[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 169 (Thursday, November 20, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H11853-H11856]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 MOTION TO INSTRUCT CONFEREES ON H.R. 2989, TRANSPORTATION, TREASURY, 
           AND INDEPENDENT AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2004

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion to instruct.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion.
  The Clerk read as follows:
       Mr. Hastings 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. 2989 
     be instructed to recede from disagreement with Senate 
     Amendment 1928 (relating to the provision of $1,500,000,000 
     for grants to assist State and local efforts to improve 
     election technology and the administration of Federal 
     elections, as authorized by the Help America Vote Act of 
     2002).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 7 of rule XXII, the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings) and a Member of the majority each 
will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings).


                             General Leave

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and 
extend their remarks on this motion to instruct conferees.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Before I begin, Mr. Speaker, I want to take a moment to acknowledge 
the great work of so many Members to make election reform a reality in 
the 107th and 108th Congresses. First, the American people owe a large 
debt of gratitude to the Democratic whip, the gentleman from Maryland 
(Mr. Hoyer), and the chairman of the Committee on House Administration, 
the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney). Without them, the Help America Vote 
Act never would have passed and the possibility

[[Page H11854]]

of $1.5 billion in 2004 would never be possible.
  I also want to acknowledge the gentleman from Florida (Chairman 
Young) and the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Istook) and the ranking 
members, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) and the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Olver) for their commitment to funding the Help 
America Vote Act. I would like also to thank the Black Caucus and the 
Hispanic Caucus and specifically, the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. 
Langevin), the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters), the gentleman 
from Michigan (Mr. Conyers), the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt), 
the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah), the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Jim Davis), the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Corrine 
Brown), the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Meek) and his mother, former 
Representative Carrie Meek, and many more, such as the gentlewoman who 
just spoke, the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Jones), and countless 
Members here in the House who were instrumental in getting us where we 
are today.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to offer this motion to instruct conferees on 
H.R. 2989, the Transportation, Treasury and Independent Agencies 
Appropriations bill. This motion instructs House conferees to accept 
the provision from the Senate-passed bill providing a total of $1.5 
billion in election reform assistance to States and local communities.
  When the House considered this legislation last month, it 
appropriated only $500 million. Since Congress passed the Help America 
Vote Act, States, including my own, have struggled in implementing the 
requirements of the new election laws, largely because Congress has not 
fulfilled its financial commitment.

