[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 159 (Wednesday, September 26, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H9047-H9052]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
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RECOGNIZING THAT ALLOWING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS THE RIGHT TO VOTE
DIMINISHES THE VOTING POWER OF UNITED STATES CITIZENS
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1077, I call
up the resolution (H. Res. 1071) recognizing that allowing illegal
immigrants the right to vote devalues the franchise and diminishes the
voting power of United States citizens, and ask for its immediate
consideration.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 1077, the
resolution is considered read.
The text of the resolution is as follows:
H. Res. 1071
Whereas voting is fundamental to a functioning democracy;
Whereas the Constitution prohibits discrimination in voting
based on race, sex, poll taxes, and age;
Whereas it is of paramount importance that the United
States maintains the legitimacy of its elections and protects
them from interference, including interference from foreign
threats and illegal voting;
Whereas the city of San Francisco, California, is allowing
non-citizens, including illegal immigrants, to register to
vote in school board elections; and
Whereas Federal law prohibits non-citizens from voting in
elections for Federal office: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives recognizes that
allowing illegal immigrants the right to vote devalues the
franchise and diminishes the voting power of United States
citizens.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The resolution shall be debatable for 1
hour, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority
member of the Committee on the Judiciary.
The gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) and the gentleman from
New York (Mr. Nadler) each will control 30 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia.
General Leave
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous materials on H. Res. 1071.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Virginia?
There was no objection.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
[[Page H9048]]
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution, which expresses
the official position of the United States House of Representatives
regarding the sanctity of the vote in our Federal system.
The authors of America's founding documents extolled the necessity of
voting to a free society. Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the
Declaration of Independence, believed that ``should things go wrong at
any time, the people will set them to rights by the peaceable exercise
of their elective rights.''
Jefferson also believed that ``the elective franchise, if guarded as
the ark of our safety, will peaceably dissipate all combinations to
subvert a constitution dictated by the wisdom, and resting on the will
of the people.''
James Madison, the principal author of the Constitution and
contributor to the Federalist Papers said at the Constitutional
Convention that he ``considered the popular election of one branch of
the national legislature as essential to every plan of free
government,'' and ``that the great fabric to be raised would be more
stable and durable, if it should rest on the solid foundation of the
people themselves.''
Madison continued that: ``Under every view of the subject, it seems
indispensable that the mass of citizens should not be without a voice
in making the laws which they are to obey, and in choosing the
magistrates who are to administer them.''
Alexander Hamilton, another contributor to the Federalist Papers,
wrote that: ``A share in the sovereignty of the state, which is
exercised by the citizens at large, in voting at elections is one of
the most important rights of the subject, and in a republic ought to
stand foremost in the estimation of the law.''
John Jay, the third and final contributor to the Federalist Papers
believed: ``The Americans are the first people whom Heaven has favored
with an opportunity of deliberating upon and choosing the forms of
government under which they should live.''
The Constitution prohibits discrimination in voting based on race,
sex, poll taxes, and age. The sanctity of the vote is also part of the
Supreme Court's jurisprudence on the subject.
In the landmark case of Reynolds v. Sims, the Supreme Court stated:
``The right of suffrage can be denied by a debasement or dilution of a
weight of a citizen's vote just as effectively as by wholly prohibiting
the free exercise of the franchise.''
Voting is fundamental to a functioning democracy, and it is of
paramount importance that the United States maintain the legitimacy of
its elections and protect them from undue interference, including
foreign threats and illegal voting.
While the Constitution allows States and localities to grant
noncitizens the right to vote in non-Federal elections, citizenship
today denotes an association with America which uniquely encourages
voting in furtherance of the well-being of other Americans and the
sovereign nation to which they owe their allegiance.
Consequently, it is very concerning to me that some localities have
extended to noncitizens the right to vote in certain non-Federal
elections, including school board elections.
Extending voting rights to those who are not lawfully present in the
United States acts as another incentive for foreign nationals to come
to the United States illegally and stay. Instead of helping deter
illegal behavior, jurisdictions such as San Francisco continue to
implement policies that encourage such behavior. They do so to the
detriment of U.S. citizens and legal immigrants alike.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the majority leader for introducing this
resolution, and I urge my colleagues to support it.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I oppose H. Res. 1071 because it is nothing more than a
bald-faced political stunt concocted by the majority in an attempt to
stir up its political base ahead of the midterm elections. It also
represents just the latest in a long and cynical line of attempts by
the majority to denigrate and delegitimize our Nation's immigrant
population and to erode public trust in our electoral system, all to
bolster short-term political gains.
