[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 107 (Monday, June 21, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4645-S4649]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                     Tallapoosa County Girls Ranch

  Mr. TUBERVILLE. Madam President, before I begin, I want to first take 
a moment and remember those that lost their lives in a horrific car 
accident in Butler County, AL, this past weekend.
  Ten people lost their lives. Nine of those were between the ages 9 
months and 17 years old. A majority of those killed were in a 
Tallapoosa County Girls Ranch bus. The girls ranch is an organization 
that I have been involved with for 20 years. It handles young kids who 
have been abused, young kids who have no parents. They start at this 
ranch at most any age, and everything is paid for all the way through 
graduation of college.
  These kids were on a field trip coming from Baldwin County, AL, this 
past weekend and were involved in this horrific crash. There are no 
words that can bring comfort to these families or these children, but 
my family and my staff and the people of Alabama are praying for peace 
for all those affected during this unimaginable time.


                       For the People Act of 2021

  Madam President, as I and others have noted, Democrats call their 
flagship voting bill For the People Act, but a better and more fitting 
title is the ``Nancy Pelosi Power Grab Act.''
  My Republican colleagues have done a good job of highlighting the 
many flaws of this legislation in the last couple of weeks, including 
doing away with commonsense fraud protection like voter ID, forcing 
mandatory same-day registration on every State, allowing paid political 
operatives to harvest voter ballots, and directing taxpayer dollars to 
the campaigns of progressive politicians. Sadly, there is plenty more.
  But let me also note that this recent ``compromise'' is anything but. 
A compromise among Democrats should have been their starting offer to 
Republicans, not their final offer.
  The most recent versions still run afoul of the Constitution by 
trampling on First Amendment rights of free speech and taking away 
redistricting from the States. While ID is still required to vote, the 
bill expands what kind of ID meets that requirement, such as a utility 
bill. But the last time I looked, there was not a photo on our utility 
bill. The most secure form of identification is a government-issued 
photo ID. States shouldn't be forced to water that down.
  Americans want faith and trust in the integrity of their election 
process. This bill does not provide solutions to strengthen these 
processes, and once Americans learn what is in this bill, they will 
agree.
  The Pelosi power grab yanks power from the States. The Pelosi power 
grab lets politicians stuff their pockets with taxpayers' dollars. And 
guess what, folks. A slightly different version of a Federal takeover 
of elections is still a Federal takeover of elections. That is exactly 
what this new version of S. 1 is. It is hard to even call this version 
of S. 1 a compromise when the Democrats only compromise with Members of 
their own party. This was not a bipartisan negotiation to get an end 
product that both sides of the aisle could support. The last time I 
checked, we still have a 50-50 Senate. There has been no negotiation 
with our side.
  But regardless of its form, this bill does not solve the problems 
currently facing our election system; it makes the problems worse.
  You know, in sports, one team changing the rules by themselves is 
called cheating. It is seen for what it is--a power grab. It is 
stacking the rules to win the game instead of doing the hard work 
necessary to get the job done.
  Folks may be scratching their heads as to why one political party 
thinks they can completely change the rules of elections all by 
themselves, but if you have been paying attention to what the 
progressives have been up to recently, it won't come as a big surprise. 
Changing our country as we know it is the end game. That is why they 
want to pass this Pelosi power grab--so those who disagree with them 
have a harder time winning at the ballot box.
  But it is not just elections. Remember when they tried to hoodwink us 
with defund the police last year? Remember when they tried to walk that 
back? But they had made their position very clear. Now we are seeing 
the same thing with education, as critical race theory is pushed on 
school districts across the country. Simply put, critical race theory 
reinforces divisions on strict racial lines. It doesn't teach kids 
moral values, like treating everyone with respect regardless of race; 
it is just the opposite. Critical race theory teaches kids to hate one 
another. That is one thing schools should absolutely--absolutely--not 
be teaching. But, again, for Democrats, it is about changing the way we 
view our country.

