[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 4 (Wednesday, January 6, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E17]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       ELECTORAL COLLEGE CONTEST

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. BRENDAN F. BOYLE

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 6, 2021

  Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, today we will 
not pick the next president. For the people did that on November 3rd. 
Rather, today, in this House, we will decide whether American democracy 
survives.
  Let us be under no illusion. These are the stakes.
  If this objection succeeds, and the will of 7 million Pennsylvania 
voters is cast aside, it will end our representative democracy.
  There is no reasonable debate about what happened in this election in 
Pennsylvania.
  Almost 7 million Pennsylvanians voted.
  Joe Biden won by over 80,000 votes.
  This was certified by bipartisan local elected officials, including 
Republican officials;
  And every single court, whether the judge is a Democrat or 
Republican, has reaffirmed the outcome.
  Now, the objectors claim we do not know the will of the people 
because the election in Pennsylvania was somehow conducted corruptly. 
Much of their objection centers around the state law passed in 2019, 
known as Act 77, that gives voters the option of expanded mail-in 
voting. Objectors are alleging this law was somehow a plot by Democrats 
to disadvantage Republicans and rig elections. This is false.
  Here are the facts:
  Act 77 was a Republican-led effort in the Republican-controlled 
legislature.
  Literally every single Republican in the Pennsylvania Senate voted 
for it.
  In the state House, 105 Republicans voted for it; and only 2 voted 
against it.
  Here is what the Republican Speaker of the Pennsylvania House said 
about Act 77:

       ``This bill does not benefit one party or the other, or any 
     one candidate or single election. It was developed over a 
     multi-year period, with input from people of different 
     backgrounds and regions of Pennsylvania. It serves to 
     preserve the integrity of every election and lift the voice 
     of every voter in the Commonwealth.''

  There is no question as to the facts surrounding this election. They 
are as clear as they are overwhelming. The only question that remains 
is this: will this House reaffirm our fidelity to our democracy, or 
will we end it?
  I must concede, Madam Speaker, I have been naive about one subject. I 
always just assumed our democracy would naturally endure. I never even 
questioned it until the last several years.
  Two centuries ago, one of our Founding Fathers, cautioned against 
this. John Adams wrote, ``Remember democracy never lasts long. It soon 
wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet 
that did not commit suicide.''
  I now realize the wisdom of his words. Never again, will I take for 
granted our democracy. It must be defended by every generation. Always.
  But despite the alarm I feel that our democracy has been brought to 
this breaking point, I still maintain hope.
  Growing up in Philadelphia, and raised in an immigrant family, I was 
often brought down to tour the historic sites. Every summer, without 
fail, we would spend a day seeing Independence Hall, Congress Hall, the 
Liberty Bell . . .
  It was at Independence Hall, where our nation was declared free and 
our Constitution born. At the Constitutional Convention, the oldest and 
the most widely accomplished delegate was Benjamin Franklin, one of our 
greatest Founding Fathers, and my city's greatest citizen. Physically 
feeble, he rarely spoke throughout the Convention. In a notable address 
toward the close of the Convention, he gently urged dissenting 
delegates to put aside their legitimate criticisms and unite to adopt 
our Constitution.
  On the final day, as the last delegates were signing the document, 
Franklin pointed toward the sun on the back of the Convention 
president's chair. Observing that painters had found it difficult to 
distinguish between a rising sun from a setting sun, Franklin went on 
to say:

       ``I have often . . . in the course of the session . . . 
     looked at that sun behind the President without being able to 
     tell whether it was rising or setting. But now at length I 
     have the happiness to know it is a rising and not a setting 
     sun.''

  Madam Speaker, on a day like today, when a mob has stormed the 
Capitol and some Members are threatening the core of our democracy, it 
can be hard to tell whether, for American democracy, the sun is rising 
or setting. But I maintain my faith, that with an overwhelming 
bipartisan majority in Congress, we will uphold the will of the people 
and our democracy will live.

                          ____________________