[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 117 (Tuesday, September 19, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H6714]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               SUPPORT THE FEDERAL ELECTION INTEGRITY ACT

  Mr. WESTMORELAND. Permission to speak out of turn.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentleman from 
Georgia is recognized for 5 minutes.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WESTMORELAND. Mr. Speaker, this week the House will take up the 
Federal Election Integrity Act. The Federal Election Integrity Act will 
ensure American elections of Americans, for Americans, and by 
Americans. This measure promotes fairness and simply assures compliance 
with U.S. law. All citizens in this country hold a stake in our 
electoral system, and we owe it to our constituents to crack down on 
voter fraud.
  For these reasons, I have long supported photo ID requirements for 
voters in Georgia. In fact, Georgia enacted into law such a requirement 
in the past year. Nearly all voters already have a government-issued 
photo ID, such as a driver's license or a passport.
  Georgia made photo IDs available to all citizens and offered them for 
free to those who could not afford the nominal fee. With these 
safeguards in place, it makes no sense to argue that photo ID 
requirements disenfranchise certain segments of our population.
  Photo ID requirements actually protect the sanctity of every legal 
vote. The greatest threat to the constitutional right to vote is voter 
fraud. A legal voter whose ballot is canceled out by the ballot of an 
illegal voter has effectively been disenfranchised. We seek not to 
suppress the vote to promote the sanctity of the vote.
  The Federal Election Integrity Act will require in the 2008 election 
that voters show a photo ID. In 2010 it will require that voters show a 
photo ID that could not be obtained without proof of citizenship. I 
have supported such efforts in the past, and I will support this bill.
  Though I have acted consistently throughout my career in public 
service to promote fair and accurate election, I fear the House debate 
will be rife with irony. You see, just 2 months ago, this House voted 
by a lopsided margin to trample the equal protection clause of the 
Constitution and to violate the sovereignty of the State of Georgia by 
extending the Voting Rights Act for 25 years.
  I joined several of my colleagues from Georgia on this floor to 
educate Members of the House on our State's tremendous progress on 
voter equity. We presented hard evidence that the Georgia of 2006 is 
far removed from the Georgia of 1964. We proved that Georgia is no 
different than any other State when it comes to voter equality.
  After I defended the honor and integrity of my State, the chairman of 
the Judiciary Committee slurred my State's record. He entered into the 
Record a statement that said: ``The record since 1982 makes clear that 
Georgia and its political subdivisions have not progressed beyond the 
need for the temporary provisions of the Voting Rights Act.'' As 
evidence of ongoing problems in Georgia, the chairman of the Judiciary 
Committee and others cited Georgia's photo identification law.
  Now, the nearly 400 Members who voted to penalize Georgia should 
reflect on that vote. They need to ask themselves what changed between 
July and September of this year. Why was it bad in July to have a photo 
ID requirement for my home State of Georgia, but okay in September to 
have a photo ID requirement nationwide?
  Make no mistake, I will be voting for the Federal Election Integrity 
Act. I only wish it went further, to make all sections of the Voting 
Rights Act applicable to all States and to make all ballots be in 
English only

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