[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 124 (Wednesday, September 10, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1754]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 TRANSPORTATION TREASURY, AND INDEPENDENT AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                                  2004

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                               speech of

                           HON. EARL POMEROY

                            of north dakota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 9, 2003

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2989) making 
     appropriations for the Departments of Transportation and 
     Treasury, and independent agencies for the fiscal year ending 
     September 30, 2004, and for other purposes:

  Mr. POMEROY. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of full funding 
for the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). Congress made a 
commitment to election reform with the passage of this Act last year 
and should provide the funding required for HAVA-mandated improvements.
  An amendment offered by the Honorable Alcee Hastings to H.R. 2989 
would have increased HAVA's funding to its authorized level of $727 
million. This was offset by eliminating $165 million from Internal 
Revenue Service (IRS) information system funding. While I support 
efforts to increase HAVA funding, necessary maintenance and 
improvements to the IRS' information system are critical. For these 
reasons, I was compelled to vote against H. Amdt. 357.
  I look forward to considering further legislation regarding HAVA 
funding in the future. Election reform is important to democracy in our 
country and in North Dakota. It is my hope that Congress will find a 
way to fully fund HAVA without reducing support for the necessary work 
of the IRS.

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