has been motivated not just by a conviction that it is
good public policy, but also by firsthand experience of the indignities
a voter can face.
When registration rolls are improperly maintained, when provisional
ballots are inadequate and voting equipment is so obsolete it fails to
register duly cast votes, indeed, Mr. Speaker, I can think of few
Members of this body, perhaps the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Brown)
and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings) come to mind, but few
Members who are as qualified to speak on election reform in uniquely
moral, constitutional and American terms than my friend the gentlewoman
from Florida (Mrs. Meek).
Mr. Speaker, in less than 4 weeks this Nation will hold its first
Federal elections since the November 2000 debacle. Mr. Speaker, I will
include the balance of my remarks, but I want to say this. I want to
say it to all the Members of this House, Mr. Speaker. We took a
historic step last year in December and passed overwhelmingly election
reform. Over 350 Members of this body voted for that. Some 5 months, 6
months later, the United States Senate passed a bill 99 to 1, passed it
in April. April has come and gone. May has come and gone, June, July,
August, September. Now we are in October. We are in a new fiscal year.
The 107th Congress is about to end, and, Mr. Speaker, we have yet to
pass election reform. We have yet to pass the bill that arguably had
the greatest impetus coming out of the 2000 election of any issue in
this land, and that was ensuring that every American not only had the
right to vote, but would be facilitated in making that vote, and that
their vote would be accurately counted.
Mr. Speaker, I have had a lot of optimism that we are going to pass
this bill. I continue to have optimism, but the hour is late. This
motion is absolutely appropriate, and I thank the gentlewoman from
Florida for making it. We have been working in private, difficult
sessions, tried to iron out differences. The good news is, Mr. Speaker,
from my perspective, we have agreement on 90 percent of this bill's
major points.
Mr. Speaker, it would be tragic, but more than that, it would be
disgraceful, if this House and the Senate adjourned sine die without
passing this particular piece of legislation.
Mr. Speaker, since September 5, I suppose, when we reconvened here,
maybe it was the 4th, we have done little. We have not passed any
appropriation bills. The end of the fiscal year came on September 30
and went. We passed a continuing resolution to keep the government
funded. We are going to pass another continuing resolution tomorrow,
but we have not done anything of substance, Mr. Speaker. Neither this
body nor the other body has passed any legislation of significance in
the past 25 days.
{time} 1330
Mr. Speaker, we will debate next week the issue of war and peace. We
will debate how we extend the blessings of democracy and protect people
from those who would visit terror and death and destruction upon them,
their families, and their countries. Mr. Speaker, as we do so, let us
hope that we also pass a piece of legislation which will say that in
the world's greatest democracy that believes that all men and women are
created equal and that in this Nation every one of them is entitled to
have their voice heard and that in a democracy, that that voice is
heard through the ballot box.
Mr. Speaker, I hope that you, I hope that I, I know that the
gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Meek) will work as tenaciously and
vigorously as we know how to ensure that we will vindicate that right
in legislation; in legislation which will extend to the States
resources to give us the best technology possible, resources to provide
training for those who administer our elections, resources to educate
our voters, and requirements that we have a statewide registration
system so that a voter does not come to the polls and hear, oh, I am
sorry, we cannot find you on the list; and by the way, we cannot get
through to the central office on our phone.
I hope this will be legislation which will ensure that everybody,
irrespective of the disability with which they are challenged, will be
able to cast their vote and cast their vote in secret; legislation
which will say that that person that comes to the poll will get a
provisional ballot; and legislation which will say and guarantee that
election officials will be able to say to individuals, if the
technology permits and an individual makes a mistake and that vote may
not be counted, do you want to correct it? Do you want to correct it so
that your voice in this democracy will be heard?
I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me this time; but much, much
more importantly, I thank her for the courage, the conviction, and the
time that she has spent through more than 5 decades of public service
to make this a better country.
Mr. Speaker, let me begin by recognizing the outstanding leadership
of the gentlewoman from Florida, for whom the cause of election reform
has been motivated not just by a conviction that it is good public
policy, but also by firsthand experience of the indignities a voter can
face when registration rolls are improperly maintained, when
provisional ballots are not available, and when voting equipment is so
obsolete it fails to register duly cast votes.
Indeed, Mr. Speaker, I can think of few Members of this body--
Representative Brown and Representative Hastings come to mind--who are
as qualified to speak of election reform in uniquely moral terms as
Representative Meek.
Mr. Speaker, in less than 4 weeks, this Nation will hold its first
Federal elections since the November 2000 debacle.
Nobody can predict with certainty how smoothly those elections will
go.
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 enacts meaningful national standards, and
offers State and local authorities the resources to improve their
election infrastructure.
I am pleased to report that Congress is on the threshold of doing
just that.