[[Page S4646]]

  What we should be focusing on is actually improving education all 
over this country. The American people need to realize how far we have 
fallen behind.
  As columnist Mark Steyn wrote, ``Education is the biggest structural 
defect in our society. We have an almost entirely corrupt and abusive 
education establishment.''
  Here is where that education establishment has gotten us: We are 37th 
in the world in math, 13th in reading, and 18th in science. In 2019, 
only 35 percent of our fourth graders were able to read at the fourth-
grade reading level--35 percent. Embarrassing. That was lower than 2 
years before, and it was before the teachers unions kept kids out of 
school all of this past year. You can imagine how it is today. It is 
unacceptable. It should be unacceptable to every Member of this body.
  We have got China outpacing us in every industry and at every level 
of our economy. But Democrats are too busy painting the United States 
as the world's villain. How can we expect our young people to defend 
the United States abroad if they don't learn about the things that make 
America the greatest country in the history of the world?

  We, as elected representatives of Americans across the country, 
should be doing everything--and I mean everything--we can to create 
opportunity and to protect the freedoms that make this country great. 
It seems like folks across the aisle aren't interested in that. They 
have a completely different vision of and for our country--one that 
most Americans don't agree with at all.
  I bet if you ask folks back home if they want a bigger government and 
less State and local power, they would say no way. I bet if you asked 
them if a Federal power grab sounds like a good idea, they would say 
no. I bet if you ask them if they want their kids to learn to be more 
divided by race, they would also say no. They would tell you they want 
their freedoms protected. They would tell you they want the Federal 
Government out of the way. They want an education for children that 
provides opportunity because education is the key to freedom and 
success. Education can unlock every student's God-given potential, but 
critical race theory swallows that key. The Pelosi power grab just 
fills the lock with cement.
  Ladies and gentlemen, this For the People Act is one party's attempt 
to rewrite the rules--rewrite the rules of the game in hope that they 
will get a permanent advantage, plain and simple.
  It is really a shame. We are spending so much time on bills that the 
American people don't want, bills that don't have bipartisan support. 
So I urge my colleagues to come together and find solutions that will 
unite us as Americans, not divide us further as a country.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. HAGERTY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. HAGERTY. Madam President, I am here today to address Democrats' 
deceptively labeled ``For the People Act,'' which should more 
accurately be labeled the ``For the Politicians Act.''
  This legislation represents a breathtaking, unprecedented power grab. 
In a 50-50 Senate, this is a blatant attempt by those who are in power 
by the slimmest possible margin to take over and rewrite the election 
and campaign rules for all 50 States in one fell swoop.
  This would be done on an entirely partisan basis to ensure candidates 
from that same party win elections. In fact, while the only supporters 
of the bill are Democrats, there is bipartisan opposition to this 
legislation.
  This legislation would disenfranchise every American through the 
Federal seizure of the authority of each State's representatives to set 
election rules for their State in accordance with the wishes of their 
citizens.
  This partisan legislation would wash away election integrity 
measures, making it easier to cheat. Each invalid vote cast dilutes the 
strength of each valid vote cast.
  Our form of government for the people and by the people rests upon 
voters' faith in the integrity of our elections. If we allow that faith 
in our elections to continue to be compromised, we are allowing the 
very foundation of our American system to be eroded.
  Democrats don't want to talk about the details of this legislation. 
They don't want you to peek under the hood. They want to just slap a 
voting rights bumper sticker on it, jam it through, and then disparage 
and name-call anyone who opposes it.
  So let's take a look at exactly what is in this legislation.
  Under this legislation, a Federal politician running for election can 
take millions in taxpayer money for his or her own campaign.
  The legislation says that States must then allow that politician to 
pay political operatives to visit nursing homes, dormitories, emergency 
shelters, and other residences to collect thousands of ballots and, 
then, choose which ones to be dropped into unmanned drop boxes, maybe 
in the middle of the night.
  This bill would make it illegal for States to verify the identity of 
voters at the polls. Under this bill, ballots arriving even a week 
after election day would still be counted.
  It would require States to adopt universal mail-in voting practices. 
States would be forced to allow murderers, rapists, and child molesters 
to vote, even if a State's citizens have adopted laws to prevent it.
  It would require States to allow unregistered voters to cast ballots 
by simply showing up on election day and signing a form, without an ID 
and with no vetting allowed.
  The bill would silence political speech by religious and nonprofit 
organizations while politicians can use taxpayer dollars to air attack 
ads with which many Americans would find distasteful.
  The bill provides that if anyone disputes any of this, that is OK. 
They can lodge their complaints with the Federal Election Commission, a 
body that has been bipartisan since its creation. But wait. In addition 
to changing the rules to benefit one team, the legislation also ``buys 
off the umpire'' by transforming the FEC into a partisan, Democrat-
controlled body--a body that could hound the opposing party candidates 
to the ends of the Earth. This bill transforms the judge into the 
prosecutor.
  I wish that was all this legislation did. It also snatches the 
responsibility for drawing Congressional districts from the elected 
representatives of all 50 States, who have done that job for the last 
230 years, and sets up a Byzantine process that would ultimately hand 
it over to an academic consultant hired by a liberal judge right here 
in Washington.
  Let me repeat that: A consultant hired by a judge in Washington, DC, 
will be drawing every congressional district in the country.
  Using government power to seize control of elections, to limit 
speech, to pack tribunals, to ensure the ruling party stays in power--
that sounds like a headline you would hear in Venezuela, Russia, Iran, 
or even China, not in the United States of America.
  Not too long ago, both parties would have considered this partisan 
power grab beyond the pale. But far-left operatives want permanent 
power, and Democrats, eager to keep the power for themselves, are 
afraid to tell them no.
  Democrats are now characterizing this legislation as an emergency 
response to recent legislation in a few States. This legislation isn't 
just a solution in search of a problem; it is a power grab that for 
years has been in search of a crisis--any crisis, manufactured or 
otherwise--that can be used to justify it.
  Democrat operatives introduced a previous version of this bill on 
January 24, 2017, 4 days after President Trump took office. The 
purported crisis then was the American people's election of Donald 
Trump, which the Democrats found unacceptable. They continued this 
effort by introducing yet another version of the ``For the Politicians 
Act'' in 2019, which at that time passed the House without a single 
Republican vote. Like the bill the Senate will consider this week, this 
bill was a Democrat operative's electioneering fantasy--federalizing 
unlimited mail-in voting, prohibiting voter ID requirements, and 
allowing unregistered voters to show up and vote on election

