[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 195 (Friday, December 6, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H9331-H9334]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THE VOTING RIGHTS ADVANCEMENT ACT OF 2019
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 1(c) of rule XIX, further
consideration of the bill (H.R. 4) to amend the Voting Rights Act of
1965 to revise the criteria for determining which States and political
subdivisions are subject to section 4 of the Act, and for other
purposes, will now resume.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
Motion to Recommit
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to
recommit at the desk.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is the gentleman opposed to the bill?
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. I am in its current form.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion to
recommit.
The Clerk read as follows:
Mr. Davis moves to recommit the bill H.R. 4 to the
Committee on the Judiciary with instructions to report the
same back to the House forthwith with the following
amendment:
Page 39, after line 9, insert the following:
SEC. 11. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act may
be construed to allow fines or other amounts paid to the
United States in connection with a violation of title I of
the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.),
including any amount paid pursuant to a settlement agreement
(including a plea agreement, deferred prosecution agreement,
or non-prosecution agreement), to be used to make a payment
in support of a campaign for election for the office of
Senator or Representative in, or Delegate or Resident
Commissioner to, the Congress.
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois (during the reading). Mr. Speaker, I ask
unanimous consent to waive the reading of the motion to recommit.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Illinois?
There was no objection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Illinois is recognized for 5 minutes in support of his motion.
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4 is the fourth
partisan attempt by this majority to federalize our elections. One
thing all four of these partisan bills have in common is they all have
good titles.
In October, the majority jammed through H.R. 4617, the SHIELD Act, an
attempt to federally hijack campaign finance law in this country. In
June, the majority jammed through H.R. 2722, the SAFE Act, an attempt
to federally hijack election infrastructure in this country. And in
February, the majority jammed through H.R. 1, the For the People Act, a
piece of legislation that, as introduced, would fund all of our
campaigns with tax dollars from hardworking Americans.
Catchy titles can't hide the facts, and the facts are that these four
bills are bad partisan policy that would negatively affect the American
people.
When the Democrats proposed public financing of campaigns in H.R. 1,
I could hardly believe it. The 6-to-1 small-dollar campaign match
program would create a mandatory donation from the American taxpayer to
a political candidate.
For every $200 donated by hardworking Americans to any political
campaign of all of us in this institution, the Federal Government, on
the backs of the taxpayers, would give $1,200 to that same politician's
campaign.
This program would do nothing but fill the swamp, and any Member who
voted for it was voting to fill their own pockets and the pockets of
political operatives nationwide.
At Rules Committee, though, this was changed. The shell game now
includes a fund which is supposedly financed through fines and
settlements. But we have now seen the CBO score, and this fund does not
support itself.
So what happens when it fails? I will tell you. It will ultimately
fall to the taxpayers in this country to support this Democratic
policy.
But fines and settlements take us back to the legislation we hope to
recommit to the committee today. There are Members who would have you
believe that there are currently no existing laws protecting the right
for every American to vote or that the Voting Rights Act is no longer
in place. However, the Voting Rights Act is in effect today and
protecting every American's right to vote, and it includes many
important provisions:
Title I of the Voting Rights Act, 52 United States Code 10501(a)
says: No citizen shall be denied, because of his failure to comply with
any test or device, the right to vote in any election.
That is still in effect today, without H.R. 4, and it comes with a
$5,000 fine if you don't follow that.
Section 307(a): No person shall prevent another who is entitled to
vote, from voting. Still in effect, $5,000 fine.
Section 308(b): No person shall destroy, deface, or alter official
voting ballots. Still in effect, $5,000 fine.
[[Page H9332]]
307(c): No person shall provide false information in registering to
vote, or in voting. Still in effect, $10,000 fine.
307(e): No person shall vote more than once. Still in effect, $10,000
fine.
307(d): No person shall falsify or conceal material facts. Still in
effect, $10,000 fine.
307(b): No person shall intimidate, threaten, or coerce any person
for voting or attempting to vote. Still in effect.
Do not let anyone tell you the Voting Rights Act is not alive and
well in this country. What we have debated today is not a
reauthorization of this important, historically bipartisan legislation
that has prevented discrimination at the ballot box, because it does
not need reauthorization.
Sections 2 and 3 of the VRA that are currently in effect are
continuing to help safeguard the public from discrimination at the
ballot box. Every eligible American who wants to vote in our country's
elections should be able to cast their vote.
This bill is only about preclearance and the Democrat majority giving
the Department of Justice and the Federal Government control over all
election activity.
