[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 191 (Monday, November 9, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6621-S6622]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         Presidential Election

  Madam President, there is another aspect of this that I would like to 
address for just a moment.
  After each Presidential election, there is a transition period when a 
new President is coming in and his team takes a look at the government 
as it stands and prepares for the day of January 20, when that new 
President will be sworn in. All of the networks and major news sources 
have declared Joe Biden to be the President-elect and Kamala Harris, 
our colleague here from the Senate, to be the Vice President-elect. 
They are now bringing together the people who are their experts to 
prepare for a smooth, orderly transition.
  Before that can take place, the Administrator of the General Services 
Administration must file something called an ascertainment that 
ascertains in fact there was an election and someone won. In most 
cases, it is very routine. It is just done automatically based on the 
reports from the States that we already have as we sat busily by the 
TV, day after day, doing our emails and texting to friends and 
families, waiting for the returns to come in. The announcement was made 
on Saturday, and the reaction was all across the country.
  You would think that the Administrator of the GSA would have the 
ascertainment necessary to really pull the trigger for a transition 
from the Trump administration to the incoming Biden administration. 
These are routine things that have gone on in past years without really 
much controversy. Yet, lo and behold, this year, there is controversy.
  For the past 60 years, since Congress passed the Presidential 
Transition Act to ensure a smooth and orderly transfer of power, the 
GSA Administrator has usually ascertained the apparent winner within 24 
hours of the election. By passing the Presidential Transition Act, 
Congress has acknowledged how critical this period is for the safety 
and well-being of the country. Once the GSA makes this ascertainment, 
the executive branch can provide crucial services to the transition 
team to make sure there is a smooth transfer.
  Remember when I mentioned earlier that we are in the midst of a 
pandemic, with thousands of people dying? Why would we want to see a 
delay or some bureaucratic indecision that might jeopardize a person's 
health or a person's life in the midst of this pandemic?
  Once the GSA makes that ascertainment to provide services, it 
includes access to classified information for incoming national 
security officials; background investigations and security clearances 
for potential nominees; State Department-facilitated foreign leader 
calls; access to SCIFs and Federal agencies for discussions on 
personnel, budget, and policy; and access

[[Page S6622]]

to $6.3 million of congressionally approved funds to support transition 
activities and to actually buy office equipment.
  Delayed ascertainment, as I mentioned, could also prevent the 
transition team from meeting with agency officials who will be 
responsible for the COVID-19 crisis. Shouldn't they get up to speed on 
Operation Warp Speed and on the announcement today by Pfizer that it is 
on the verge of announcing a successful vaccine? Don't we want an 
orderly, peaceful, smooth, effective, and efficient transition when it 
comes to the manufacturing and distribution of that vaccine? Of course, 
we do.
  A delayed ascertainment will cause major harm to this transition, to 
the new Biden administration, and to the American people. It could be a 
danger to our national security. Why would we ever risk that?
  On November 27, 2000, when there was an actual controversy in the 
States and in the courts over 500 or 600 votes in Florida, for example, 
Vice President-Elect Dick Cheney said about the transition being 
delayed at all: ``We will pay a heavy price for the delays in planning 
and assembling the next administration.''
  It has been a bitter campaign, a tough campaign. People still have 
very strong personal feelings about its outcomes. Some people are 
euphoric, and others are angry and sad. I know that is natural in an 
election campaign, and I feel that way about some of the races back in 
my home State. Yet there comes a moment when we have to look after the 
best interests of this country, and the best interests of this country 
say we should move forward on the transition at this moment.
  I believe that President-Elect Joe Biden will be sworn in on January 
20 as our next President. I believe the numbers are overwhelming. The 
margins in even the controversial States are so large, they are not 
likely to be overturned by any recount. Why delay the transition? Why 
run the risk that we won't have a smooth, orderly, and efficient 
passage from one administration to the other? Why, in the middle of a 
pandemic that has killed over 200,000 Americans and will threaten over 
100,000 more before January 20, would we ever risk it over some 
bureaucratic delay? It is just unacceptable.
  The American people know the election is over. Now it is time for us 
in Washington to concede that point. It is time for the Administrator 
of the GSA to do her job and announce the ascertainment and move 
forward in an orderly, productive, and smooth transition.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Boozman). The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. MANCHIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.