Let me start out by saying that I can't imagine someone in a foreign
country deciding to emigrate to the United States in order to vote in a
school board election. That is just absurd.
But the resolution also falls short on its own merits. For example,
the resolution states that it is ``of paramount importance that the
United States maintains the legitimacy of its elections and protects
them from interference, including interference from foreign threats.''
I agree with the statement as far as it goes, but I question why the
resolution makes no mention whatsoever of the greatest foreign threat
of electoral interference, namely interference by Russia in an attempt
to disrupt our democracy and sow chaos in our political an governmental
system.
It is the consensus view of our Nation's intelligence community that
Russia interfered in the 2016 Presidential election in order to help
Donald Trump become President. Indeed, senior administration officials
warned just last month that Russia's attempts to interfere in our
electoral system are ongoing and threaten the integrity of both the
upcoming midyear elections and the 2020 Presidential election.
At a minimum, the resolution should call attention to this fact. Yet,
incredibly, the resolution makes absolutely no mention of it.
The resolution also disrespects States' rights, failing to mention
that the Constitution allows States and localities to permit noncitizen
voting in local elections, a practice that dates to the earliest days
of the Republic. For example, New York City permitted noncitizen voting
in local school board elections until elections in local school boards
were done away with in New York City about 20 years ago.
Indeed, an earlier version of the resolution's text, obtained by the
far-right Breitbart website, included the whereas clause acknowledging
these facts stating: ``Whereas, the Constitution allows States and
localities to grant noncitizens the right to vote in non-Federal
elections.''
Yet perhaps recognizing that this was something of an admission
against interest, the introduced version does not include this clause.
The fact of the matter is that local governments have permitted
noncitizen voting in various local elections, school board elections,
and so forth, through the entire history of the Republic. So why
suddenly do we have this expression of terrible concern?
The resolution also speaks to the fact that ``voting is fundamental
to a functioning democracy.'' Yet, it fails to address any of the real
threats to voting rights that our citizens face.
Five years ago, the Supreme Court effectively gutted the Voting
Rights Act's preclearance requirement, the act's most important
enforcement mechanism, in its decision in Shelby County v. Holder. The
Court reached its conclusion notwithstanding Congress' factual findings
in 2006 that the act, including its preclearance provision, was still
needed in the face of continuing discrimination by some States against
minority voters.
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In response to the Court's decision, and under Republican control,
States that had been subject to the act's preclearance requirement
wasted no time in pursuing voting restrictions that once again
threatened to undermine the voting rights of African Americans and
other racial and ethnic minority groups.
These measures included voter identification requirements,
restriction or elimination of early voting or same day registration,
and bans on ex-offenders from voting, all of which makes it
disproportionately harder for racial and ethnic minorities to vote.
These restrictions, enacted by Republican legislatures, have probably
deprived hundreds of thousands--or even several million--of our fellow
citizens of the right to vote. They are the real threat to our
democracy, not the few noncitizens who may vote in a school board
election in some local government that has permitted it through the
last 100 years.
Members have introduced various proposals to address these continuing
attempts by certain States and localities to suppress voters. For
example, H.R. 12, the Voter Empowerment Act,
[[Page H9049]]
which was introduced by Representative John Lewis and has 183
cosponsors, would reinforce the constitutional right to vote.
The bill includes, among other things, provisions to make it easier
to register to vote and to prohibit and criminally punish voter
suppression tactics like caging, voter intimidation, and the provision
of false and deceptive voting information. The bill would also restore
voting rights for nonviolent felons after they have served their
sentences.
H.R. 2978, the Voting Rights Advancement Act, which was introduced by
Representative Terry Sewell and has 192 cosponsors, is a direct
response to the Supreme Court's invitation to Congress articulated in
the Shelby County decision to revise section 4 of the Voting Rights
Act. The bill would amend the Voting Rights Act to protect voters by
requiring States with a recent history of voter discrimination to seek
approval from the Department of Justice before making any changes to
their electoral laws.