                              {time}  2015

  In 2003, the Congress provided only $1.5 billion of the $2.16 billion 
that was authorized for that year. $830 million of that amount has yet 
to reach the States. And while the Help America Vote Act authorized $1 
billion for fiscal year 2004, the House only appropriated half of that 
amount. In contrast, the Senate-passed bill appropriates $1.5 billion, 
covering the full fiscal year 2004 authorization as well as making up 
for a significant portion of last year's funding shortfall.
  Mr. Speaker, I am aware that the current draft of the Transportation-
Treasury Appropriations conference report includes $500 million for 
election reform. That is for the whole United States. I am also aware 
that a possible agreement exists to provide additional election reform 
funding in the omnibus, perhaps as much as $1 billion. One of the 
reasons I highlighted the $500 million for the whole United States, the 
State of Florida has funded $200 million. And that is substantially 40 
percent of the total amount that we did for the whole United States. 
However, what I am not aware of in this measure is why the majority is 
unwilling to fund all $1.5 billion in the proper spending measure. The 
majority has stated that the budget does not allow for an additional $1 
billion. And the President will veto anything over the already agreed 
amount.
  The reality is, Mr. Speaker, the majority is going to violate the 
budget agreement when it passes an omnibus in 3 days or whatever day it 
is that we leave here with the $1 billion in the bill. Every penny 
appropriated in the next 4 days or the final days of this portion of 
the session is going to be spent in fiscal year 2004 regardless of what 
bill we included it in. The budget is going to go bust. So if we are 
going to bust it, at least fund something which will benefit all 
Americans.
  Next week I am scheduled to travel to Maastricht, Holland, and on to 
Moscow in my capacity as vice president of the organization for 
security and cooperation in Europe's parliamentary assembly. I will 
represent the United States as an observer to the upcoming Russian 
elections.
  While I am certainly honored by the task, the irony of the situation 
is striking. Imagine an elected official from the United States, 
Florida, advising another country on how to run its elections. Perhaps 
the OSCE ought to be sending election monitors to the United States. In 
fact, I plan to invite them to do just that next year.
  Realize, when I attend the international meetings of the OSCE, 
America's ability to conduct fair and reliable elections is often 
mocked. Parliamentarians from around the world question our election 
results while Americans are faced to deal with the harsh and 
unfortunate reality that the Supreme Court may be the only place in the 
Nation where votes actually matter.
  We are spending billions of dollars to bring democracy to Iraq and 
Afghanistan. Yet we are hesitant about spending $1 billion to protect 
our own. Congress must continue to strive to identify methods and 
practices to encourage and increase participation in America's 
electoral process. As a country, we must work toward a day where 
fairness and transparency are manifest in our elections process and 
cut-throat politics are forever overwhelmed.
  Fully funding the Help America Vote Act is the next step that 
Congress must take to ensure that we never again find ourselves 
questioning the methods by which we choose our leaders.
  In approving my motion to instruct, the House will send a clear 
message that it supports funding a fair and reliable election system in 
America, no matter what it costs. I ask for my colleagues' support.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), distinguished whip and my good 
friend, who I earlier noticed in my remarks. But for him and the 
gentleman from Ohio (Chairman Ney), this measure would not have passed.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Hastings) for yielding me the time.
  I rise in strong support of this motion to instruct. I would add, Mr. 
Speaker, however, that I appreciate his giving me and the gentleman 
from Ohio (Mr. Ney), the chairman of the Committee on House 
Administration, credit. We worked hard on this.
  Mr. Speaker, this was the most bipartisan bill in the last Congress. 
But substantial credit is also due the Speaker of the House, the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hastert), as well as Republicans in the 
Senate, Senator McConnell, Senator Bond, and Senator Dodd. It was, in 
my opinion, an example of how the Congress ought to work. We sat down 
together, we talked about the problem, and we tried to solve it.
  In 347 days, on November 2, 2004, the American people will again go 
to the polling places. And every State in this Nation will exercise the 
most fundamental right in any democracy, which is, of course, the right 
to vote. And when they do, they will be reminded of one of the most 
painful episodes in American history, the disenfranchisement of an 
estimated 6 million Americans in the election of November 2000.
  Mr. Speaker, in my opinion, we have a moral obligation to ensure that 
the election problems that plagued us 3 years ago and which undermined 
this great democracy in the eyes of the world, and indeed in the eyes 
of many of our citizens, will not be repeated. That is precisely the 
point of this important motion made by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Hastings). It instructs the House to recede to the $1.5 billion in 
spending for election reform in fiscal year 2004 called for by the 
other body.
  Mr. Speaker, I mentioned the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hastert). I 
also want to mention the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young), the 
chairman of the Committee on Appropriations. Without the gentleman from 
Florida, we would not have received the funding of approximately $1.5 
billion that we included in last year's bill. But in the HAVA, the Help 
America Vote Act, we promised the States that they would receive 
assistance from the Federal Government to achieve the reforms we felt 
essential.
  That bill, proclaimed as the most important election reform 
legislation since the adoption of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, 
established minimum Federal standards for Federal elections. Properly 
funded HAVA will improve the security and accuracy of this Nation's 
election and registration system and prevent a repeat of the 2000 
debacle.
  Despite HAVA's enormous promise, however, States have had 
considerable

