[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 150 (Wednesday, September 25, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6403-S6404]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   Unanimous Consent Request--S. 1398

  Mr. BUDD. Madam President, Americans should be able to trust our 
electoral process. But the Biden-Harris administration is undermining 
the system. And this is rightly causing millions of Americans to doubt 
the integrity of their vote.
  That is why my colleague from Utah Senator Lee has worked so hard to 
pass the SAVE Act. It is a commonsense bill to make sure that only 
American citizens vote in American elections.
  Now, this would address one of the most pressing threats to the 
electoral system. But there is also another serious threat to the 
integrity of our elections: the use of taxpayer dollars for partisan 
political activity.
  During the first 100 days of the Biden-Harris administration, 
President Biden signed an Executive order directing the head of every 
Federal Agency--every Federal Agency--to submit a plan for their Agency 
to ``promote voter registration and voter participation.''
  Now, on the surface, this seems like a harmless order simply designed 
to increase the number of Americans who vote. And I believe--we 
probably all believe--that is a laudable goal.
  The problem is that the order also mandates that all Federal Agencies 
partner with approved third-party organizations to provide these 
services on Federal Agency property and using your taxpayer dollars.
  So big questions remain, less than 2 months before a general 
election: Which third-party organizations are approved; who approves 
them; and what criteria are required?
  All of this information is conveniently missing from this order.
  Now, Congress has attempted to provide some and conduct some 
oversight on this, and citizens have rightly filed the Freedom of 
Information Act lawsuits.
  The Biden-Harris administration has released only a tiny fraction of 
these Agency plans. Now, in at least one instance, the administration 
redacted every single paragraph of an Agency plan, leaving only vague 
headers.
  I have one of these. I have 8 pages of redaction. That is how they 
responded to what American citizens are entitled to in regard of 
Freedom of Information. That is how the Biden-Harris--Kamala Harris--
administration responded.
  So it begs the question: What does the Biden-Harris administration 
have to hide? I am concerned that this administration is writing their 
own rules and using taxpayer money to partner with liberal get-out-the-
vote organizations. For example, a few months after this order was 
issued, the Biden-Harris administration hosted a listening session to 
discuss the implementation of this order.
  Now, about 50 leftwing organizations attended this meeting, and every 
representative attending was either registered as a Democrat or donated 
to Democrats, with the exception of one member of the Green Party.
  According to notes from a Department of Justice attorney documenting 
this meeting, their talking points focused on expanding Democrat voter 
blocs and espousing extreme liberal views. Remember, this is everyone's 
taxpayer dollars doing this.
  Now, as a matter of principle, I don't believe the Federal Government 
should be using those taxpayer resources to advance their partisan 
politics and policies. That is a principle that should be commonly 
shared across the aisle.
  But more than that, the prospect of a blanket Federal Agency mandate 
to engage in electioneering on the taxpayers' dime raises serious 
ethical and legal concerns.
  Now, I don't think you can draw any conclusion other than to say that 
this Executive order is another example of the weaponization of Federal 
Government.
  Congress should shut down this ethically and legally dubious scheme 
to help restore faith in our elections. That is why I stand here today 
to propose that the Senate pass the Promoting Free and Fair Elections 
Act. The bill is simple and straightforward. It would prohibit Federal 
Agencies from using your taxpayer dollars to enter agreements with 
partisan organizations that conduct voter mobilization activities.
  The Biden-Harris administration's sweeping directive is inherently 
political and directed primarily at groups expected to vote for one 
party over another. And when the American people ask for information on 
it, this is what they get. This order must not be allowed to stand.
  Madam President, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous 
consent that the Committee on Rules and Administration be discharged 
from further consideration of S. 1398 and the Senate proceed to its 
immediate consideration; further, that the bill be considered read a 
third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered 
made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. PADILLA. Reserving the right to object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The senior Senator from California.
  Mr. PADILLA. Madam President, I rise today in opposition to a bill 
introduced by my colleague from North Carolina. Let me start by saying 
this: The Senator from North Carolina says the Federal Government 
should not use official taxpayer resources--no taxpayer dollars--to 
advance partisan politics.

