[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 158 (Thursday, September 29, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H8230-H8235]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    PROTECTION AND ADVOCACY FOR VOTING ACCESS PROGRAM INCLUSION ACT

  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1396, I call 
up the bill (S. 3969) to amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to 
explicitly authorize distribution of grant funds to the voting 
accessibility protection and advocacy system of the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands and the system serving the American Indian 
consortium, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate 
consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 1396, the bill 
is considered read.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 3969

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Protection and Advocacy for 
     Voting Access Program Inclusion Act'' or the ``PAVA Program 
     Inclusion Act''.

     SEC. 2. AUTHORIZING PAYMENTS TO VOTING ACCESSIBILITY 
                   PROTECTION AND ADVOCACY SYSTEMS SERVING THE 
                   COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS 
                   AND THE AMERICAN INDIAN CONSORTIUM.

       (a) Recipients Defined.--Section 291 of the Help America 
     Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21061) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); and
       (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new 
     subsection:
       ``(c) Eligible Grant Recipients.--
       ``(1) Definition of state.--For the purposes of this 
     section, the term `State' shall have the meaning given such 
     term in section 102 of the Developmental Disabilities 
     Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15002).
       ``(2) American indian consortium eligible.--A system 
     serving the American Indian consortium for which funds have 
     been reserved under section 509(c)(1)(B) of the 
     Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794e(c)(1)(B)) shall be 
     eligible for payments under subsection (a) in the same manner 
     as a protection and advocacy system of a State.''.
       (b) Grant Minimums for American Indian Consortium.--Section 
     291(b) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21061(b)) is amended--
       (1) by inserting ``(c)(1)(B),'' after ``as set forth in 
     subsections''; and
       (2) by striking ``subsections (c)(3)(B) and (c)(4)(B) of 
     that section shall be not less than $70,000 and $35,000, 
     respectively.'' and inserting the following: ``subsection 
     (c)(3)(B) shall not be less than $70,000, and the amount of 
     the grants to systems referred to in subsections (c)(1)(B) 
     and (c)(4) shall not be less than $35,000.''.

     SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       The amendments made by section 2 shall take effect at the 
     start of the first fiscal year starting after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The bill shall be debatable for 1 hour 
equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member 
on the Committee on House Administration or their respective designees.
  The gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren) and the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Rodney Davis) each will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren).


                             General Leave

  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on S. 3969 in the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in strong support of S. 3969, the PAVA Program Inclusion Act.
  The bill before us today is a bipartisan, bicameral piece of 
legislation that makes an important technical correction in the Help 
America Vote Act's Protection and Advocacy for Voting Access, or PAVA, 
program to explicitly include the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
Islands and the

[[Page H8231]]

system serving the American Indian consortium as eligible recipients of 
PAVA funding.
  When Congress passed the Help America Vote Act in 2002, it made 
significant changes to the country's voting process, addressing needed 
improvements to voting systems and voter access identified in the wake 
of the 2000 election. Since its enactment, Congress has provided 
billions of dollars under HAVA to help States improve voters' access to 
the ballot, including hundreds of millions of dollars in election 
security funds over fiscal years 2018, 2020, and 2022 and $400 million 
under the CARES Act to help voters access the ballot during the COVID-
19 pandemic.
  Amongst the numerous changes made, HAVA recognized the unique 
obstacles persons with disabilities face at the polls, authorizing 
funding for the Protection and Advocacy for Voting Access program, 
otherwise known as PAVA. The PAVA program funds activities aimed at 
increasing access to the polls and the ballot for voters with 
disabilities, ensuring they have access to all aspects of the voting 
process, and awarding funding to eligible protection and advocacy 
systems across the country.
  Since HAVA's enactment, the millions of dollars in funding allocated 
under the PAVA program allows protection and advocacy systems across 
the country to conduct activities such as disability training for poll 
workers, maintaining voting hotlines, examining polling places for 
accessibility, and even more.
  There are 57 protection and advocacy systems across the 50 States, 
the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 
American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 
as well as the American Indian consortium. The P&A affiliated with the 
American Indian consortium serves Native Americans with disabilities in 
the Four Corners region of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah.
  P&As are federally mandated and protect the rights of persons with 
disabilities through legally based advocacy. Unfortunately, HAVA's 
definition excluded the protection and advocacy systems serving the 
Northern Mariana Islands and the American Indian consortium serving the 
Four Corners region. I don't think we intended that, and this bill 
fixes that.
  Reintroduced this Congress by our colleague, Representative Ruben 
Gallego of Arizona, and our former House colleague, Senator Ben Ray 
Lujan of New Mexico, S. 3969 puts the P&As serving the Northern Mariana 
Islands and the American Indian consortium on equal footing with all 55 
other P&As. It does so without changing the program's overall 
authorization level or other elements of the program.
  Fixing this oversight will help ensure all voters with disabilities, 
regardless of where they live, can fully participate in the electoral 
process.
  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter signed by all 57 
protection and advocacy systems expressing support for the bill, as 
well as a letter of support from the National Disability Rights Network 
and a letter from the designated protection and advocacy systems in 
California and Illinois, all supporting this bill's package.

