[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 81 (Monday, June 14, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H3881-H3884]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PROTECTING VOTING RIGHTS OF MEMBERS OF ARMED SERVICES IN ELECTIONS FOR
DELEGATE REPRESENTING AMERICAN SAMOA
Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 2010) to protect the voting rights of members of the Armed
Services in elections for the Delegate representing American Samoa in
the United States House of Representatives, and for other purposes, as
amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 2010
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) It is in the national interest that qualifying members
of the Armed Forces on active duty and other overseas voters
be allowed to vote in Federal elections.
(2) Since 1980, when the first election for the
Congressional Delegate from American Samoa was held, general
elections have been held in the first week of November in
even-numbered years and runoff elections have been held 2
weeks later.
(3) This practice of holding a run-off election 2 weeks
after a general election deprives members of the Armed Forces
on active duty and other overseas voters of the opportunity
to participate in the Federal election process in American
Samoa.
(4) Prior to and since September 11, 2001, and due to
limited air service, mail delays, and other considerations,
it has been and remains impossible for absentee ballots to be
prepared and returned within a 2-week period.
(5) American Samoa law requiring members of the Armed
Forces on active duty and other overseas voters to register
in person also prevents participation in the Federal election
process and is contrary to the Uniformed and Overseas
Citizens Absentee Voting Act.
(6) Given that 49 states elect their Representatives to the
United States House of Representatives by plurality, it is in
the national interest for American Samoa to do the same until
such time as the American Samoa Legislature establishes
primary elections and declares null and void the local
practice of requiring members of the Armed Forces on active
duty and other overseas voters to register in person which is
contrary to the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens
Absentee Voting Act.
SEC. 2. PLURALITY OF VOTES REQUIRED FOR ELECTION OF DELEGATE.
Section 2 of the Act entitled ``An Act to provide that the
Territory of American Samoa be represented by a nonvoting
Delegate to the United States House of Representatives, and
for other purposes'', approved October 31, 1978 (48 U.S.C.
1732; Public Law 95-556) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) by striking ``majority'' and inserting ``plurality''
the first place it appears; and
(B) by striking ``If no candidate'' and all that follows
through ``office of Delegate.''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subsections:
``(c) Establishment of Primary Elections.--The legislature
of American Samoa may, but is not required to, provide for
primary elections for the election of Delegate.
``(d) Effect of Establishment of Primary Elections.--
Notwithstanding subsection (a), if the legislature of
American Samoa provides for primary elections for the
election of Delegate, the Delegate shall be elected by a
majority of votes cast in any subsequent general election for
the office of Delegate for which such primary elections were
held.''.
[[Page H3882]]
SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATES.
The amendments made by paragraph (1) of section 2 shall
take effect on January 1, 2006. The amendment made by
paragraph (2) of section 2 shall take effect on January 1,
2005.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Arizona (Mr. Renzi) and the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr.
Faleomavaega) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Renzi).
General Leave
Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include
extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Arizona?
There was no objection.
Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from American Samoa has introduced
legislation to assist those voters in his district who live overseas.
His legislation, H.R. 2010, will provide for the election of the
Delegate from American Samoa by a plurality vote. Currently the
Delegate is elected by a majority vote, though the number of candidates
seeking American Samoa's seat in Congress often prevents a clear
majority in the general election. For this reason, a runoff election is
the result, and it is held on the 14th day after the general election.
The gentleman from American Samoa and local government officials have
explained well the unintended consequences of this format. Given the
lack of flights to and from the territory, the ability to gather votes
from the runoff election has proven extremely difficult, with many
ballots arriving after the runoff election date. In short, this
prevents the voices of individuals such as members of our armed
services as well as students studying abroad to be heard.
Though Congress enacted the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee
Voting Act in 1986, it has not done enough to fulfill its purpose of
ensuring the right to vote for all U.S. citizens given the unique
logistical hurdles that American Samoa faces. We all should understand
the need to help all of our fellow voters, especially during times of
war when many Samoans are serving in Iraq. The House can now move this
legislation forward and help to prevent the current Federal law from
disenfranchising voters. Instead, with H.R. 2010, no legal voters will
be deterred from fully participating in our democratic process when
they vote to elect American Samoa's Delegate.
