[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 183 (Tuesday, December 10, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H6545-H6546]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONFUSING ZIP CODES CAUSE UNNECESSARY DIFFICULTIES
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Molinaro). The Chair recognizes the
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Steil) for 5 minutes.
Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, currently in the United States, some
municipalities have ZIP Codes that don't match the municipal
boundaries, and it is a real problem.
Communities across southeast Wisconsin, including Somers, Mount
Pleasant, Caledonia, and Franklin have dealt with this unnecessary
difficulty as a result, so I rise in support of H.R. 8753 to fix this
problem.
H.R. 8753 will direct the United States Postal Service to designate
single, unique ZIP Codes for certain communities.
When physical mailing addresses differ because multiple ZIP Codes
converge within one municipality, it causes real confusion.
Besides mail delivery issues, inaccurate address listings can cause
delays in service response times, higher
[[Page H6546]]
insurance rates, problems with tax rebates, confusion over polling
places, and incorrect jury summonses.
{time} 1100
ZIP Codes play an important role in community identity. The
consequences of inaccurate address listings have been a constant
frustration for many local officials and the people they serve. In
fact, Dave DeGroot is the one who brought this to my attention.
This bill directs USPS to create ZIP Codes that align with municipal
boundaries. It is a commonsense solution, and I encourage my colleagues
to support this legislation.
ActBlue Investigation
Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, I think we can all agree foreign funding has
no place in American elections.
Over the past year, my Committee on House Administration has
investigated multiple situations, and in particular the Democratic
online fundraising platform of ActBlue, identifying and showing the
vulnerabilities that exist that could be exploited by foreign actors.
We have uncovered that the platform previously wasn't requiring the
use of a CVV code. That is the three or four digit number on the back
of your credit card. It is a simple financial safeguard most online
companies use to deter bad actors.
The Committee on House Administration has recently subpoenaed ActBlue
for documents related to potential foreign influence in campaign
funding. As chairman, I have introduced legislation to require the CVV
number and prohibit prepaid cards from being used to make
contributions, a pathway for foreign entities, including drug cartels,
to launder money.
The SHIELD Act would prohibit political committees from accepting
online contributions unless the contributor provides the CVV number and
the billing address associated with the card and also prohibit them
from accepting online contributions from prepaid cards.
It is imperative that we are increasing trust and transparency in our
elections. All parties should be complying with Federal election law,
including campaign finance laws.
Foreign actors have no place contributing in American elections. They
have no place in contributing to American political campaigns. I will
continue working to prevent foreign funding in our elections.
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