[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 90 (Wednesday, June 22, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1156-E1157]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           ELECTION SUPPORT CONSOLIDATION AND EFFICIENCY ACT

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                               speech of

                          HON. EARL BLUMENAUER

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 21, 2011

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, today I voted against H.R. 672, a bill 
that ends the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), an independent and 
bipartisan commission whose main function is to improve and oversee 
elections in the U.S.
  This bill would transfer much of the EAC's responsibilities and funds 
to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), whose main priority

[[Page E1157]]

is not election administration, but rather enforcing federal campaign 
laws. In a letter to the House Administration Committee, the FEC noted 
that they could ``contract with outside groups to fulfill aspects of 
the EAC's responsibilities.'' Facilitating free and fair elections is 
an inherently governmental function that should not be outsourced.
  The world's leading democracy should not affix a price on free and 
fair elections, but that is exactly what Congress does in this 
legislation. In effect, H.R. 672 says that preventing another crisis 
like the one we saw during the 2000 presidential election--where 
millions of Americans did not have their ballots counted due to failed 
voting machines--is too expensive and is not a priority.
  It is deeply ironic that just as Florida--the state responsible for 
the bulk of voter complications in 2000 that prompted Congress to pass 
the Help America Vote Act--signs into law onerous voter registration 
requirements, Congress is dismantling a bipartisan solution that helped 
ensure the effective administration of elections.
  This is a politicized bill that is well wide of the mark of true 
government reform. Simply repealing the EAC, like Republicans did with 
the Presidential Election Fund earlier this year, further undermines 
America's democracy and is a step in the wrong direction. I oppose this 
legislation.

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