Thanks in large measure to my colleague and good friend from Ohio,
Chairman Bob Ney, we are closer than ever to enacting the most
comprehensive package of voting reforms since the Voting Rights Act of
1965:
Reform that will require States to offer provisional ballots to all
voters whose registration materials have been mishandled by election
officials.
Reform that will require States to maintain statewide, computerized
registration lists to ensure the most accurate, up-to-date rolls and
minimize the number of voters who are incorrectly removed from the
voter rolls.
Reform that will reward States for retiring obsolete voting
machines--especially the notorious punch cards machines and their
dangling chads--that prompted this Congress to act in the first place.
Reform that will require voting systems to be accessible for
individuals with disabilities, including nonvisual accessibility for
the blind and visually impaired, and allow them to vote privately and
independently.
Reform that allows voters to review and correct their ballots before
they are cast.
Reform that does not weaken any existing voting rights laws, includes
meaningful enforcement, and ensures that every vote counts.
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
[[Page H6951]]
days, there is no legitimate reason we cannot meet that deadline.
Indeed, given the larger context in which we operate, I would submit
that this congress has a moral obligation to enact election reform
before we adjourn:
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 heal 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.
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 responsibility to do the same at home.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to pass this motion.
Mrs. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my
time, and I wish to thank the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), my
friend, who has been steadfast in his support and building a rationale
in this country for election reform. He did not need to be asked. He
rose to the occasion. He worked extremely hard in this Congress. He
held hands with the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney). This has been a
bipartisan push, and it has to happen.
It is very difficult for me to understand why it has not happened.
The gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) has laid out here a history of
what has happened. I am a part of that history. I make history every
day, and the people I represent make history because we are being
misrepresented when the vote is not counted. We may go throughout the
highways and byways of this country and get people to go to the polls
and vote; but if their votes are not counted, it undermines a system
which we are so proud of.
We are proud of this country. We know what it can do. We know what it
has done. And we are saying over and over again we cannot accept the
fact that many people, over 22,000 of them in Broward and Dade County,
were overlooked, even more than that in Duvall County. The gentlewoman
from Florida (Ms. Brown) has nightmares of what happened in Duvall
County. The gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings) and I have nightmares
of what happened in Dade and Broward. But now it is beginning to happen
to all citizens.
Not many people got alarmed when it happened to the people I
represent. I came to this Congress, and I talked about it. I represent
those people who are underrepresented. But now it is beginning to
happen to the American populace. It happened when Janet Reno ran for
Governor in Florida. People who wanted to vote for her could not.
People who thought they had voted for her had not.
It is extremely important, Mr. Speaker; and I again appeal to this
Congress, with the conscience I know my colleagues have, to stand up
for America and see that the conferees get their work done, get it done
immediately, and report it and the President pass it. Otherwise, the
talking is cheap. Only their confidence, only their good will, only
action will prove that every vote will count.
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong
support of the Motion to Instruct Conferees on H.R. 3295, introduced by
the gentlewoman from Florida, Mrs. Meek.
Mr. Speaker, it is time for the Members of Conference Committee to
convene a public meeting, finish their work on this legislation, and
report it out.
It is time to have a final election reform bill on the floor of the
House of Representatives. We've waited long enough.
For the past three weeks now, I have 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 during the 2000 election.
Just last week, we called for the House-Senate Conference Committee
to complete their work by no later than October 1st.
Unfortunately, yet another week has come and gone, and still we have
no election reform bill.
How can we go home to our Districts and look our constituents in the
eye if we fail to enact legislation to protect this most sacred right,
a right that is the cornerstone of our democracy?
Recent primary elections in Florida and elsewhere have only confirmed
that the problems of the 2000 elections will still haunt us until we
pass legislation to enact meaningful election reform standards. We in
Congress have legislation almost within our grasp that will take giant
strides to remedy the disenfranchisement of the last election.
We must pass this bill, and we must send it to the President for his
signature before another day passes.
Now, it has taken a substantial amount of work to get us where we are
today. I believe all Members of the Conference Committee deserve our
gratitude for their work on this difficult issue.
I would also like to salute my colleagues in the Congressional Black
Caucus for fighting to make ``every vote count''.
But while I recognize these individuals for their hard work, I want
to remind all of them that our work will be for naught if we fail to
pass this legislation.
In just 34 days, Americans across the country will go to the polls to
cast ballots for their elected representatives.
Congress must act immediately to ensure that every American has the
right to vote and to have their vote counted. Time is running out for
the 107th Congress.
We've come so close to compromise, and the price for not passing
election reform is far too high. It's time to quit wasting time.
I call on the Conference Committee finish its hard work, convene a
public meeting, and come to an agreement before October 4, 2002. We
cannot afford to let this opportunity slip away.
Mrs. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my
time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Simpson). Without objection, the
previous question is ordered.
There was no objection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to instruct
offered by the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Meek).
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mrs. MEEK of Florida. 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.
____________________