Jurisdictions under preclearance cannot move a polling location,
expand vote-by-mail efforts, nor properly maintain their voting rolls
without a partisan Department of Justice clearing everything they do.
This is about control and taking power away from State and local
election officials who they don't like and putting it in the hands of
the Federal Government.
This bill does not reauthorize the Voting Rights Act. What does it
do? It opens the doors for fines and settlements in this country,
including under this act, to be hijacked once again by my colleagues
for their own political campaigns if they get their way.
My motion to recommit is simple: Make it clear to your constituents
that fines and settlements under the VRA will not be going to your own
campaign coffers.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I oppose the amendment.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from Alabama is recognized
for 5 minutes.
Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I oppose this amendment because
it is a mere distraction. It is an attempt to politicize the Voting
Rights Act of 1965 by interjecting campaign finance and settlement
terms into civil rights legislation.
If Republicans were really serious about voting rights--about voting
rights--they would actually be willing to come to the table and talk
about how we can fully restore section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of
1965.
Leave it up to our colleagues across the aisle to interject money and
finance into civil rights law. What has been lost today in this debate
is the very heart of this bill; it is the central meaning of the bill.
Let's not forget the brave patriots of the civil rights and voting
rights movement who marched, prayed, and died for the right to vote.
These foot soldiers for equality, like our very own John Lewis, were
ordinary citizens who dared to achieve extraordinary social change by
forcing this Nation to live up to its ideals of equality and justice
for all.
We know, Mr. Speaker, that the price of freedom is not free. It has
been bought and paid for by those brave foot soldiers so that, one day,
a little Black girl from Selma, Alabama, could sit in this august body.
I know I am not the only Black and Brown colleague of ours who owes
our very presence in this Chamber to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Mr. Speaker, old battles have become new again. We fight for the same
equity that these foot soldiers fought for in Selma.
Progress is elusive. Every generation must fight to maintain the
progress that we have had and to seek to advance it.
Since the Supreme Court's decision in 2013 in Shelby v. Holder,
States across this country have enacted harsh measures that make it
more difficult to vote.
Mr. Speaker, I dare say that Selma is now. Since the Shelby decision,
25 States have put in place new voting restrictions.
Selma is still now, because, since the Shelby decision, 12 States
have laws making it harder for citizens to register and stay
registered.
Selma is now. Since the Shelby decision, 10 more States have made
early and absentee voting more difficult.
While today there are no poll taxes or literacy tests, these modern-
day barriers to voting are no less discriminatory or suppressive than
those old practices.
Voting rights should be a nonpartisan issue, and the fact that, in
this amendment, they would try to politicize voting rights, we should
all--all--be appalled by that.
Voting rights have been, always, very nonpartisan, and it used to be
that the Voting Rights Acts passed overwhelmingly with Republicans and
Democrats. In fact, the VRA was reauthorized five times--yes--under
Republican and Democratic Presidents. So what has changed?
I ask my colleagues across the aisle: What are you afraid of? Why are
you afraid to let more Americans vote?
Is it because your own political interests are only realized when you
limit access to the ballot box?
I say: Shame on you. Shame on you.
Could it be that what we need more than anything else is to look at
our North Star; that is, John Lewis. Mr. Lewis, we are all honored,
every day, to be able to call you ``colleague,'' and the reality is
that what happened on that bridge in Selma, Alabama, in 1965 is still
occurring today.
If one person who is an American and who is a voter is not allowed to
vote, it goes to the very heart of the integrity of all of our
elections. We should all want to make sure that every American can
vote.
So, let us make sure that we remember what Elijah Cummings would say.
He would say: We are better than this.
We are better than this. Having an amendment that deals with
politicizing the Voting Rights Act is appalling.
I ask my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the amendment and to remember
the words of another civil rights activist, Amelia Boynton Robinson,
who also was bludgeoned on that bridge with John Lewis in 1965, who
came to this Chamber in 2015, as my special guest, for the State of the
Union. Many of you on both sides of the aisle were willing to host her.
I say to you what she said. When people said: ``I stand on your
shoulders,'' she said, ``Get off my shoulders. Do your own work.''
I say now: Miss Amelia, we are doing our own work because we are
voting to restore the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to address their
remarks to the Chair.
Without objection, the previous question is ordered on the motion to
recommit.
There was no objection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to recommit.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Recorded Vote
Ms. SEWELL. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.
A recorded vote was ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XX, the Chair
will reduce to 5 minutes the minimum time for any electronic vote on
the question of passage.