Finally, H.R. 5011, the Election Security Act, which was introduced
by Representative Bennie Thompson and has 122 cosponsors, would
designate election infrastructure as critical infrastructure and
provide financial support and enhanced security for the infrastructure
to carry out elections so we are not subject to foreign invasion by
hackers.
These measures each address critical threats to our electoral system
and the right to vote, yet none of them has received a hearing or other
consideration by the House.
It is a travesty that the Republicans have chosen to spend what is
likely to be the last week of session before the midterm elections to
consider this purely symbolic measure. They refuse to consider bills
that would actually help ensure the right to vote but will consider
this purely symbolic measure, one that in itself seeks to stoke the
worst kinds of sentiments in the body politic, instead of devoting time
to considering and passing meaningful and substantive protections for
the right to vote and to protect us from foreign interference in our
electoral system. I cannot support this travesty.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
California (Mr. McCarthy), the majority leader and chief author of this
legislation.
Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution condemning San
Francisco for allowing noncitizens to vote in local elections.
I want you to imagine for 1 minute that you are an immigrant to this
country. You came here the right way. You followed all the rules. And
after years of anticipation, after improving your English, passing your
citizenship test, declaring your allegiance to the United States and
renouncing your allegiance to foreign powers, finally, you are
naturalized as an American citizen.
In that moment, you undergo a change. You have known many leaders in
the past, but in that moment George Washington is your Founding Father.
You have experienced many hardships, but suddenly Valley Forge is your
winter. The Declaration is your inspiration, and the Constitution is
your inheritance. Lincoln is your liberator. Electricity, skyscrapers,
and flight are your heritage. The GIs of D-day are your heroes. Martin
Luther King, Jr., spoke of your dreams. The Moon bears your flag, and
our future is your future.
Imagine, again, that you are this immigrant. What do you feel the
first time you step into a polling place?
Actually, we don't need to imagine, because we know of so many
naturalized citizens who have come here, played by the rules, and
earned their citizenship. I have talked to many of these Americans.
They describe casting their first vote as one of the proudest moments
of their lives. In that moment, they are reminded that they have become
Americans, with all the rights and responsibilities of Americans.
Unfortunately, a handful of cities in our country are short-
circuiting the legal path to citizenship. In the process, they are
devaluing the very concept of citizenship itself.
These cities--Chicago, Cambridge, and, most recently, San Francisco--
allow noncitizens to vote in local elections. That includes illegal
immigrants who broke our laws when they entered our country.
And not only that, noncitizen voting actually dilutes the votes and
voices of law-abiding Americans, including naturalized citizens. If you
are an American citizen in one of these cities, your vote in local
elections counts less now than it did before. You can thank your local
politicians for that.
But that isn't my ultimate concern with noncitizens voting.
Ultimately, I am concerned about the message that this practice sends
about American citizenship itself.
Ask yourself: Does the concept of citizenship mean anything? Does it
grant a person special consideratio in the eyes of our government? Does
it impose upon him or her special duties or obligations?
Sadly, too many of our elites and even our politicians have trouble
answering these questions. But for the rest of us, American citizenship
still resonates as a source of significance, purpose, and identity.
We know that citizenship has a meaning, that borders have a purpose,
and that sovereignty is an imperative. Precisely because we believe
these things, we have to look out for our fellow Americans while
guarding our elections against all outside interference. That is why I
have introduced a resolution condemning efforts to allow noncitizens to
vote in our elections.
American citizenship means something special. Just ask any
naturalized citizen. They will tell you about it.
I urge my colleagues to stand with me in protecting the right to vote
for every American citizen of legal age and rejecting all outside and
foreign interference in our elections.
Citizenship means something. It means something to become an
American. And today, I hope this body understands that and stands
united in condemning a devaluing of citizenship.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee), ranking member of the Crime, Terrorism,
Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the ranking member for his
leadership and commitment to working on real voter empowerment
legislation. Let me acknowledge and thank the chairman of the full
committee, Mr. Goodlatte, and seek an opportunity to really work on
legislation that addresses the question.
I have looked at it, and I have no doubt that my friends on the other
side of the aisle are sincere. I read the resolution, and I noted that
one particular example was utilized, Mr. Speaker. The example happens
to be in San Francisco, California.