Finally, I would also point out that H.R. 2010, as amended, was
passed by the Committee on Resources by voice vote on May 5 and I
appreciate the bipartisan work of the committee in acting quickly on
this legislation. I hope we can now act in the same bipartisan fashion.
I urge the adoption of the bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
(Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I again thank my good friend the
gentleman from Arizona for his management and his eloquent remarks
concerning his support of this legislation.
I rise today in support of this bill I introduced to protect the
voting rights of active duty service members and overseas voters whose
home of residence is American Samoa. This issue is not new to the
people or the American Samoa legislature. The truth is this matter has
been before the people and our local leaders for the past 6 years.
Since 1998 I have written to our Governors, past and present. I have
written and testified before our local legislature, and copies of my
testimony and letters and local responses have been made part of the
committee record.
Mr. Speaker, during the 107th Congress, I introduced H.R. 3576, a
bill to establish primary elections which would have made sure that the
American Samoa Delegate was elected by a majority of the votes cast.
When introducing this bill, I pointed out that both Guam and the Virgin
Islands were once bound by the 2-week Federal runoff requirement but
established primary elections to resolve similar problems of sending
out and receiving back absentee ballots in time for those votes to be
counted. Although I suggested that American Samoa could benefit from
modeling its Federal election procedures after Guam and the Virgin
Islands, American Samoa chose not to support this bill and cited as its
reason that primary elections were too costly.
Mr. Speaker, given the importance and urgency of this bill, I want to
thank members of the House Committee on Resources, both Democrats and
Republicans, who have unanimously voted in favor of this legislation.
H.R. 2010 is the right thing to do. As a Vietnam veteran, I will not
rest until we fully guarantee that our active duty service members have
the right to vote in Federal elections in the territory. To alleviate
any concerns that I will personally benefit from this legislation, I
offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute for purposes of
changing the effective date of this bill from January 2004 to January
2006. This amendment was unanimously supported in markup by the House
Committee on Resources and, as such, any change in law will not go into
effect until the 2006 election cycle.
Mr. Speaker, at this time I thank the men and women from American
Samoa who are serving on active duty at a time when our Nation is at
war. I wish our active duty service members the very best and I pray
for their safe return as it would be true for all members of our armed
services currently serving all over the world.
I also want to thank Chairman Pombo of the Committee on Resources and
Ranking Member Rahall for their unwavering support of H.R. 2010 and for
bringing this historic bill to the House floor for consideration and
for a vote. Again, this is a bipartisan bill. I urge the Members of
this body to join us in protecting the voting rights of our active duty
military men and women who currently serve all over the world
representing our great Nation. Again, I urge my colleagues to support
this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2010, a bill I
introduced to protect the voting rights of active duty service members
and overseas voters whose home of residence is American Samoa.
This issue is not new to the people or the American Samoa
Legislature. The truth is this matter has been before the people and
our local leaders for the past 6 years. Since 1998, I have written to
our Governors, past and present. I have written and testified before
our local Legislature, or FONO, and copies of my testimony, my letters,
and local responses have been made part of the Committee record.
I have also brought this matter to the attention of my constituents
through press releases, newsletters, radio and TV programs. In 2001, I
conducted a Congressional survey and 85 percent of those surveyed
agreed that American Samoa's overseas voters and active duty service
members should be afforded the same rights and privileges as every
other American serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.
Unfortunately, American Samoa's overseas voters and military men and
women have been disenfranchised from the political process and have
been denied the right to vote in the federal elections held in the
Territory. In part, this has been due to two complications. One,
American Samoa law has required uniformed and overseas voters to
register to vote in person and this has been contrary to the Uniformed
and Overseas Citizens Voting Act of 1975.
While I am pleased that our Legislature is working to address the
local registration process, our uniformed and overseas voters have also
been denied the right to vote as a result of Public Law 95-556 passed
on October 31, 1978. Federal, or PL 95-556, provides for the Territory
of American Samoa to be represented by a nonvoting Delegate to the
United States House of Representatives and mandates that if no
candidate receives a majority of the votes cast, on the fourteenth day
following such election, a runoff election shall be held between the
candidates receiving the highest and second highest number of votes
cast.
