[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 5, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H2327]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            DEMOCRACY REFORM

  (Mr. BLUMENAUER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I started in this business as a college 
student. Inspired by what was happening with the civil rights movement, 
I worked on the campaign to lower the voting age to 18 in my home State 
of Oregon and on the national campaign.
  After that, I had the privilege to work on a series of nonpartisan 
efforts to expand the franchise, to improve voting rights, to 
streamline access--bipartisan, not particularly controversial.
  It has been one of the biggest disappointments of my life to find 
that the issues that I worked on as a college student continue to vex 
us. But I am pleased today that we are in the process of advancing H.R. 
1, the most significant democratic reform package in a generation.
  H.R. 1 will make it easier to vote, regardless of income, ability, 
geography, or race. It fights to end the dominance of big money in our 
politics and enacts tougher ethics standards to ensure public officials 
actually work for the public.
  I am particularly proud of three provisions that I helped incorporate 
into the bill from our Oregon experience.
  Oregon is a pioneer of vote by mail, and bringing that model 
nationwide paves the way for all States to be able to offer vote by 
mail and early voting that is secure and verifiable. It even saves 
money for State and local governments.
  We have a provision that has automatic voter registration for 
individuals interacting with State agencies. They are automatically 
registered to vote.
  And it mandates that paper ballots ensure election integrity and the 
ability to audit.
  I look forward to our moving forward, Mr. Speaker, to be able to deal 
with this significant conversation to make sure that we meet our 
responsibility for the democratic process to function.

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