                                                 January 28, 2020.
     Representative Zoe Lofgren,
     Chairwoman, House Administration Committee, Washington, DC.
     Representative Rodney Davis,
     Ranking Member, House Administration Committee, Washington, 
         DC.
       Dear Chairwoman Lofgren and Ranking Member Davis: The 
     undersigned 57 Protection and Advocacy (P&A) Systems write 
     today to express our support to amend the Help America Vote 
     Act (HAVA) to explicitly authorize the distribution of 
     Protection and Advocacy for Voting Access (PAVA) program 
     funds to the Northern Mariana Islands and the American Indian 
     Consortium P&As.
       P&A systems are federally mandated, and pursue legal, 
     administrative, and other appropriate remedies under all 
     applicable federal and state laws to protect and advocate for 
     the rights of people with disabilities. There are a total of 
     57 P&As operating in every state, the District of Columbia, 
     Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Territories (American Samoa, Guam, 
     Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). There 
     is also a P&A affiliated with the American Indian Consortium 
     serving Native Americans with disabilities in the Four 
     Corners region of the Southwest.
       In 2002, Congress passed HAVA acknowledging the unique 
     obstacles people with disabilities face at the polls, and 
     authorized funding for the PAVA program. The PAVA program 
     allows P&As to advocate on behalf of voters with disabilities 
     to ensure that they have access to all aspects of the 
     American voting process. PAVA program funds allow P&As to 
     conduct disability training to poll workers, distribute 
     resources on how to conduct an accessible campaign, maintain 
     voting hotlines, examine polling places for accessibility, 
     and much more throughout the year.
       PAVA program funding is currently awarded to ``eligible'' 
     P&As across the country. Unfortunately, because HAVA includes 
     specific language about ``states'' only 55 out of the 57 P&As 
     are currently eligible for PAVA program funding. The Northern 
     Mariana Islands and the American Indian Consortium P&As do 
     not receive PAVA funding since they are not considered states 
     and therefore have been ineligible for PAVA funding since 
     HAVA passed.
       It was always the intent for all 57 P&As to participate in 
     the PAVA program. Thus, we support Congress passing 
     legislation that would provide a long overdue technical fix 
     explicitly authorizing the distribution of grant funds to the 
     Northern Mariana Islands and American Indian Consortium P&As.
       Thank you for your work on this important topic and 
     consideration of a technical fix.
           Sincerely,
       AK, Disability Law Center of Alaska.
       AL, Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program (ADAP).
       AR, Disability Rights Arkansas, Inc.
       AS, Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with 
     Disabilities.
       AZ, Arizona Center for Disability Law.
       CA, Disability Rights California.
       CO, Center for Legal Advocacy d/b/a Disability Law 
     Colorado.
       CT, Disability Rights Connecticut.
       DC, University Legal Services/Disability Rights D.C.
       DE, Community Legal Aid Society, Inc.
       FL, Disability Rights Florida.
       GA, Georgia Advocacy Office.
       GU, Guam Legal Services Corporation-Disability Law Center.
       HI, Hawaii Disability Rights Center.
       IA, Disability Rights Iowa.
       ID, Disability Rights Idaho.
       IL, Equip for Equality.
       IN, Indiana Disability Rights/Indiana Protection & Advocacy 
     Services.
       KS, Disability Rights Center of Kansas.
       KY, Kentucky Protection & Advocacy.
       LA, Advocacy Center.
       MA, Disability Law Center.
       MD, Disability Rights Maryland.
       ME, Disability Rights Maine.
       MI, Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service, Inc.
       MN, Minnesota Disability Law Center.
       MO, Missouri Protection & Advocacy Services.
       MP, Northern Marianas Protection and Advocacy System.
       MS, Disability Rights Mississippi.
       MT, Disability Rights Montana.
       NA, Native American Disability Law Center.
       NC, Disability Rights North Carolina.
       ND, North Dakota Protection & Advocacy Project.
       NE, Disability Rights Nebraska (formerly Nebraska Advocacy 
     Services).
       NH, Disability Rights Center--NH.
       NJ, Disability Rights New Jersey.
       NM, Disability Rights New Mexico.
       NV, Nevada Disability Advocacy and Law Center.
       NY, Disability Rights New York.
       OH, Disability Rights Ohio.
       OK, Oklahoma Disability Law Center, Inc.
       OR, Disability Rights Oregon.
       PA, Disability Rights Pennsylvania.
       PR, Executive Office of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
       RI, Disability Rights Rhode Island.
       SC, Protection & Advocacy for People with Disabilities, 
     Inc.
       SD, Disability Rights South Dakota d/b/a South Dakota 
     Advocacy Services.
       TN, Disability Rights Tennessee.
       TX, Disability Rights Texas.
       UT, Disability Law Center.
       VA, disAbility Law Center of Virginia.
       VI, Disability Rights Center of the Virgin Islands.
       VT, Disability Rights Vermont.
       WA, Disability Rights Washington
       WI, Disability Rights Wisconsin.
       WV, Disability Rights of WV.
       WY, Wyoming Protection & Advocacy System, Inc.
                                  ____