I live in Houston and my colleague lives in New York. I know that if
this was a moment of crisis, we would see Members from the 50 States--
at least 20 States, 35 States--bringing this to the attention of the
Judiciary Committee. To date, I have had no complaint from Houston or
the State of Texas.
But I do know, when I engage in dialogue with my constituents, they
are all aware of the Russian interference in the 2016 election and the
constant pounding of emails and the leaks that occurred and the attack
on the DNC. Everybody is aware of that.
To my knowledge--help me, those of my colleagues who are on the
floor--we have not passed one single legislative initiative or crime
bill that addresses the question of preventing Russian interference. We
are now at the end of the first crunch of this year of legislation.
So I would ask my colleagues, if they are so concerned about voting,
would they help us add back to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, in which
Dr. King marched and our colleague, John Lewis, was beaten almost to
his death, bleeding on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, and restore section 5?
Section 5 might even help with this issue, because section 5 provides
preclearance to any voting procedure that any State may have that would
be unfair and discriminatory. If my colleagues want to argue anything,
they can argue that the main bill that they should be putting forward
is a restoration of section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.
[[Page H9050]]
We have found throughout the States that we do have violations. We
have voter ID laws that are discriminatory. We have voter suppression.
We have people being purged off of lists. Interestingly enough, they
happen to be poor people, African Americans and Hispanic citizens.
Mr. Speaker, I am opposed to this legislation. I don't like
legislation that is ``gotcha'' legislation. I have great respect for my
friend from California. I, frankly, believe it is a State matter--it is
really a city matter--that could be handled by those who are concerned.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Duncan of Tennessee). The time of the
gentlewoman has expired.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentlewoman from Texas an
additional 30 seconds.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I see that, for the national question
of voter empowerment, there is a litany of laws still waiting for this
body to pass: voter security, the ballot security, the question of our
voting machines, the question of the individuals with the hanging
chads, the right kind of voting machines and equipment, and, again, to
protect people against purging legitimate registered voters off the
registration list. I have faced that in Texas.
I have the Justice Department on notice. I would like to say
publicly: Department of Justice, get back to me on that request that I
made about being purged in Texas.
For all these reasons, I think we are going in the wrong direction,
Mr. Speaker, and I would like us to put back on the floor section 5 of
the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to
the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Duncan).
Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of
Leader McCarthy's resolution recognizing that allowing illegal
immigrants the right to vote devalues the franchise and diminishes the
voting power of United States citizens.
I have been deeply concerned, seeing more and more municipalities
around the country starting to allow noncitizens and illegal immigrants
the right to vote in local elections, the most current example being
San Francisco, as they have started allowing both noncitizens and
illegal immigrants to register to vote in school board elections.
One day it is local elections; the next, it could be statewide
elections; and then, finally, the Federal elections. We can't start
down this path. But we know this is where the radical left wants to
grow their electorate.
For generations, brave men and women have fought and died in order to
protect the fundamental right of American citizens to participate in
free and fair elections. You and I can't go and vote in the elections
of other nations, nor should we.
The gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler) can't vote in New Jersey or
Pennsylvania because he isn't a citizen of New Jersey or Pennsylvania.
He is a citizen of New York. Nor should he vote in those elections.
When we start granting others the sacred right reserved for U.S.
citizens, it puts our whole democratic process at risk and diminishes
the voice of the American people. We simply can't allow noncitizens and
illegal immigrants to water down the desires and visions of the
American people at the voting booth. This is dangerous, and it
disrespects the importance and value of citizenship that has been
fought for throughout our Nation's history.
Now more than ever, it is critical that we ensure only American
citizens are casting ballots to determine our children's future in this
country. The left continues to embrace deadly sanctuary cities, more
illegal immigrants at the voting booth, and open border policies that
simply do not fall in line with American values.
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These ideas are so far out of mainstream and continue to be rejected
time and time again by the American people of this country who want
their voice to count.
This resolution is a critical step to stand up and protect our
democratic process. And while I stand here 100 percent supportive of my
good friend's resolution, I believe this is laying the groundwork for
what is to come. We have work to do.
I believe we must defund these communities that adopt policies like
noncitizen and illegal immigrant voting. These voting policies do
nothing more than foster more of the dangerous, illegal sanctuary city
policies that we have seen around the country. These sanctuary policies
promote illegal activity, undermine law enforcement, and suppress
concerns of actual U.S. citizen voters.
