[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 123 (Wednesday, July 14, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S4874]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                 Texas

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, the Republican leader was here a few 
moments ago discussing an issue which I think has gotten a lot of play 
here lately, and that is this attempt by Democrat members of the Texas 
Legislature to come to Washington, DC, to protest legislation that is 
being moved through the legislature in the State of Texas. In fact, 
this is the cover of one of yesterday's newspapers--or I should say 
today's newspapers.
  It has a photo there of all the Democrat legislators from Texas 
meeting with the Democrat leadership here in the U.S. Senate. 
Allegedly, they are here, playing hooky from their jobs in Texas, 
having flown in, I am told, on private jets--so much for doing 
something about the climate--to protest the fact that in Texas their 
voices are not being heard and not being given input into the 
legislative process there.
  I point that out simply because it is really incredibly ironic. I 
mean, it is rich with irony. Sometimes, around here, you just say you 
can't make this stuff up. They are here in Washington, DC, away from 
Texas, which is where their jobs are, to protest the fact that their 
views and voice are not being heard in Texas and that the majority in 
Texas is running roughshod over the minority and their rights.
  The same Democrats, I would add, here in Washington, DC, are trying 
to get rid of the legislative filibuster in the U.S. Senate, the very 
mechanism that historically has protected the rights of the minority 
and given them a voice in the legislative process, the very thing that 
has been used historically in a way that ensures that the Senate has to 
come together behind big solutions, collaborate, find that common 
ground, find that compromise. The Democrats here in Washington and 
these Democrats from Texas are all in favor of getting rid of the 
legislative filibuster.
  Think about that. It is really pretty remarkable that they would come 
up here to protest what is happening in Texas at a time when they 
support getting rid of the very protections that give the minority here 
in the U.S. Senate a voice in that legislative process.
  And the other really remarkable irony about this is the issue that 
they are here to speak in support of S. 1, the bill that would 
federalize, that would nationalize elections in this country and take 
power away from States when it comes to regulating and administering 
elections, a power that has been held by States going back to the 
Founders.
  And so they came here basically to say you need to pass H.R. 1. Well, 
again, what is H.R. 1? H.R. 1 is this massive Federal takeover of 
elections in this country, and it is also the test case for why we have 
got to get rid of the legislative filibuster.
  I would be willing to bet that the Democrat leader at some point in 
the next couple of weeks is going to call up S. 1 again. We voted on it 
once already, but he is going to call it up again because he thinks it 
is good politics, and, plus, he wants to pressure his Members to do 
away with the legislative filibuster in order to pass S. 1 with 51 
votes.
  So, again, the irony of all of this, honestly, is some stuff you just 
flat can't make up. But I would reiterate what I have said before about 
S. 1: It is a solution in search of a problem. We have States around 
this country who are, in some cases moving to put in place election 
integrity measures, measures that will ensure that every vote counts 
and that everybody has an opportunity to vote but that people don't 
have an opportunity to cheat.
  That is all it is about. It is about election integrity. And most of 
the measures that are being adopted in States around this country are 
simply that--nothing more, nothing less--and, again, historically 
consistent with the way that our election process has been governed in 
this country, and that is to allow States to make those to do things in 
a decentralized way, to not consolidate power in Washington, DC, but 
rather to distribute that power and make it that much harder to hack 
into it.
  I mean, you think about it, you have 50 election systems in this 
country. It was what the Founders intended. They wanted to distribute 
power. They wanted to have a decentralized system, not one that was 
driven and controlled by a bureaucracy here in Washington, DC. I think 
that is consistent with what the American people believe ought to 
happen and the cases it should be when it comes to elections in this 
country.
  So it really is interesting to see these Democrat legislators from 
Texas coming to Washington, coming all the way up here--again, playing 
hooky from their jobs in Texas--to protest a piece of legislation that 
is being used by the Democrat leadership to try and get rid of the 
legislative filibuster, the very mechanism that protects the rights and 
the voice of the minority in the U.S. Senate. It has, literally, since 
our country's founding