                                               National Disability


                                               Rights Network,

                                     Washington, DC, May 11, 2022.
     Hon. Zoe Lofgren,
     Chair, Committee on House Administration, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Rodney Davis,
     Ranking Member, Committee on House Administration, 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Chair Lofgren and Ranking Member Davis: On behalf of 
     the nationwide network of Protection and Advocacy (P&A) 
     agencies we represent, The National Disability Rights Network 
     (NDRN) writes today to strongly urge that the full House 
     swiftly pass S. 3969, the Protection and Advocacy for Voting 
     Access (PAVA) Inclusion Act which passed the Senate 
     unanimously on March 30.
       P&A systems are federally mandated, and pursue legal, 
     administrative, and other appropriate remedies under all 
     applicable federal and state laws to protect and advocate

[[Page H8232]]

     for the rights of people with disabilities. There are 57 P&As 
     operating in every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto 
     Rico, and the U.S. Territories (American Samoa, Guam, 
     Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). There 
     is also a P&A affiliated with the American Indian Consortium 
     serving Native Americans with disabilities in the Four 
     Corners region of the Southwest.
       In 2002, Congress passed HAVA acknowledging the unique 
     obstacles people with disabilities face at the polls, and 
     authorized funding for the PAVA program. The PAVA program 
     allows P&As to advocate on behalf of voters with disabilities 
     to ensure that they have access to all aspects of the 
     American voting process. PAVA program funds allow P&As to 
     conduct disability training to poll workers, distribute 
     resources on how to conduct an accessible campaign, maintain 
     voting hotlines, examine polling places for accessibility, 
     and much more throughout the year.
       PAVA program funding is currently awarded to ``eligible'' 
     P&As across the country. Unfortunately, because HAVA included 
     specific language about ``states'' only 55 out of the 57 P&As 
     are currently eligible for PAVA funding. The Northern Mariana 
     Islands and the American Indian Consortium P&As do not 
     receive PAVA funding since they are not considered states and 
     therefore have been ineligible for PAVA funding since HAVA 
     passed.
       NDRN has expressed the crucial need for the enactment of 
     the PAVA Inclusion Act on multiple occasions, including in 
     written and spoken testimony before House committees. 
     Additionally, all 57 P&As signed a 2020 letter of support for 
     this legislation to both the Chair and Ranking Member of the 
     Committee on House Administration. Most recently, in a Report 
     of the Interagencv Steering Group on Native American Voting 
     was published by the White House, calling on policymakers to 
     ``consider revisiting that limitation, to ensure that these 
     entities can also equitably access HAVA funds to serve voters 
     with disabilities in their areas''.
       It was always the intent for all 57 P&As to participate in 
     the PAVA program. Thus, we support the House passing S. 3969, 
     which would provide a long overdue technical fix to 
     explicitly authorize the distribution of grant funds to the 
     Northern Mariana Islands and American Indian Consortium P&As.
       Thank you for all your work on protecting the rights of 
     people with disabilities to vote privately and independently.
           Sincerely,
                                                Curt Decker, J.D.,
     Executive Director.
                                  ____