I encourage all Members to support the commonsense resolution to
protect the integrity of the American elections and protect the value
of U.S. citizen voting power. Let's protect the voting booth. Let's
protect the rule of law. Let's protect American values. Let's always
put America first.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Swalwell), a member of the Judiciary Committee.
Mr. SWALWELL of California. Mr. Speaker, it appears the stated reason
for this resolution, listening to my colleague who just spoke from
South Carolina, is the rule of law, integrity, upholding our democracy,
all things that I think people on both sides of the aisle support and
can get behind.
But, when you read the resolution, you would also think that we have
a nationwide problem of undocumented immigrants voting and influencing
our election. I would expect that, if that is the case, the sponsors of
this legislation would introduce evidence that shows this widespread
problem. I would hope that they are not relying upon the bogus, false
claim that Donald Trump put forward that there are undocumented
voters--3 million of them, he said--which has been panned and rebuked
by every expert in the country.
I would hope they are not relying on the voting rights commission
that Donald Trump put in place after the election that could best be
compared to an airplane that is still at the gate with a lot of
maintenance problems and is probably never, ever going to get off the
ground.
There is zero evidence to support this resolution. But you know who
did interfere in our last election; you know who did seek to influence
the American voter? The Russians.
You know who does not care about the rule of law? The Russians.
Do you know who does not care about integrity at the ballot box? The
Russians.
Our intelligence community unanimously concluded--unanimously, across
the board--that the Russians sought to interfere and influence the last
election. So I thought, well, if my colleagues across the aisle are
interested in addressing integrity at the ballot box, they would accept
an amendment that would also condemn what the Russians did.
They will not accept that amendment, and I would yield to my
colleagues if they were open to accepting that amendment and showing
the American people that they truly are interested in protecting the
integrity of the ballot box.
After this attack on our elections, I put forward legislation with
Elijah Cummings to have an independent commission look back at our
better days where, after September 11, Republicans and Democrats on the
House stairs united and sang ``God Bless America'' but also came
together, worked together, and used unity as an antidote against an
adversary's attack. Only two Republicans have signed on to that bill.
I thought on the Intelligence Committee we could look at who was
responsible, how the Russians did this, identify U.S. persons who
worked with the Russians, and tell the American people how this would
never happen again. Instead, that investigation has been shuttered, and
we learn almost every day from new indictments from the special
counsel's investigation that there is evidence that U.S. persons worked
with the Russians.
I thought on the Judiciary Committee we would look at the government
response to what the Russians were doing.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman an additional 1
minute.
Mr. SWALWELL of California. I thought on the Judiciary Committee we
would look at some of these issues in our democracy. Instead, we have
gone back in time and we have reopened and relitigated the Hillary
Clinton emails.
[[Page H9051]]
This resolution does nothing but divide Americans even further. It
stokes an issue where there is no evidence of it even occurring, and it
fails to address our true common enemy: any adversary, from any country
who would seek to interfere in our election.
Let's not miss this opportunity now to address that threat and unite
and say we are not going to tolerate it.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to
the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Gibbs).
Mr. GIBBS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Leader McCarthy for introducing this
resolution.
It is important to underscore how seriously we must take the right
for American citizens to vote. Several cities have granted the right to
vote in local elections to those who are not citizens of the United
States. San Francisco is allowing illegal aliens and other noncitizens
to vote in certain local elections.
It is still illegal for noncitizens to vote in Federal elections, and
rightly so. Twelve States plus the District of Columbia allow illegal
aliens to obtain driver's licenses, eight of them offering voter
registration at the time of getting that license, popularly called the
``motor voter laws.''
It is easy to see how illegal voting can occur. Illegal voting does
not have to be widespread or number in the millions for it to make a
real impact on our elections. In Ohio alone, there were 199 races or
issues that were tied or decided by just 1 vote in the last 5 years.
Recent incidents of illegals attempting to vote in Federal elections
have been in the news. Just last month, 19 foreign nationals were
indicted in North Carolina for illegally voting in the 2016 election.
In Ohio, seven were indicted for illegal voting in our elections.