Like the Governor of American Samoa, the Honorable Togiola T.A.
Tulafono, I believe this 1978 federal law requiring a runoff election
to be held only 14 days after the general election creates, as Governor
Togiola says, ``a situation where it is virtually impossible for
American Samoa's Election Office to send out absentee ballots to the
men and women in the military and expect to receive them back in time
for those votes to be counted in a run-off election.'' Given that our
mail is delayed and
[[Page H3883]]
our air service is limited to two flights a week, Governor Togiola and
I agree that some measure should be put in place to assure that the
votes of our military men and women are counted and that this injustice
is corrected.
During the 107th Congress, I introduced H.R. 3576, a bill to
establish primary elections and which made sure that American Samoa's
Delegate was elected by a majority of the votes cast. When introducing
this bill, I pointed out that both Guam and the Virgin Islands were
once bound by the two week federal runoff requirement but established
primary elections to resolve similar problems of sending out and
receiving back absentee ballots in time for those votes to be counted.
Although I suggested that American Samoa could benefit from modeling
its federal election procedures after Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands,
the American Samoa Government (ASG) chose not to support this bill and
cited as its reason that primary elections were too costly.
Given ASG's financial difficulties and out of respect for its
concerns, I introduced H.R. 4838 which called for voting by plurality
in lieu of primary elections. As I explained when introducing H.R.
4838, 49 of the 50 states use plurality voting to elect their
Representatives to Congress. The countries of Tualauta and Itu'au in
American Samoa also elect their representatives by plurality vote.
Plurality voting minimizes costs to the local government and also
provides active duty service members and other overseas voters an
opportunity to participate fully in the federal election process.
Despite these benefits, ASG also chose not to support this bill. This
time, the former and late Governor Tauese P.F. Sunia stated that he
believed ``the intent of Congress when they established majority vote
was to ensure a strong mandate for American Samoa's Delegate.''
To be clear about this, I would like to provide this body with a
legal history of how election law was determined for American Samoa. In
1951, President Harry S Truman issued Executive Order 10264 which
transferred administrative responsibility for the islands of American
Samoa from the Secretary of the Navy to the U.S. Secretary of the
Interior. The Secretary of the Interior, in turn, appointed our
Governors.
In 1960, the people of American Samoa adopted a Constitution. The
Constitution was revised in 1966 and was approved by the Secretary of
the Interior on June 2, 1967. In 1967, the Revised Constitution of
American Samoa provided for an elected Legislature, or Fono, consisting
of a Senate and a House of Representatives. However, it did not provide
our people with the right to elect our own Governor and
Lieutenant Governor and, at the time, American Samoa was the only
remaining off-shore area of the United States which did not have a
popularly elected Governor and Lieutenant Governor.
On June 10, 1976, Congressman Phil Burton, Chairman of the House
Subcommittee on Interior and Insular Affairs, took notice of American
Samoa's situation and introduced a bill to make it possible for our
Governor and Lieutenant Governor to be popularly elected rather than
appointed by the Secretary of the Interior. As staff counsel to the
Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, Congressman Burton
instructed me to draft this legislation which the U.S. House of
Representatives overwhelmingly passed by a landslide vote of 377 to 1.
Instead of sending his bill to the Senate, Congressman Burton decided
to consult further with the Secretary of the Interior, Rogers C.B.
Morton, about American Samoa's unique political status as an
unincorporated and unorganized territory which was and is unlike the
organized territories of Guam and the Virgin Islands. As a result of
their consultations, the two agreed that Secretary Morton would issue a
Secretarial Order (No. 3009) authorizing the American Samoa Government
to pass enabling legislation to provide for an elected Governor and the
Lieutenant Governor.
Secretary's Order No. 3009 amended American Samoa's Constitution to
specifically provide for an elected rather than an appointed Governor
and Lieutenant Governor. Secretary's Order 3009 was also in keeping
with the will of the majority of voters of American Samoa who voted in
favor of electing their own Governor and Lieutenant Governor in a
plebiscite that was held on August 31, 1976.