                                               September 19, 2022.
     Hon. Nancy Pelosi,
     Speaker, House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Kevin McCarthy,
     Minority Leader, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Zoe Lofgren,
     Chair, Committee on House Administration, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Rodney Davis,
     Ranking Member, Committee on House Administration, 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Speaker Pelosi, Minority Leader McCarthy, Chair 
     Lofgren, and Ranking Member Davis: On behalf of Disability 
     Rights California and Equip for Equality, the designated 
     Protection and Advocacy (P&A) systems in California and 
     Illinois, we write to strongly urge that the full House 
     swiftly pass S. 3969, the Protection and Advocacy for Voting 
     Access (PAVA) Inclusion Act which passed the Senate 
     unanimously on March 30.
       In 2002, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) 
     acknowledging the unique obstacles people with disabilities 
     face at the polls, and authorized funding for the PAVA 
     program. The PAVA program allows P&As to advocate on behalf 
     of voters with disabilities to ensure that they have access 
     to all aspects of the American voting process. PAVA program 
     funds allow P&As to conduct disability training to poll 
     workers, distribute resources on how to conduct an accessible 
     campaign, maintain voting hotlines, examine polling places 
     for accessibility, and much more throughout the year.
       PAVA program funding is currently awarded to ``eligible'' 
     P&As across the country. Unfortunately, because HAVA included 
     specific language about ``states'' only 55 out of the 57 P&As 
     are currently eligible for PAVA funding. The Northern Mariana 
     Islands and the American Indian Consortium P&As do not 
     receive PAVA funding since they are not considered states and 
     therefore have been ineligible for PAVA funding since HAVA 
     passed.
       It was always the intent for all 57 P&As to participate in 
     the PAVA program. Thus, we support the House passing S. 3969, 
     which would provide a long overdue technical fix to 
     explicitly authorize the distribution of grant funds to the 
     Northern Mariana Islands and American Indian Consortium P&As.
       Thank you for all your work on protecting the rights of 
     people with disabilities to vote privately and independently.
           Sincerely,

                                           Andrew J. Imparato,

                                               Executive Director,
                                     Disability Rights California.

                                                Cheryl Jansen,

                                          Director, Public Policy,
                                               Equip for Equality.