[[Page S4647]]

day. Wisely, the Senate, in 2019, never took it up.
  Then, as the pandemic took root in the spring of 2020, Democrats, in 
search of yet a new crisis to justify this bill, included it in a 
pandemic relief bill that the House passed--again, without a single 
Republican vote. Once again, the Senate dismissed it and wisely focused 
on providing bipartisan pandemic relief, rather than using the pandemic 
as a justification to federalize elections.
  With the pandemic now in the rearview mirror, this legislation is 
being pitched as necessary to preserve voting rights, using cartoonish, 
overheated, and false characterizations of a few sensible, measured 
voting integrity laws that have recently been enacted by States. Why? 
Because Democrats have to invent a new crisis every 6 months or so to 
conceal this quest to install themselves permanently into power.
  Don't let them fool you. This isn't about some State election law. 
The House passed virtually the same bill last year. Most of the 
components of this bill have been floating in Democrat National 
Committee back rooms for years.
  This isn't about voting rights. This legislation protects voting 
rights like banning security guards at banks would protect bank 
depositors.
  Now, why are the Democrats so desperate to pass this bill? Well, a 
recent report from POLITICO explains it. POLITICO says:

       What's at stake is . . . potentially the future Democratic 
     majorities. Many in the party privately worry that frontline 
     Democrats could lose their seats if Congress doesn't [pass 
     this bill].