[[Page H11855]]

difficulty implementing the law's requirements because Congress 
provided only $1.5 billion of the $2.16 billion authorized in fiscal 
year 2003. In other words, Mr. Speaker, we are over $600 million behind 
as of this date.
  HAVA also authorized $1 billion for this year. However, the House 
only appropriated $500 million in the Transportation-Treasury bill. 
Recently, the other body, in a bipartisan way, added a billion dollars 
to the transportation bill which already included $500 million. This 
amount not only fully funds HAVA at the fiscal year 2004 authorized 
level, but it also covers the shortfall from fiscal year 2003.
  This motion should attract the support of every Member of this body. 
It is consistent with the numerous pledges made by the Speaker, the 
gentleman from Florida (Chairman Young), the White House, and this 
Congress in a bipartisan way.
  Through HAVA, Mr. Speaker, we can make sure that the States have 
resources to make election reform a reality. And we can restore the 
public's confidence in our election system. We must do so. And this 
motion calls upon us to effect that end.
  In closing, Mr. Speaker, let me say that I talked to the gentleman 
from Florida (Mr. Young), the chairman of the Committee on 
Appropriations, and I have talked to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney). 
It is my understanding the administration has pledged to include in the 
2005 budget the $800-plus million left on this Congress's pledge to the 
States to ensure that every American not only has the right to vote but 
every American is encouraged to vote, every American is facilitated in 
casting their vote, every American will have an opportunity to check 
that they voted correctly and that every American's vote will be 
counted accurately.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee), my good friend from Houston.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished 
proponent of this motion, and I recognize the journey that we have 
traveled in getting to this point. Let me acknowledge both the 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Ney) on working with so many of us in the Congressional Black Caucus, 
Hispanic Caucus, members of the Democratic Caucus, and members of the 
Republican conference on a concept that every single vote of every 
single American must count.
  I believe that this is a very important motion because I think it has 
potential. It is a motion that would give the broadest of consensus by 
both Republicans and Democrats, that it is important to fully fund the 
legislation that allows and provides an opportunity for local 
communities and State communities to be able to ensure that every vote 
is counted. Election reform was long overdue.
  And certainly the crisis of 2000, where millions of voters were 
denied both access to the voting polls, some who were racially profiled 
and kept away from voting, students who were intimidated and told that 
they could not vote, and individuals who were charged with being 
convicted felons when they were not and therefore denied to vote. That 
was a scenario in the State of Florida, but Florida is not the only 
example.
  Time after time when there is an election, we find that there are 
individuals who have been denied the right to vote. This past election 
in Houston, Texas, I traveled to many polls, local municipal elections, 
to come upon instances where many of our voting officials did not have 
all of the knowledge of the law, turned people away, did not understand 
the process of an affidavit where you would allow people to sign an 
affidavit, thereby being allowed to vote. So we know that voting 
resources or election resources are extremely important.
  And one factor that has never been fully addressed, the question of 
whether or not there is a paper trail for the new electronic voting, is 
a question that is raised in many local municipalities, and I believe 
that we should address it. This full funding of about $1.5 billion, I 
believe, will help, I do not want to say complete the story, but it 
will put us on the right journey to make the journey that we started an 
effective one by ensuring that our State and local governments in 
particular will have the resources as we approach the 2004 very 
important Presidential elections.