  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, language making this correction has passed 
the House twice this Congress in other legislation, and it should be 
enacted into law.
  The Senate passed this bill by unanimous consent in March, and 
passing it in the House today will ensure that it will go to the 
President's desk to become law.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, it is a different day here on the House floor for a 
debate over a bill with Committee on House Administration jurisdiction. 
I once again agree with the majority that this is a good piece of 
legislation, albeit I was a little concerned when my colleague just 
mentioned that officials in California and Illinois support this bill. 
I had to take a step back and realize, well, maybe I will talk to my 
team about who those officials are before I offer my wholehearted 
support.
  But in all seriousness, Mr. Speaker, as part of the Help America Vote 
Act created in 2002, Congress authorized funding for the Protection and 
Advocacy for Voting Access program to help ensure every eligible 
American, regardless of their abilities, can participate in the 
election process and cast their ballot privately and independently.
  Funds for the PAVA program are currently allocated to only 55 of 57 
legally established protection and advocacy systems across the country. 
The bill today makes an important correction to ensure that both the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the American Indian 
consortium are included as eligible recipients for the first time.
  This bill, as mentioned by my colleague, sponsored by my good friend, 
Senator Roy Blunt, passed the Senate by unanimous consent, and 
Republicans on the Committee on House Administration are supportive of 
these changes and have no issues with the bill.
  To be honest, I am somewhat disappointed that my colleagues in the 
majority on the Committee on House Administration have chosen not to 
pass this bill under suspension. For months, our staffs have been 
working together to pair the PAVA Program Inclusion Act with H.R. 8517, 
the Confirmation of Congressional Observer Access Act, a 
noncontroversial bill brought forward by Subcommittee on Elections 
Ranking Member Bryan Steil.
  Both bills make nonpartisan, noncontroversial amendments to HAVA. Mr. 
Steil's bill doesn't change Federal law or practice but simply provides 
a citation of convenience for existing law that gives the House 
authority to deploy official observers to watch the conduct of 
congressional elections in the States and territories.
  Both Democrats and Republicans have long deployed House staff as 
election observers to monitor congressional elections. Sometimes, our 
observers have had access difficulties, including in a widely 
publicized event in Maricopa County, Arizona, 2 years ago.
  So, we listened when many State and local election officials asked 
Congress to speak more clearly about this constitutional exercise so 
they can more readily provide access for our observers, which is why 
our committee staffs had agreed in principle to move both bills 
together.
  That was until just a few weeks ago when the Democrats' staff said 
they had issues. But when my staff reached out, they couldn't say what 
those issues were and met my staff with silence.
  We gave Democrats another opportunity to bring these bills up 
together during Rules Committee earlier this week when Mr. Steil 
offered an amendment to include his election observer bill, but it was 
rejected along party lines.
  Now, we are here on the House floor talking about a bill that should 
have passed under suspension alongside Congressman Steil's commonsense 
bill to ensure integrity and faith in our elections.
  While I will support the bill before us today, I urge my Democrat 
colleagues in the majority to quickly bring forward the Confirmation of 
Congressional Observer Access Act for a vote, as well.
  I was encouraged by comments earlier this week at the Committee on

[[Page H8233]]

Rules by my good friend, the chair of the Subcommittee on Elections, 
Congressman G.K. Butterfield, about Mr. Steil's good piece of 
legislation and continue to hope we can work together on a bipartisan 
basis to make it law.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Gallego), the proponent of this legislation.
  Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to vote 
``yes'' on my and Senator Lujan's bill, the PAVA Program Inclusion Act.
  This bill is based on a simple principle that every American should 
have equal access to vote, no matter where they are from.
  S. 3969 makes a long-overdue fix to the Protection and Advocacy for 
Voting Access program to improve voting access for Native and rural 
voters with disabilities in Arizona, the Four Corners region, and the 
Northern Mariana Islands.
  The PAVA program was first passed 20 years ago to break down barriers 
that Americans with disabilities face while exercising the most sacred 
right of all Americans, the right to vote. This program improves ADA 
compliance at polling locations, voting procedures for blind or deaf 
Americans, and training for poll workers to help Americans with 
disabilities cast their votes.
  Unfortunately, due to an oversight in the original Help America Vote 
Act, voters with disabilities in the Northern Mariana Islands and in 
the rural, largely Tribal Four Corners region of Arizona, New Mexico, 
Utah, and Colorado were not included in this critical program.
  That means for years, Americans with disabilities living in these 
regions have not received the investments they need to ensure they can 
access the ballot.
  That is especially hard in northeast Arizona, which is largely Indian 
Country, where voters already often travel hours to get to the polling 
location, sometimes to find that it is not accessible to them. That 
must change.
  This bill is a necessary step to bring resources to Native and other 
rural voters with disabilities who are trying to do their civic duty.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge all of my colleagues, Republican and 
Democrat, to vote ``yes'' and reaffirm the importance of voting access 
to everyone in our democracy.
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he 
may consume to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Steil), my good 
friend.

