[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 40 (Wednesday, March 3, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E203-E204]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       FOR THE PEOPLE ACT OF 2021

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 2, 2021

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, the precious right to vote in 
free and fair elections at all levels in the United States will be 
seriously jeopardized if H.R. 1 becomes law.
  Under an egregiously false facade of reform, the legislation 
consolidates and conveys new sweeping powers to regulate elections to 
bureaucrats in the federal government and nullifies existing state laws 
requiring valid identification before either registering to vote or 
casting a ballot.
  More than two-thirds of states currently rely on voter ID laws to 
protect the sanctity of the vote. Weakening--even prohibiting--certain 
safeguards against fraud will make our elections less secure, more 
vulnerable to fraudulent activity, and will undermine participation in 
our democracy.
  Other safeguards designed to mitigate voter fraud are also abolished, 
including bans on ballot harvesting.
  All states will be required to enable the practice of same day 
registration and voting

[[Page E204]]

which precludes any serious process at the local level to verify the 
eligibility of the applicant to vote.
  By making it illegal to scrutinize voter rolls with an interstate 
cross-check and by refusing any cross-check removals from the voter 
rolls within six months of an election, officials will be stymied in 
their duty to remove illegal and ineligible voters.
  H.R. 1 is embedded with free speech infringements that even the 
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has harshly criticized saying it 
``contains significant flaws that are detrimental to the health of our 
democracy.''
  H.R. 1 politicizes the FEC by turning the current bipartisan 
commission into a partisan entity and expands the powers of the FEC 
chair, effectively destroying the agency's ability to ensure fair 
elections by leaving important decisions on what is acceptable speech 
to a single individual.
  And by allowing the IRS to investigate and consider political views 
of an organization before granting tax-exempt status, this legislation 
empowers federal bureaucrats--with agendas--to decide which views 
should be rewarded or penalized.
  The bill also mandates states to give the right to vote to all felons 
who have been released from prison. Yesterday, the Democrats tried--but 
failed--to go further with an amendment to expand voting rights to 
criminals currently serving time in jail.
  H.R. 1 creates a 6 to 1 funding match for contributions of $200 or 
less to a congressional or presidential campaign--meaning for every 
$200, the federal government will match $1,200.
  The Congress can--and must--do better.

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