                              {time}  2030

  So I rise today to support this motion to instruct because we are on 
the eve of those Presidential elections, now four years later. Most 
would wonder how time has flown, but it would be, I guess, an 
undermining of the commitment we all made after 2000, Republicans and 
Democrats alike, if we could not see, by 2004, a full funding of this 
legislative initiative so that as we approach the Presidential 
elections, the primaries, in fact, every single State in this union and 
every local municipality would not have as an excuse for denying an 
American their right to vote, the lack of resources, the lack of 
trained voting officials, the lack of equipment, the lack of the 
knowledge of the law, and certainly no matter what color you were, how 
your history started in this Nation, whether or not your voting rights 
were enhanced only in 1965 with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, whether 
or not you have just become a citizen, every single American would know 
in their hearts and know by the laws that guided them that we had the 
resources to ensure that their votes were counted.
  I thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings) for his leadership 
on this matter for bringing this very instructive, very vital and very 
important motion to instruct to our colleagues. And I ask my colleagues 
in unanimity to vote for this motion, so that we would have a 
successful instruction to be able to provide for those who want to 
vote.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the 
gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin) and to make the further 
comment that he has been extremely instrumental in causing us to get 
this far.
  Mr. LANGEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my good friend and colleague, the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings) in support of this motion to 
instruct conferees. He has been an outspoken advocate for improving our 
Nation's election systems and voting administration, and I thank him 
for his leadership. I also thank my good friends, the gentleman from 
Ohio (Mr. Ney) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) for their 
consistent support and unwaivering dedication to the issue of election 
reform.
  Mr. Speaker, just over a year ago, I joined a group of my colleagues 
as the President signed into law the Help America Vote Act. The result 
of more than a year of hard work and bipartisan cooperation, the 
legislation was called the first civil rights legislation of the 21st 
century because it ensured that all Americans could participate fully 
in our democracy by being guaranteed the fundamental right to vote. I 
am particularly pleased that the legislation contained groundbreaking 
provisions to make our Nation's polling places and voting equipment 
accessible to people with disabilities. This change will enable 
millions of Americans to cast a ballot independently for the very first 
time in their lives.
  At the signing ceremony, President Bush said that thanks to the 
reforms contained in HAVA, ``the Federal Government will help State and 
local officials to conduct elections that have the confidence of all 
Americans.''
  Well, Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, we have yet to reach that level of 
confidence because we have not provided sufficient resources to 
implement the law. States are eager to enact HAVA's reforms but they 
lack the funds promised to them. Congress provided only $1.5 billion of 
the $2.16 billion authorized in fiscal year 2003, and the House 
included only $500 million of the $1 billion authorized for fiscal year 
2004. The Senate approved $1.5 billion in its version of the 
Transportation-Treasury bill, which will meet this year's shortfall. I 
joined the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings) in organizing a letter 
to conferees to endorse the Senate funding levels, an effort that 
garnered the support of 60 Members, and I am

[[Page H11856]]

pleased to continue that more here today.
  In the 1990s, as Secretary of State of Rhode Island, I led the effort 
to upgrade our State's voting equipment, and I know firsthand the 
benefits that modernized election systems can have on voter turnout and 
civic participation. I encourage my colleagues to support this motion 
to instruct so that we can realize the vision of the Help America Vote 
Act and restore confidence in our Nation's elections.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my good friend, the gentleman from 
Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin) for his comments and my thanks for his 
extraordinary work on behalf of America and all of us. And I apologize 
for the faux pas. I guess I had the primary on the brain and did not 
recognize the great State of Rhode Island but no offense was meant.
  Mr. Speaker, I did not offer this motion to instruct to rehash the 
2000 election debacle. We have plenty of opportunity to do that in 
2004. But I did offer the motion to highlight and remind Members of the 
commitment that this body made last year to reform our country's 
election system. I offered this motion so that the thousands of my 
constituents and others around the U.S. who were demonized, demoralized 
and disenfranchised after the 2000 election can go to bed tonight 
knowing that Congress is serious about ensuring their votes are not 
only counted but actually count.
  I have already introduced the next generations of election reform in 
the form of the Voter Outreach and Turnout Expansion Act. The VOTE Act 
allows no excuse absentee voting, requires early voting opportunities, 
not less than 3 weeks prior to the general election day, requires 
adequate notification to voters who submit incomplete voter 
registration forms by mail, treat election day as a Federal holiday, 
and provides leave time for private employees to vote on Election Day.
  These are the ideas of the present, and we task ourselves in making 
them the realities of the future.
  Mr. Speaker, States are eager to implement the improvements required 
by the law, but they have insufficient resources to meet these goals. 
Today, we will reaffirm our commitment and appropriate the necessary 
funding to the Help America Vote Act that Congress guaranteed to States 
last year.
  A dependable and reliable election system remains the linchpin in the 
integrity of our democracy, and we have no choice but to protect it. I 
urge my colleagues to vote yes on this motion to instruct.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Rogers of Alabama). 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 gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings).
  The motion to instruct was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________