This is a 5-minute vote.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 200,
noes 215, not voting 15, as follows:
[Roll No. 653]
AYES--200
Abraham
Aderholt
Allen
Amash
Amodei
Armstrong
Arrington
Axne
Babin
Bacon
Baird
Balderson
Banks
Bergman
Biggs
Bilirakis
Bishop (NC)
Bishop (UT)
Bost
Brady
Brindisi
Brooks (AL)
Brooks (IN)
Buchanan
Buck
Bucshon
Budd
Burchett
Burgess
Calvert
Carter (GA)
Carter (TX)
Chabot
Cheney
Cline
Cloud
Cole
Collins (GA)
Comer
Conaway
Cook
Crawford
Crenshaw
Cunningham
Curtis
Davidson (OH)
Davis, Rodney
DesJarlais
Diaz-Balart
Duncan
Dunn
Estes
Ferguson
Finkenauer
Fitzpatrick
Fleischmann
Flores
Fortenberry
Foxx (NC)
Fulcher
Gaetz
Gallagher
Gianforte
Gibbs
Gohmert
Gonzalez (OH)
Gooden
Gottheimer
Granger
Graves (GA)
Graves (LA)
Graves (MO)
[[Page H9333]]
Green (TN)
Griffith
Grothman
Guest
Guthrie
Hagedorn
Harris
Hartzler
Hern, Kevin
Herrera Beutler
Hice (GA)
Higgins (LA)
Hill (AR)
Holding
Hollingsworth
Horn, Kendra S.
Hudson
Huizenga
Hurd (TX)
Johnson (LA)
Johnson (OH)
Johnson (SD)
Jordan
Joyce (OH)
Joyce (PA)
Katko
Keller
Kelly (MS)
Kelly (PA)
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kustoff (TN)
LaHood
LaMalfa
Lamborn
Latta
Lesko
Long
Loudermilk
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
Marshall
Massie
Mast
McAdams
McCarthy
McCaul
McClintock
McHenry
McKinley
Meadows
Meuser
Miller
Mitchell
Moolenaar
Mooney (WV)
Mullin
Murphy (NC)
Newhouse
Nunes
Olson
Palazzo
Palmer
Pence
Perry
Posey
Ratcliffe
Reed
Reschenthaler
Rice (SC)
Riggleman
Roby
Rodgers (WA)
Roe, David P.
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rooney (FL)
Rose, John W.
Rouzer
Roy
Rutherford
Scalise
Schweikert
Scott, Austin
Sensenbrenner
Simpson
Slotkin
Smith (MO)
Smith (NE)
Smith (NJ)
Smucker
Spanberger
Spano
Stauber
Stefanik
Steil
Steube
Stewart
Stivers
Taylor
Thompson (PA)
Thornberry
Timmons
Tipton
Torres Small (NM)
Turner
Upton
Van Drew
Wagner
Walberg
Walden
Walker
Walorski
Waltz
Watkins
Weber (TX)
Webster (FL)
Wenstrup
Westerman
Williams
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Womack
Woodall
Wright
Yoho
Young
Zeldin
NOES--215
Adams
Aguilar
Allred
Barragan
Beatty
Bera
Beyer
Bishop (GA)
Blumenauer
Blunt Rochester
Bonamici
Boyle, Brendan F.
Brown (MD)
Brownley (CA)
Bustos
Butterfield
Carbajal
Cardenas
Carson (IN)
Case
Casten (IL)
Castor (FL)
Castro (TX)
Chu, Judy
Cicilline
Cisneros
Clark (MA)
Clarke (NY)
Clay
Cleaver
Clyburn
Cohen
Connolly
Cooper
Correa
Costa
Courtney
Cox (CA)
Craig
Crist
Crow
Cuellar
Davids (KS)
Davis (CA)
Davis, Danny K.
Dean
DeFazio
DeGette
DeLauro
DelBene
Delgado
Demings
DeSaulnier
Deutch
Dingell
Doggett
Doyle, Michael F.
Engel
Escobar
Eshoo
Espaillat
Evans
Fletcher
Foster
Frankel
Fudge
Gallego
Garamendi
Garcia (IL)
Garcia (TX)
Golden
Gomez
Gonzalez (TX)
Green, Al (TX)
Grijalva
Haaland
Harder (CA)
Hastings
Hayes
Heck
Higgins (NY)
Himes
Horsford
Houlahan
Hoyer
Huffman
Jackson Lee
Jayapal
Jeffries
Johnson (GA)
Johnson (TX)
Kaptur
Keating
Kelly (IL)
Kennedy
Khanna
Kildee
Kilmer
Kim
Kind
Kirkpatrick
Krishnamoorthi
Kuster (NH)
Lamb
Langevin
Larsen (WA)
Lawrence
Lawson (FL)
Lee (CA)
Lee (NV)
Levin (CA)
Levin (MI)
Lewis
Lieu, Ted
Lipinski
Loebsack
Lofgren
Lowenthal
Lowey
Lujan
Luria
Lynch
Malinowski
Maloney, Carolyn B.