Furthermore, Chairman Phil Burton introduced legislation on August 2,
1978 to provide that the Territory of American Samoa be represented by
a nonvoting Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives. I was also
tasked with drafting this legislation which became Public Law 95-556
and was made effective October 31, 1978.
I can assure you that in the case of the Delegate, American Samoa's
federal election laws were patterned after those of the Virgin Islands
and Guam. At the time, consideration was not given to whether or not
majority or plurality voting should be established for American Samoa.
Congress simply enacted legislation to provide American Samoa with
representation in the U.S. Congress. We could not foresee some 25 years
ago that American Samoa's men and women would serve in record numbers
in the U.S. Armed Forces making it nearly impossible (given American
Samoa's limited air and mail service) for active duty service members
to participate in runoff elections held two weeks after general
elections.
Today, we are keenly aware that this requirement to hold a runoff
election 14 days after the general election is wrong. To right this
wrong and after further consultations with our local leaders, I
introduced H.R. 2010 which includes the suggestions of Governor
Togiola. In a letter dated September 11, 2003, Governor Togiola
informed me that he had reviewed the copy of H.R. 2010 that I sent to
him and that he was satisfied that this bill will provide an immediate
solution to address the concerns we have regarding the voting rights of
our men and women in the military services. In a letter dated September
15, 2003, I thanked Governor Togiola for his support.
Although we have had some differences regarding this issue, Governor
Togiola and I have always agreed that our military men and women should
have the right to vote especially when they contribute almost a million
dollars per year in taxes to our local government. I am pleased that
Governor Togiola is now happy with this bill and I again commend him
for supporting its passage.
I also want to thank the President of the American Samoa Senate, the
Honorable Lutu Tenari S. Fuimaono, for his support. In a letter dated
October 28, 2003, President Fuimaono stated that he fully supports H.R.
2010 and that he wishes Chairman Pombo the best of luck in moving
forward on the bill.
Finally, I would like to say that H.R. 2010 is an historic bill. It
is a bill that immediately restores the voting rights of our overseas
voters and active duty military members. It is also a bill that makes
clear in no uncertain terms that the American Samoa Legislature is
vested with the authority it needs to establish primary elections for
the office of the Delegate, if it so chooses.
H.R. 2010 also protects American Samoa's future in the U.S. Congress.
Without H.R. 2010, future Delegates could miss out on key committee
assignments as a result of delayed outcomes and run-off elections. Like
Governor Togiola, I do not believe American Samoa's future should be
weakened or disadvantaged and this is one more reason I appreciate his
support of H.R. 2010.
Given the importance and urgency of this bill, I thank the members of
the House Resources Committee, both Democrats and Republicans, who have
unanimously voted in favor of this bill. H.R. 2010 is the right thing
to do and, as a Vietnam veteran, I will not rest until we fully
guarantee that our active duty service members have the right to vote
in federal elections held in American Samoa.
To alleviate any concerns that I will personally benefit from this
legislation, I offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute for
purposes of changing the effective date of this bill from January 2004
to January 2006. This amendment was unanimously supported at mark-up by
the House Resources Committee and, as such, any change in law will not
go into effect until the 2006 election cycle.
As I have repeatedly stated, H.R. 2010 in no way, affects how the
American Samoa Government chooses to elect its local leaders and,
having made every change requested of me by our local leaders and after
years of good-faith efforts on my part, I believe the time has come to
do right by our overseas voters and men and women in the military. Our
sons and daughters have fought and died to preserve our freedoms and I
will do everything I can to protect their right to vote.
At this time, I thank the men and women from American Samoa who are
serving on active duty at a time when our Nation is at war. I wish our
active duty service members the very best and I pray for their safe
return.
I also thank the Honorable Richard Pombo, Chairman of the House
Committee on Resources, and Ranking Member Nick Rahall, for their
unwavering support of H.R. 2010 and for bringing this historic bill to
the House Floor for consideration and vote. Again, Democrats and
Republicans of the House Resources Committee joined together to
unanimously pass H.R. 2010 and I now urge members of this body to join
with us in protecting the voting rights of active duty military members
and overseas voters whose home of residence is American Samoa.