  So, to keep power, Democrats have determined that they have to take 
over State elections. This is about holding on to power and nothing 
else. There doesn't seem to be a power grab that is too extreme for the 
modern left, whether it is this bill, legislation to pack the Supreme 
Court, suddenly changing their position and pushing to scrap 
fundamental Senate rules in order to obtain short-term political gains 
or adding Washington, DC, as a State. It is all about one thing--
fulfilling a fantasy of permanent Democrat power.
  Under this legislation, American elections would no longer be about 
earning the support of voters by communicating a powerful vision. 
Rather, American elections would be all about creating the largest 
machine, identifying favorable voters, and mass-gathering their ballots 
door-to-door as efficiently as possible.
  The winning campaign would be the one with the largest army of ballot 
harvesters to drive voters--registered or unregistered, with or without 
ID--to fill out and hand over a ballot that will be ``dropped'' on 
their behalf in unmanned ballot boxes.
  Americans want commonsense laws that make it easier to vote and 
harder to cheat. Such laws currently exist throughout the country. That 
is why we had recordbreaking voter participation in 2020, including in 
my State of Tennessee.
  This legislation is as unnecessary as it is misguided and dangerous. 
It is a politician protection measure that would do irreparable damage 
to the fabric of this country, and it should be soundly rejected by 
this body
  Madam President, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, this Saturday was Juneteenth, the first 
official Juneteenth recognized by the Federal Government as a national 
holiday--the official end of slavery in America. I commemorated and 
celebrated Juneteenth with my colleague Senator Van Hollen at a meeting 
of the NAACP chapter in Randallstown, MD, and we reflected on the 
progress that we have made since the end of slavery and the challenges 
that still remain.
  It has been a long path toward justice and equality in this country, 
and I think we all recognize the wisdom of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 
with his famous quote that ``the arc of the moral universe is long, but 
it bends toward justice.''
  I think we all believe that, but in recent actions taken by State 
governments to restrict voting rights, we see some very disturbing 
trends that would take issue with Dr. King's statement that the moral 
universe is bending toward justice. It seems like it has taken a 
detour.
  Voting rights is a fundamental issue of importance to a democratic 
country.
  After elections are over and we win, we celebrate. We celebrate the 
fact that we have gotten the support of the majority of the voters, and 
that is what democracy is all about. If we don't win--and I think many 
of us have been involved in campaigns where our candidates have not 
been successful--we go to work to try to attract more voters in the 
next election so we can celebrate a victory. That is what participation 
in a free society is all about. That is what democracies are about.
  In repressive autocratic regimes, they will never accept the will of 
the people. So they look at ways in which they can undermine the voter 
record--what the voters want to do, the voters' will. In the 2020 
election, we should all celebrate the record number of people who cast 
their ballots. It was a record--the most ever casting their votes for 
the Presidency of the United States. There were repeated reviews done 
by both Democrats and Republicans at the national level and at the 
State level and at the local level. It verified the simple fact that 
there was no widespread corruption, that the will of the people 
prevailed, and Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were elected President and 
Vice President of the United States.
  But that did not stop former President Trump in promoting the Big 
Lie. As a result of that, several States have now taken action to make 
it harder for people to cast their votes. The Brennan Center has 
pointed out that we have seen the worst assault on voting rights since 
Jim Crow. Fourteen States have enacted 22 new laws to make it more 
difficult--more difficult--for people to vote. This is unprecedented in 
modern times.
  So what have those laws done? Made it more difficult for voters to 
vote by mail, recognizing that for many voters, they prefer to vote by 
mail. We have States that have 100 percent voting by mail. There has 
been no indication of fraud in voting by mail.
  States have shortened the time for requesting mail-in ballots for 
voting, making it more difficult for individuals to be able to vote by 
mail, requiring certain requirements to vote by mail, making it more 
difficult to deliver their mail-in ballots, limiting the availability 
of mail ballot drop boxes. All of that had been included. Why? Because 
it makes it more difficult for people who are likely to vote for my 
opponent to vote. That is what the State legislatures are doing--
stricter signature requirements, making in-person voting more 
difficult, and purging voter rolls simply because a person did not 
vote--again, making it more difficult for people to vote. And it goes 
on and on and on in the type of legislation that has already passed or 
is currently being considered by many State legislatures around the 
country, making it more difficult to register to vote, making it more 
difficult to vote, targeting potential voters more likely to vote for 
their opponents, targeting minorities, young voters, and older minority 
voters.
  Let me give just one example. Using Georgia as a specific example, 
their recently enacted changes will disproportionately hurt Black 
voters. The Georgia State law imposes voter identification requirements 
on absentee ballots, makes it hard to request an absentee ballot, and 
makes it a crime for groups to provide food and water to voters waiting 
in line.
  Georgia is basically restricting mail voting in response to a shift 
in the racial demographics of the voters who use it. On the other hand, 
Georgia wants to keep mail voting available for older, White mail 
voters.
  Voter suppression is always unacceptable, and the razor-thin 
political margins in Georgia may mean that suppression efforts like 
these will change political outcomes. Rather than imposing barriers to 
casting the sacred right to vote, Georgia should be looking at ways to 
improve voter access.