Maloney, Sean
Matsui
McBath
McCollum
McEachin
McGovern
McNerney
Meeks
Meng
Moore
Morelle
Moulton
Mucarsel-Powell
Murphy (FL)
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Neguse
Norcross
O'Halleran
Ocasio-Cortez
Omar
Pallone
Panetta
Pappas
Pascrell
Payne
Perlmutter
Peters
Peterson
Phillips
Pingree
Pocan
Pressley
Price (NC)
Quigley
Raskin
Rice (NY)
Richmond
Rose (NY)
Rouda
Roybal-Allard
Ruiz
Ruppersberger
Rush
Ryan
Sanchez
Sarbanes
Scanlon
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schneider
Schrader
Schrier
Scott (VA)
Scott, David
Sewell (AL)
Shalala
Sherman
Sherrill
Sires
Smith (WA)
Soto
Speier
Stanton
Stevens
Suozzi
Swalwell (CA)
Takano
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Titus
Tlaib
Tonko
Torres (CA)
Trahan
Trone
Underwood
Vargas
Veasey
Vela
Velazquez
Visclosky
Wasserman Schultz
Waters
Watson Coleman
Welch
Wexton
Wild
Wilson (FL)
Yarmuth
NOT VOTING--15
Barr
Bass
Byrne
Cartwright
Emmer
Gabbard
Gosar
Hunter
Kinzinger
Larson (CT)
Marchant
Norman
Porter
Serrano
Shimkus
{time} 1231
So the motion to recommit was rejected.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the passage of the bill.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Recorded Vote
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.
A recorded vote was ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. This is a 5-minute vote.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 228,
noes 187, answered not voting 16, as follows:
[Roll No. 654]
AYES--228
Adams
Aguilar
Allred
Axne
Barragan
Beatty
Bera
Beyer
Bishop (GA)
Blumenauer
Blunt Rochester
Bonamici
Boyle, Brendan F.
Brindisi
Brown (MD)
Brownley (CA)
Bustos
Butterfield
Carbajal
Cardenas
Carson (IN)
Case
Casten (IL)
Castor (FL)
Castro (TX)
Chu, Judy
Cicilline
Cisneros
Clark (MA)
Clarke (NY)
Clay
Cleaver
Clyburn
Cohen
Connolly
Cooper
Correa
Costa
Courtney
Cox (CA)
Craig
Crist
Crow
Cuellar
Cunningham
Davids (KS)
Davis (CA)
Davis, Danny K.
Dean
DeFazio
DeGette
DeLauro
DelBene
Delgado
Demings
DeSaulnier
Deutch
Dingell
Doggett
Doyle, Michael F.
Engel
Escobar
Eshoo
Espaillat
Evans
Finkenauer
Fitzpatrick
Fletcher
Foster
Frankel
Fudge
Gallego
Garamendi
Garcia (IL)
Garcia (TX)
Golden
Gomez
Gonzalez (TX)
Gottheimer
Green, Al (TX)
Grijalva
Haaland
Harder (CA)
Hastings
Hayes
Heck
Higgins (NY)
Himes
Horn, Kendra S.
Horsford
Houlahan
Hoyer
Huffman
Jackson Lee
Jayapal
Jeffries
Johnson (GA)
Johnson (TX)
Kaptur
Keating
Kelly (IL)
Kennedy
Khanna
Kildee
Kilmer
Kim
Kind
Kirkpatrick
Krishnamoorthi
Kuster (NH)
Lamb
Langevin
Larsen (WA)
Lawrence
Lawson (FL)
Lee (CA)
Lee (NV)
Levin (CA)
Levin (MI)
Lewis
Lieu, Ted
Lipinski
Loebsack
Lofgren
Lowenthal
Lowey
Lujan
Luria
Lynch
Malinowski
Maloney, Carolyn B.