                              {time}  1100

  Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from the great State of 
Illinois for yielding me time.
  Mr. Speaker, I support the Protection and Advocacy for Voting Access 
Program Inclusion Act, which makes a simple technical fix. It would now 
include, as noted, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and 
the American Indian consortium as eligible recipients of funding that 
would help improve voting access for people with disabilities.
  Originally, this bill was to be paired with the Confirmation of 
Congressional Observer Access Act on the suspension calendar, and I 
must note that I am pretty disappointed we are not also moving forward 
with the Congressional Observer Access Act.
  I introduced this bill with the support of Ranking Member Davis in 
July, and I believe that it is a missed opportunity to increase 
Americans' public trust in our elections.
  The Congressional Observer Access Act would simply have clarified 
that designated congressional election observers--that is, individuals 
who have been designated in writing by Congress--would have the access 
they need to observe the administration of Federal elections.
  This is not a partisan bill. In fact, Congress already has this 
authorization under the Constitution. This straightforward bill would 
have provided clarity, which our State and local election officials 
requested in order to provide observer access more readily.
  I am disappointed that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle 
walked away from doing these bills on suspension, and I encourage them 
to work with Ranking Member Davis and myself to get this passed as soon 
as possible. We must work together to take commonsense steps that 
promote election integrity.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), our majority leader.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I would indicate to Chair Lofgren that 
perhaps we can yield to the ranking member because he would like to 
yield me 1 minute, I am sure.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation. I was the sponsor 
of HAVA. Republicans were in charge, and I worked very closely with my 
friend Bob Ney on HAVA. It was legislation that was called by The 
Washington Post as the greatest reform legislation in 25 years since 
the civil rights bill. That may have been some hyperbole, but it was a 
good bill.
  This bill corrects, essentially, a fault that we made in terms of its 
inclusiveness. The bill before us concerns two critical objectives that 
have been central to my work here in the House.
  The first is ensuring that those with disabilities have equal access 
to the same opportunities as their fellow Americans. On July 26, we 
celebrated the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act signed by 
President George H.W. Bush, a very bipartisan piece of legislation that 
has made a historical difference.
  The second is ensuring that all eligible voters in America have 
access to the ballot box and can make their voices heard in our 
democracy. That is, after all what our democracy is about.
  The PAVA Program Inclusion Act helps accomplish both of those goals, 
and that is why I am proud to bring it to the floor today.
  Specifically, this bill would improve access to the ballot for 
Americans with disabilities who live in the Northern Mariana Islands--
clearly, we want those included--and our Native American Tribal lands 
in the Four Corners region of the southwest, which we also expected we 
had done.
  This bill expands key programs first laid out in the Help America 
Vote Act, also known as HAVA, that provided funding to regional 
protection and advocacy systems to assist people with disabilities in 
the voting process.
  Although HAVA intended to provide funding for this important purpose 
to all protection and advocacy systems across the country, a technical 
oversight, as has been mentioned, led to the exclusion of these two 
regions. Today's legislation would correct that error and help us 
realize HAVA's original vision.
  I was proud to serve as the principal House sponsor, as I said, of 
HAVA back in 2002 along with Bob Ney, who was the Republican chair of 
the House Administration Committee and a very good friend of mine. We 
are prepared to celebrate its 20th anniversary later this month. I am 
glad to see that the groundbreaking law continues to evolve and be 
strengthened by Congress.
  HAVA was based on the principle that the integrity of our democracy 
depends on the accessibility and accuracy of our electoral system. I 
brought together a bipartisan coalition to enact that legislation in 
order to establish a number of commonsense policies that make voting 
easier and more secure, from reliable voting equipment to expanded 
provisional ballot access, HAVA and the bipartisan Election Assistance 
Commission--which I strongly support, and I am glad to see that we are 
investing in--make our Federal participation more broad and more 
effective.
  Today's bill reminds us, however, that HAVA must continue to adapt to 
new needs and challenges. I very much appreciate the efforts of Chair 
Zoe Lofgren, the gentlewoman from California, who has worked so hard on 
voting rights issues as head of the House Administration Committee, and 
I thank the ranking member Mr. Davis, as well. I thank Senator Lujan, 
our former House colleague, for authoring this bill and advancing it 
through the Senate.
  We must do everything in our power to ensure that people with 
disabilities, especially those from historically marginalized groups 
such as Native Americans and Pacific Islanders, can participate equally 
and fully in our democracy.
  Mr. Speaker, that is why I ask all of my colleagues to vote ``yes.''