Voter fraud is a serious crime. We have to take the integrity of our
elections seriously. It is not just a matter of simple mistakes or a
handful of improper votes. These elections determine the direction and
policies of our cities, States, and the Nation. We must recognize the
effect that allowing illegal immigrants to vote has on our right as
Americans to self-determination.
Recently, I introduced the Ensuring American Voters Act, which would
shore up potential gaps in our voter registration system like States
that have the motor voter laws and give illegal aliens driver licenses.
Typically, when you register to vote, you have to show proof of
residency. More importantly, in my legislation you would have to show
proof of citizenship. Some say this isn't a problem, but when you don't
really require proof of citizenship, how do we know the extent of the
problem?
As the gentleman from California, Leader McCarthy, rightly says, it
devalues the franchise and diminishes the voting power of American
citizens. This is a commonsense resolution that emphasizes current
Federal law, barring noncitizens from voting in Federal elections.
A recent poll by Rasmussen shows nearly 70 percent of American people
agree.
I want to thank Leader McCarthy for introducing this legislation, and
I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Florida (Mrs. Demings), a member of the Judiciary Committee.
Mrs. DEMINGS. Mr. Speaker, let's discuss voting in America.
Mr. Speaker, 53 years ago--I believe we all know it--Congress passed
the Voting Rights Act to stop discriminatory practices which denied
minorities the right to vote. Poll workers would ask people of color
ridiculous questions like how many jelly beans are in a jar or use
humiliating literacy tests and poll taxes to take away this
constitutional right from good, decent people.
Now here we go again. Because the President of the United States just
can't accept the fact that he lost the popular vote, which he did, my
Republican colleagues are using racial fears and dishonest words like
``protecting our elections'' to encourage Americans to turn against
each other.
If my GOP colleagues want to protect our elections, they should join
us in restoring the Voting Rights Act, which was gutted in 2013. If my
Republican colleagues want to protect our elections, they should join
us in passing legislation to protect the special counsel. But obviously
the GOP feels that they can't win on their merits, so they will
suppress the vote instead, change the rules, close polling places in
Black and Latino communities, remove legitimate voters from voting
rolls, pass laws like the one in North Carolina that targeted African
Americans with--and I quote--surgical precision.
Mr. Speaker, the American people are tired of the division and
distractions from the White House and the GOP to turn us against our
neighbors, especially along racial lines. And 53 years after the
passage of the Voting Rights Act, the American people expect men and
women of conscience to step up and refuse to repeat the mistakes of the
past.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Gutierrez), a member of the committee.
Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, this bill does not come to the floor in a
vacuum. The midterms are coming, and Republicans will try to pass
whatever they can before they lose and pass the gavel to the new
speaker.
We know more indictments and guilty pleas are coming from Robert
Mueller and his team.
And we know Republicans are having a hard time defending tax cuts
where 83 percent of the cuts went to the richest 1 percent and the rest
of America got the leftovers.
Don't forget the Republican agenda to systematically strip away
healthcare coverage from American families who are struggling to make
ends meet.
No, the Republicans don't want to talk about tax breaks,
billionaires, or foreign Russian alliances of this President, Trump.
They want to talk about San Francisco and immigrants.
Republicans will do anything to beat up on immigrants so that voters
forget to beat up on Republicans who hold all the power. It is the
oldest political hokey-doke trick in the book: Hey, look over there.
Blame them, not us.
It started with immigrants are rapists and murderers. Then it was
immigrants are cheats and frauds. Then they said immigrants and their
children deserve to be locked up. Then the President started pushing
the biggest lie of all, that immigrants are a drain on the economy.
The Attorney General, despite being humiliated--I mean humiliated--on
a daily basis by this President is adopting a scorched earth, anti-
immigrant agenda to ensure as many deportations as he can before he
gets the axe.
The American people are smart enough to see through this smoke
screen. They see how Republicans deal with a woman's claim of sexual
assault. They understand their taxes are going up at the same time
taxes on the Republicans' favorite people, that is to say,
corporations, are going down.
They get the message that the President opposes immigrant families,
except when it comes to his wife and her ability to make her own family
citizens of the United States of America. They understand Republicans
are opposed to legal immigration, refugees, Dreamers, and TPS holders.
Republicans are not interested in the kinds of immigrants or the
kinds of average American families, for that matter, who wake up early
every day and have to go to work. Nope. Not the people who work at Mar-
a-Lago, not the people who tend to the greens at Trump golf courses,
not the people who clean rooms at Trump Tower.