[[Page S4648]]

  As the New York Times pointed out, the Georgia law comes on the heels 
of a major upset for Republicans in the traditionally red State, after 
voters picked Joe Biden in the Presidential election and elected 
Democrats to both of the State's U.S. Senate seats. The paper noted 
that the new Georgia law ``will, in particular, curtail ballot access 
for voters in booming urban and suburban counties, home to many 
Democrats.'' President Biden was right to call this legislation the 
``Jim Crow in the 21st century.''
  There are many other examples. Georgia is not unique in the efforts 
we are seeing to suppress voter participation at elections.
  Look, it is fair game to try to persuade voters to vote for your 
candidate. It is not fair game to suppress their right to vote.
  So what is the vote this week all about, the vote we are going to 
have on bringing forward the opportunity to debate voter suppression 
legislation to protect the right to vote? It is simply a motion to 
proceed with a debate on the Senate floor. Let me repeat that. We are 
not voting on S. 1, the passage of it. We are not voting on any 
specific proposal. I know my friend from West Virginia has offered a 
proposal. We are not voting on that. We are voting on the right for the 
Senate to take up this critically important issue or whether it should 
be filibustered so we can't bring up a voter issue to protect the 
integrity of the right to vote.
  Now, I support S. 1. I am a cosponsor of S. 1, For the People. I am 
proud to support the provisions of that bill. To me, it is carefully 
drafted legislation to deal with the modern threats to voter 
participation. I am extremely proud that my colleague from Maryland, 
Congressman   John Sarbanes, is the principal sponsor of H.R. 1 in the 
House that already passed the House.
  It provides a basic Federal floor on protection of the right to 
vote--on voter registration, on vote-by-mail, no-excuse balloting, 2 
weeks of early voting, including weekends, no notary requirement for 
absentee ballots, drop-off boxes. That is a simple voter protection 
against the actions being taken by State legislatures that are aimed at 
certain demographic groups, a Federal floor.
  It ends political gerrymandering. I don't know how any of my 
colleagues can defend the way legislative and congressional lines are 
drawn today. I came from the State legislature. I am a former speaker 
of the house. I was responsible for one of the redistricting plans of 
Maryland when I was speaker of the house. It is just a horrible, 
partisan, political process we use today to draw congressional lines.
  I have been accused by my congressional colleagues in the House from 
Maryland that I ran for the Senate to avoid having to deal with 
congressional redistricting. There may be some truth to that, but I can 
tell you this: It is time to end political gerrymandering. 
Congressional districts should represent the communities' interests, 
not an individual Congressman's interest. S. 1 takes a major step 
forward in ending political congressional redistricting by 
gerrymandering.
  It provides a commitment by Congress to advance a preclearance 
formula that was in the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that now is not 
operative because of the Shelby County decision. It puts us on a path 
to once again have that important tool available in order to deal with 
the freedom and right to vote.
  It promotes voter security, S. 1, by eliminating the paper ballot--by 
requiring the paper ballot, I should say, not eliminating it, by 
requiring a paper trail. I think we all agree that we want to be able 
to verify votes. The only way you can is if there is a paper trail, and 
it provides for that paper trail.
  It puts an end to the dominance of big money in the political system. 
They do that in a couple of ways: one, disclosure--how can anyone be 
against the disclosure of who is putting money into our political 
system?--and secondly, providing a way in which we can get rid of the 
dependence upon large special interest dollars.
  It includes, S. 1, two provisions that I authored. One is a deceptive 
practices act that deals with false or misleading advertisements which 
are aimed at targeting minority communities to confuse and mislead 
their votes.
  It includes the Democracy Restoration Act, which I authored, which 
deals with laws passed after the end of slavery in an effort to prevent 
African Americans from voting, for, you see, there are States that 
passed laws back then that are still on the books that disqualify for a 
lifetime a person convicted of a felony.
  The definition of ``felony'' is pretty general in many States, so we 
have States where one out of five African Americans has been 
disqualified from voting because of their conviction of a felony. Even 
though they are fully part of our society today, they don't have the 
right to vote. We need to remove that disqualification on voting.
  My friend, our former colleague, John Lewis--the two of us were 
elected to the U.S. House of Representatives on the same day. In an 
editorial published after his death, our former colleague John Lewis 
recalled an important lesson taught by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and 
I quote our former colleague:

       He said each of us has a moral obligation to stand up, 
     speak up and speak out. When you see something that is not 
     right, you must say something. You must do something. 
     Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation 
     must do its part.

  Well, we cannot take action if we don't start, and we can't start 
unless my colleagues allow us to proceed to this issue on the floor of 
the U.S. Senate.
  There is a reason why there are so many groups behind us taking 
action. I have a Facebook Live that I do every 2 weeks with my 
constituents. Jana Morgan from the Declaration for American Democracy, 
which represents over 180 groups, from labor to racial justice groups, 
faith groups, women's rights groups, environmental and good-governance 
groups--all telling us that we need to move forward to protect our 
democracy, that the Senate needs to act on this issue.
  One of my guests, Virginia Kase Solomon from the League of Women 
Voters--now, the League of Women Voters--you can say a lot of things 
about them, but you can't accuse them of being partisan because they 
are not. It is one of our premier nonpartisan institutions in America 
with a proud history. They are telling us to take this bill up and act 
for the sake of protecting our democracy.
  We then have a chance to act, to take up amendments and vote on 
amendments and vote on concerns, whether they are offered by a 
Republican Senator or a Democratic Senator. That is what the motion to 
proceed allows us to do, to take up these issues so we can vote on 
them. But if you vote to filibuster the motion to proceed, we can't 
even bring the issue up on the Senate floor for action.
  I urge my colleagues not to filibuster the right of the U.S. Senate 
to start the debate on protecting voter integrity, where each Member 
will have an opportunity to debate the issue, and collectively we can 
come together, as many of my colleagues have offered suggestions about 
how we can improve S. 1, how we can make it a broader consensus, but we 
can't do that unless we have the right to proceed to a debate.
  I urge my colleagues to support the cloture motion on the motion to 
proceed so the Senate can take up this most critically important issue 
to the preservation of our democracy and the integrity of the right to 
vote
  With that, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that I be 
allowed to complete my remarks prior to the rollcall vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, if the Constitution is the 
foundation our Republic, then the concept of ``one person, one vote'' 
is the cornerstone. It is also a promise that every single eligible 
voter in America takes with them into that voting booth on that 
election day. It gives them confidence that their vote matters. It 
helps them to keep the faith in our electoral system and in their local 
government.
  We can talk about the vote on a grand scale here in Washington, but 
this is where it really matters: back home at your local polling place, 
in your home county, and in the precincts with the people who do the 
work of

[[Page S4649]]

standing up elections, running elections, and certifying their own 
elections. It is of the people, by the people, for the people that this 
process is carried out in each and every one of our counties. And you 
know what, that is how it is supposed to be.
  Article I, section 4 of our Constitution clearly states--here it is:

       Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators 
     and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the 
     Legislature thereof.