[[Page H8234]]

  

  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, could I make a quick point 
of personal privilege?
  Is there any way to get the time of that ``magic minute'' this time? 
I want to sign a printout from the Congressional Record for my good 
friend from Maryland.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman may consult the majority 
leader to ask him to look at his watch.
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to ask Majority Leader 
Hoyer about his time.
  I have somewhat become used to being the antagonist to some of the 
majority's legislation when it comes to election administration, which 
I think has been so shortsighted on its impact to the American people. 
But this is one of those opportunities where we see good legislation 
come from the Senate, and this is an opportunity for us to show the 
American people that Republicans and Democrats can get along and pass 
important bills that are going to positively impact those who are 
disabled, and ensure that every single person who may be dealing with a 
disability in this country and in our territories has the right to 
vote, the eligibility to vote, and the opportunity to vote. That is 
what this bill does.
  Really, I have got to thank again my colleague, Roy Blunt, Senator 
Blunt, who used to be in leadership in this institution, as many of us 
know and remember so well. I thank him for bringing Republicans and 
Democrats on the House Administration Committee and Leader Hoyer and I 
together on this very important issue.
  I wish he would have come in earlier on some other issues, we might 
have had a little more bipartisan agreement. I will have to talk to him 
about that and ask him why he didn't do that.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my friends, Leader Hoyer and Chairperson 
Lofgren, and I thank the staff for pushing this important bill forward.
  I am disappointed and optimistic that we did not get the election 
observer fixes that both parties want and need and election 
administrators throughout the country have asked us to address. I am 
disappointed that was not part of a suspension agreement, where this 
bill should have been. I am cautiously optimistic with the great 
opportunity for bipartisanship that we are seeing here today that maybe 
it can continue after today. I won't hold my breath, but I will 
continue to remain optimistic and, hopefully, see that moving forward 
very quickly.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Steil for his remarks, and I thank 
Leader Hoyer and, also, again, my good friend, Mr. Blunt, for all their 
hard work.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  We have agreement on this bill from the Senate, and that is a good 
thing. I should note that we have had discussions, primarily at a staff 
level, on the election observer measure mentioned by the ranking member 
and Mr. Steil. We continue to evaluate the proposal, but we found a few 
concerns. I will mention them now. It is not arbitrary.


 =========================== NOTE =========================== 

  
  September 29, 2022, on page H8234, in the first column, the 
following appeared: Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time. We have agreement on this bill from
  
  The online version has been corrected to read: Mr. Speaker, I 
yield back the balance of my time. Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I 
yield myself such time as I may consume. We have agreement on this 
bill from