No, Republicans are not interested in people who work at Trump Tower,
only the people who can afford to live there.
Well, your time is up. The American people will make that real clear
in a few weeks, regardless of how many of these resolutions you pass.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote against this resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from
engaging in personalities toward the President.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, in closing, I want to be abundantly clear that this
resolution is nothing more than a political stunt steeped in hypocrisy.
The resolution states that it is ``of paramount importance that the
United States maintains
[[Page H9052]]
the legitimacy of its elections and protects them from interference,
including interference from foreign threats. . . .''
Yet, the resolution does not even mention the greatest foreign threat
we face: Russian interference intended to disrupt our elections and sow
chaos in our political system.
The hypocrisy is breathtaking. The chairman of the House Intelligence
Committee and others have worked all year to undermine and discredit
the Mueller investigation into Russian interference with our 2016
election.
{time} 1630
To add insult to injury, House Republicans have voted to block needed
funding to help States secure their election systems from the ongoing
Russian and other efforts to interfere in the 2018 elections, ongoing
efforts that have been confirmed by senior administration officials.
In short, this resolution ignores the real threats our elections are
facing and, instead, plays political games by trying to stoke the worse
kinds of sentiments in the body politic, all focused on local practices
that are not sudden and not new but are as old as the Republic and
suddenly pose a threat. I cannot vote for this charade.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, this is a very straightforward resolution that every
Member of this House can and should vote for. It simply says:
``Resolved, that the House of Representatives recognizes that allowing
illegal immigrants the right to vote devalues the franchise and
diminishes the voting power of United States citizens.''
When a United States citizen registers and votes, they expect their
vote to be a full vote that counts. When someone who is not lawfully
present in the United States is allowed to go into a polling place and
vote, they dilute the votes of the United States citizens who are
voting in that same election.
Why not recognize that? Why not discourage that? Why not call it
exactly what it is? The House of Representatives recognizes that
allowing illegal immigrants the right to vote devalues the franchise
and diminishes the voting power of United States citizens. It is a very
straightforward resolution. I urge my colleagues to support it.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time
Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, this resolution is simply a divisive
political stunt meant to stir up conservative voters ahead of the
midterm elections and seeks to stoke the worst kinds of sentiments in
the body politic.
The resolution states that it is ``of paramount importance that the
United States maintains the legitimacy of its elections and protects
them from interference, including interference from foreign threats.''
Yet the resolution does not even mention the greatest ``foreign
threat'' we face--Russian interference intended to disrupt our
elections and sow chaos in our political system. The GOP hypocrisy is
breathtaking. The Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and
others have worked all year to undermine and discredit the Mueller
investigation into the Russian interference with our 2016 election.
Furthermore, House Republicans have voted to block needed funding to
help states better secure their election systems from the ongoing
Russian efforts to interfere in the 2018 election--ongoing efforts that
have been confirmed by senior Administration officials. In short, this
resolution ignores the real threats our elections are facing, and
instead plays political games.
The resolution also states that ``voting is fundamental to a
functioning democracy,'' yet it fails to address any of the real
threats to voting rights faced by U.S. citizens. After the conservative
members of the Supreme Court effectively gutted the Voting Rights Act's
pre-clearance requirement in Shelby County v. Holder, many states have
sought to enact voting restrictions that target African Americans and
other minority groups. This resolution says and does nothing about
those actions.
The resolution shows that Republican support for States' rights is
trumped by anti-immigrant sentiment. An earlier version of the
resolution obtained by Breitbart correctly stated that ``the
Constitution allows States and localities to grant non-citizens the
right to vote in non-Federal elections.'' This clause is no longer in
the resolution, perhaps because Republicans understood how hypocritical
it made them look, especially because the resolution is focused on
condemning state and local ordinances regarding voting in non-federal
elections.
Putting this resolution on the floor is nothing but a political
stunt, a game designed only for political advertising for the mid-term
elections forty-three days from today.
I refuse to play that cynical game with Republicans and will cast my
vote as ``present'' in recognition of the fraudulent nature of these
proceedings.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
Pursuant to House Resolution 1077, the previous question is ordered
on the resolution and the preamble.
The question is on the resolution.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
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