  Well, how about that? The Constitution delegates that authority to 
the State legislatures, and that is why our States' secretaries of 
state work with our counties to make certain the process is put in 
place.
  You know, I had the opportunity to serve on my county's local 
election commission prior to my being in elective office. One person, 
one vote--that is the No. 1 rule that guided the decisions they made. 
When we recruit poll workers, it is the No. 1 concern that drives 
people to go sign up. When we train the volunteers who are staffing 
polling places, it is the No. 1 rule to teach. Every person gets one 
vote. All legally cast votes are counted. That is the way it is 
supposed to work--one person, one vote.
  Here in the Senate, I am concerned that my Democratic colleagues have 
forgotten about this rule. Why else would they once again pledge to 
move a piece of legislation that would throw ``one person, one vote'' 
out the window? Many of my Republican colleagues have taken to calling 
H.R. 1 or S. 1 the Politician Protection Act or the For the Politician 
Act, and I will have to agree that is a fairly apt description.
  There are a lot of problems with this bill, but I want to focus on a 
few key provisions that will gut ``one person, one vote'' and destroy 
confidence in our elections.
  If this bill passes, say goodbye to meaningful voter ID laws. My 
Democratic colleagues kept the idea of these requirements intact, but 
to please their radical base, they added a loophole that would force 
every single jurisdiction to accept affidavits in lieu of 
identification--that is right, an affidavit. They may as well have 
banned voter IDs because that loophole makes requirements that voters 
prove they are who they say they are absolutely meaningless. They can 
just sign a statement saying ``I am who I say I am'' without having to 
show proof.
  The bill also requires States to allow paid campaign operatives to 
engage in ballot harvesting schemes. That is right. This allows your 
paid campaign operatives to engage in ballot harvesting schemes. Now, 
these ballot harvesting schemes have been proven time and again to 
increase the risk of fraud, so much so that many States on their own 
moved forward and banned ballot harvesting schemes. Why did they ban 
this? Because it leads to fraud in elections.
  Inexplicably, my colleagues also want to throw ballot drop boxes into 
the mix. They pitched them as a convenience, but that convenience will 
be nearly impossible to monitor and to protect 24 hours a day, which 
means that it will be nearly impossible to monitor and protect the 
ballots that are inside those boxes, and these boxes then become a 
fairly convenient way to stuff the ballot box.
  But perhaps the most dangerous, counterproductive, and outright 
infuriating provision my Democratic colleagues have included in this 
mess of a bill is a restriction against voter roll maintenance Anyone 
with a bit of common sense knows how inaccurate or duplicate entries in 
a dataset can add up. That leaves these datasets in a state of 
disrepair, and that is how fraud and mistakes occur.

  It is just one more provision in a bill raising red flags for local 
officials in every single State in this country. And this red flag, in 
particular, is prompting people to ask me if my Democratic colleagues 
involved in drafting this bill have ever actually volunteered at a 
local polling place, which really tells you a lot about how 
shortsighted this legislation is.
  This bill really doesn't have anything to do with voting rights. This 
is a politically motivated Federal takeover of elections that would 
give us the exact opposite of what is laid out in the Constitution.
  The Founders--the Founders--granted the States power over their own 
elections for a reason. The Federal Government is beyond incompetent to 
get this job done. If you like the service you get from the IRS or the 
EPA or OSHA, that is what you could expect the next time your community 
has an election.
  If we allow this bill to pass, the promise of one person, one vote 
will crumble. The promise of counting eligible ballots and not counting 
ineligible ballots would go by the wayside. And what do you get in 
exchange? The promise of chaos, confusion, and a lack of confidence in 
the integrity of the vote.