 ========================= END NOTE ========================= 


  The proposed legislation does provide broad access, statutory access, 
to observers, but it doesn't provide the ability of election officials 
to protect private, personally identifiable information of voters, and 
we think that needs to be addressed.
  The same section prohibits election officials from interfering ``with 
the elections administration process.'' The text doesn't give election 
officials the ability to remove observers if they are disruptive, and 
regrettably, we have seen across the country instances where advocates 
became aggressive, even in some cases--well, I will leave it at that--
aggressive towards election officials. There has to be a capacity to 
deal with that.
  We haven't had a hearing or markup on this. It is possible we will. 
But I didn't want to leave this just dangling out there.
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Will the gentlewoman yield?
  Ms. LOFGREN. I yield to the gentleman from Illinois.
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman 
for yielding.
  This is the first time we have heard these concerns, on the House 
floor today. We have not had any discussion between our staffs. I would 
have loved to have worked through some of these.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Reclaiming my time. My staff indicates that there have 
been discussions. Obviously, that was at a staff level. But I have 
outlined what the concerns are, and I would at this point like to close 
so that we can let the House get to its other business.
  To go on suspension, both sides of the aisle need to agree, and I 
think that is a very important provision of our procedures that will 
continue, whichever party is in the majority, and that was how this 
ended up. Because that bill really is not necessarily connected with 
this PAVA bill. I will talk about another bill that is not connected 
with the PAVA bill, and that is the venue bill I mentioned earlier this 
morning.
  I forgot to mention, and I put it into the Record last night, that 
the Progressive Policy Institute, as well as the chamber of commerce, 
opposes that venue provision. I do think the fact that Senator Cruz, 
Senator Cotton, Senator Hawley, Mr. Buck and Mr. Gaetz are for it 
doesn't persuade me that it is a safe measure to move forward to, even 
though I very much support the Neguse bill. If this does not pass 
today, I am sure the Neguse bill will come back because we do need 
resources to enforce our antitrust laws. I am totally on board with 
that.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope that we will pass this bill from the Senate that 
will protect disabled voters in the Northern Mariana Islands and the 
American Indian consortium, that they will have the same access to 
funding as all the others, and I urge support.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, S. 3969, the Protection and Advocacy for 
Voting Access Program Inclusion Act, will provide federal funding to 
help my district, the Northern Mariana Islands, lower the accessibility 
barriers that prevent individuals with disabilities from exercising 
their right to vote.
  The right to vote is the bedrock of our democracy. Yet simply having 
the right to vote does not ensure that every citizen is able to access 
the polls to cast their ballot. While the Help America Vote Act of 2002 
has been instrumental in improving the accessibility of polling places 
for voters with disabilities, the Act currently cannot distribute 
program grants to the Marianas and the American Indian Consortium.
  S. 3969 corrects that. The bill adds the Marianas and the American 
Indian Consortium to entities eligible for grants under the Protection 
and Advocacy for Voting Access program. PAVA supports training for poll 
workers, distributing resources on how to conduct an accessible 
campaign, maintaining voting hotlines, and examining polling places for 
accessibility.
  S. 3969 is the Senate companion to H.R. 7326, which Rep. Ruben 
Gallego and I introduced in this Congress. I want to thank Senators Ben 
Ray Lujan, Roy Blunt, Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith, and Martin Heinrich 
for introducing S. 3969 and their work to pass the bill unanimously in 
the Senate.
  I also want to thank Representatives Tom O'Halleran, John Curtis, and 
Teresa Leger Fernandez for their cosponsorship of H.R. 7326.
  I urged my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 3969, 
the ``Protection and Advocacy for Voting Access Program Inclusion Act'' 
which would remedy a specific situation to ensure that citizens who 
have the right to vote can do so without having to worry about 
barriers.
  Voting is a fundamental right that belongs to ALL citizens of the 
United States. In 2002, former President Bush signed into law the Help 
America Vote Act of 2002, also known as HAVA, to upgrade aspects of 
states' election procedures. It amended state plans and reporting, 
accessibility, and voting system standards.
  While the Help America Vote Act of 2002 intended to accomplish voter 
accessibility and encouraging voting across the nation by addressing 
the accessibility issues most United States citizens face, it failed to 
cover the entire population adequately.
  Specifically, HAVA did not address the needs of certain nonmainland 
territories, ultimately resulting in certain communities being unable 
to participate in the foundational right that our democracy is built 
on.
  The Northern Mariana Islands and American Indian Consortium have 
limited accessibility in voting, as they are not currently protected by 
the HAVA.
  The Protection and Advocacy for Voting Access Program Inclusion Act, 
also known as PAVA Inclusion Act, aims to amend the Help

[[Page H8235]]

America Vote Act of 2002 by introducing the State Definition 
initialized in the Development Disabilities Assistance and Bill of 
Rights Act of 2000 which allows the Help America Vote of 2002 to cover 
Northern Mariana Islands citizens.
  Additionally, this bill seeks to establish a system to serve the 
American Indian Consortium, granting them protection under the HAVA act 
in a similar manner to a State as mentioned prior.
  With these two communities protected by PAVA, they will now receive 
the much-requested grants that will enable them to meet the voting 
needs of their citizens. With these grants, systems will be able to 
overcome voter obstacles such as any language barriers.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my fellow Congressmembers to vote in support of 
the PAVA Inclusion Act. Without the PAVA Inclusion Act, eligible voters 
residing on the Northern Mariana Islands and in the American Indian 
Consortium are faced with unsurmountable challenges in exercising their 
rights to vote.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
  Pursuant to House Resolution 1396, the previous question is ordered 
on the bill.
  The question is on the third reading of the bill.
  The bill was ordered to be read a third time, and was read the third 
time.
  The question is on passage of the bill.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________