[[Page S6404]]

  You will be happy to know that I agree 100 percent. And I would 
venture to say that all of my Democratic colleagues agree 100 percent. 
But let's also be clear the Executive order referenced isn't that.
  And my colleague's attempt to attribute some scheme behind informing 
eligible citizens of their right to vote and facilitating their voter 
registration and participation is simply without merit.
  As I mentioned a few minutes ago, when debating the SAVE Act, we are 
now less than 6 weeks until the November election. And while there may 
be disagreement on policy with my colleagues, we should certainly agree 
that it is crucial to make sure every eligible American can participate 
in the political process--again, without any unnecessary barriers or 
obstacles and certainly without intimidation.
  As I referenced a few minutes ago, I once served as California's 
secretary of state and as the chief elections officer, and I am proud 
of the reforms that we implemented in making it easier for eligible 
citizens to register to vote, to stay registered to vote--because that 
is not easy in some States--and to cast their ballots in the elections.
  I want to emphasize that these reforms were put in place for all 
citizens regardless of political party, regardless of political 
leanings. We wanted to make sure that every eligible Californian could 
exercise their right to vote, and that is what should be our business 
here today--to make sure that every eligible American can exercise 
their right to vote.
  That is exactly why President Biden first issued this Executive 
order, which builds on decades of what, once upon a time, was 
bipartisan efforts to expand voter registration. What could be more 
patriotic than performing your civic duty? The bipartisan history of 
Congress in promoting voter participation includes the bipartisan 
passage of the National Voter Registration Act once upon a time.
  President Biden issued the Executive order to bring the weight of the 
Federal Government to help Americans register to vote. It strikes me as 
perfectly reasonable that when Americans are already interacting with 
the government, that we should take that opportunity to securely get 
more eligible Americans registered to vote and ready to participate in 
the elections. The Executive order that we are debating here is simply 
fulfilling the mandates that Congress created with the bipartisan 
passage of the National Voter Registration Act.
  I couldn't help but notice in the debate--in the presentation, in the 
arguments--that there has been a failure to point to any partisan 
language either in statute or in the Executive order. So I am 
disappointed that these efforts continue. What we should be doing is 
working together to facilitate civic participation and combating 
misinformation and disinformation surrounding the 2024 election that 
only risks confusing or discouraging people to participate.
  For those and other reasons, I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  The junior Senator from North Carolina.
  Mr. BUDD. Madam President, I really do appreciate my colleague's 
comments, especially the part on agreeing 100 percent with me.
  You know, it is very easy for my Democrat colleagues to wax poetic 
about wanting more Americans to want to register to vote. After all, it 
could be that the program I am discussing here is designed only to help 
his party, especially when I go back to what I referenced earlier about 
a Department of Justice attorney documenting this meeting and noticing 
that all the points were focused on expanding Democrat voter blocs and 
that there were 50 leftwing organizations that attended the meeting 
except for the one member of the Green Party.
  When we asked for details on this, of course, he said it wasn't that, 
but I do look at the top of this document from the Biden-Harris 
administration, referred to as the interim ``Strategic Plan for the 
Implementation of Executive Order 14019, Promoting Access to Voting,'' 
and this is what the American people get from the Biden-Harris 
administration.
  I would hope, at the very least, that my colleague, while waxing 
poetic, would agree about this program, like all Federal programs, that 
it should not be about oversight and transparency, but that is the case 
at the present time.
  And I do want to make thing one thing perfectly clear: We need as 
many people as possible to vote. Republicans and the vast majority of 
Americans support the idea that you need a photo ID to vote. 
Republicans and the vast majority of Americans support the idea that 
you should be a U.S. citizen to vote. Republicans and the vast majority 
of Americans do not support the use of Federal taxpayer funds--your 
dollars--for partisan political activity.
  Opposing these measures makes it clear that my Democrat colleagues 
simply aren't valuing election integrity, especially when we ask for 
details, and this is what the Biden-Harris administration shows the 
American people regarding ``Executive Order 14019, Promoting Access to 
Voting.'' Republicans value election integrity. At least you can tell 
by our efforts here.
  Folks, we just want it to be easy to vote and hard to cheat. I hope 
the American people are watching.
  I yield the floor.