Maloney, Sean
Matsui
McAdams
McBath
McCollum
McEachin
McGovern
McNerney
Meeks
Meng
Moore
Morelle
Moulton
Mucarsel-Powell
Murphy (FL)
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Neguse
Norcross
O'Halleran
Ocasio-Cortez
Omar
Pallone
Panetta
Pappas
Pascrell
Payne
Pelosi
Perlmutter
Peters
Peterson
Phillips
Pingree
Pocan
Pressley
Price (NC)
Quigley
Raskin
Rice (NY)
Richmond
Rose (NY)
Rouda
Roybal-Allard
Ruiz
Ruppersberger
Rush
Ryan
Sanchez
Sarbanes
Scanlon
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schneider
Schrader
Schrier
Scott (VA)
Scott, David
Sewell (AL)
Shalala
Sherman
Sherrill
Sires
Slotkin
Smith (WA)
Soto
Spanberger
Speier
Stanton
Stevens
Suozzi
Swalwell (CA)
Takano
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Titus
Tlaib
Tonko
Torres (CA)
Torres Small (NM)
Trahan
Trone
Underwood
Van Drew
Vargas
Veasey
Vela
Velazquez
Visclosky
Wasserman Schultz
Waters
Watson Coleman
Welch
Wexton
Wild
Wilson (FL)
Yarmuth
NOES--187
Abraham
Aderholt
Allen
Amash
Amodei
Armstrong
Arrington
Babin
Bacon
Baird
Balderson
Banks
Bergman
Biggs
Bilirakis
Bishop (NC)
Bishop (UT)
Bost
Brady
Brooks (AL)
Brooks (IN)
Buchanan
Buck
Bucshon
Budd
Burchett
Burgess
Calvert
Carter (GA)
Carter (TX)
Chabot
Cheney
Cline
Cloud
Cole
Collins (GA)
Comer
Conaway
Cook
Crawford
Crenshaw
Curtis
Davidson (OH)
Davis, Rodney
DesJarlais
Diaz-Balart
Duncan
Dunn
Estes
Ferguson
Fleischmann
Flores
Fortenberry
Foxx (NC)
Fulcher
Gaetz
Gallagher
Gianforte
Gibbs
Gohmert
Gonzalez (OH)
Gooden
Granger
Graves (GA)
Graves (LA)
Graves (MO)
Green (TN)
Griffith
Grothman
Guest
Guthrie
Hagedorn
Harris
Hartzler
Hern, Kevin
Herrera Beutler
Hice (GA)
Higgins (LA)
Hill (AR)
Holding
Hollingsworth
Hudson
Huizenga
Hurd (TX)
Johnson (LA)
Johnson (OH)
Johnson (SD)
Jordan
Joyce (OH)
Joyce (PA)
Katko
Keller
Kelly (MS)
Kelly (PA)
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kustoff (TN)
LaHood
LaMalfa
Lamborn
Latta
Lesko
Long
Loudermilk
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
Marshall
Massie
Mast
McCarthy
McCaul
McClintock
McKinley
Meadows
Meuser
Miller
Mitchell
Moolenaar
Mooney (WV)
Mullin
Murphy (NC)
Newhouse
Nunes
Olson
Palazzo
Palmer
Pence
Perry
Posey
Ratcliffe
Reed
Reschenthaler
Rice (SC)
Riggleman
Roby
Rodgers (WA)
Roe, David P.
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rooney (FL)
Rose, John W.
Rouzer
Roy
Rutherford
Scalise
Schweikert
Scott, Austin
Sensenbrenner
Simpson
Smith (MO)
Smith (NE)
Smith (NJ)
Smucker
Spano
Stauber
Stefanik
Steil
Steube
Stewart
Stivers
Taylor
Thompson (PA)
Thornberry
Timmons
Tipton
Turner
Upton
Wagner
Walberg
Walden
Walker
Walorski
Waltz
Watkins
Weber (TX)
Webster (FL)
Wenstrup
Westerman
Williams
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Womack
Woodall
Wright
Yoho
Young
Zeldin
[[Page H9334]]
NOT VOTING--16
Barr
Bass
Byrne
Cartwright
Emmer
Gabbard
Gosar
Hunter
Kinzinger
Larson (CT)
Marchant
McHenry
Norman
Porter
Serrano
Shimkus
{time} 1239
So the bill was passed.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
personal explanation
Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, on Friday, December 6, 2019,
I was unfortunately not present for roll call votes 653 through 654, in
order to attend a funeral. If I had been present for these votes, I
would have voted:
Nay on roll call vote 653 on the motion to recommit with
instructions.
Yea on roll call vote 654 on the passage of H.R. 4.
____________________