Attachments
04/05/00--Faleomavaega to ASG Governor Sunia, Lieutenant
Governor, President of the Senate and Senators, Speaker of
the House and Representatives, Attorney General.
11/20/01--Faleomavaega to ASG Governor Sunia, Lieutenant
Governor, President of the Senate and Senators, Speaker of
the House and Representatives.
12/20/01--Faleomavaega to ASG Governor Sunia, Lieutenant
Governor, President of the Senate and Senators, Speaker of
the House and Representatives.
[[Page H3884]]
01/02/02--Governor Tauese Sunia to Faleomavaega, ASG
Lieutenant Governor, President of the Senate and Senators,
Speaker of the House and Representatives, Chief Election
Officer.
01/28/02--ASG Speaker of the House to Faleomavaega, ASG
Governor, Election Office, President of the Senate.
02/27/02--Faleomavaega to ASG Speaker of the House.
03/05/02--Faleomavaega to ASG Senate President and
Senators.
05/23/02--Faleomavaega to ASG Governor Sunia, Lieutenant
Governor, President of the Senate and Senators, Speaker of
the House and Representatives.
07/10/02--ASG President Pro Tem and Speaker of the House to
the Honorable James Hansen, Chairman of U.S. House Committee
on Resources, ASG Governor Tauese Sunia, Senators,
Representatives, Chief Election Office, the Honorable Nick
Rahall (Ranking Member of the U.S. House Committee on
Resources), Congressman Eni Faleomavaega, Members of the U.S.
House Committee on Resources.
07/11/03--Governor Tauese Sunia to Faleomavaega, Chairman
of the U.S. House Committee on Resources, ASG President of
the Senate and Senators, Speaker of the House and
Representatives, Chief Election Officer.
07/15/02--Faleomavaega to the Honorable Nick Rahall,
Ranking Member, U.S. House Committee on Resources.
07/15/02--Faleomavaega to the Honorable James Hansen,
Chairman, U.S. House Committee on Resources.
07/23/02--Faleomavaega to ASG Governor Sunia, Chairman and
Ranking Member of the U.S. House Committee on Resources,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of the
Interior, ASG Lieutenant Governor, President of the Senate
and Senators, Speaker of the House and Representatives, Chief
Election Officer.
07/23/02--Faleomavaega to the Honorable James Hansen,
Chairman, U.S. House Committee on Resources.
07/23/02--Faleomavaega to the Honorable Nick Rahall,
Ranking Member of the U.S. House Committee on Resources.
09/05/02--Faleomavaega to ASG Governor Tauese Sunia.
09/05/02--Faleomavaega to ASG President of the Senate and
Senators.
09/05/02--Faleomavaega to ASG Speaker of the House and
Representatives.
09/12/02--Faleomavaega Statement before the American Samoa
Legislature.
05/07/03--Faleomavaega to ASG Governor Togiola Tulafono,
Lieutenant Governor, President of the Senate and Senators,
Speaker of the House and Representatives.
09/05/03--Senator Te'o J. Fuavai to Faleomavaega.
09/11/03--ASG Governor Togiola Tulafono to Faleomavaega,
ASG Lieutenant Governor, President of the Senate and
Senators, Speaker of the House and Representatives.
09/15/03--Faleomavaega to ASG Governor Togiola Tulafono,
Lieutenant Governor, President of the Senate and Senators,
Speaker of the House and Representatives.
09/19/03--Senate Resolution.
10/16/03--Faleomavaega to Senator Te'o J. Fuavai.
10/27/03--President of ASG Senate, Lutu Fuiamono, to
Faleomavaega.
10/28/03--Office of the Governor to Lieutenant Governor,
Aitofele T.F. Sunia.
07/21/76--Congressional Record, Providing for an Elective
Governor and Lieutenant Governor of American Samoa.
10/03/78--Congressional Record, Providing the Territory of
American Samoa with a Nonvoting Delegate.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I want to commend my colleague from American Samoa for his leadership
and his advocacy, particularly for those citizens there within his
territory and within his district who now will be able to reach out and
be part of the election process.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Renzi) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 2010, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________