Providing for Consideration of Senate Amendment to H.R. Nasa Enhanced Use Leasing Extension Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Mrs. FISCHBACH. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I thank the Representative from Massachusetts for yielding me the customary 30 minutes.

Madam Speaker, today we were informed by the majority at the last minute that we would be brought in to discuss the NASA Enhanced Use Leasing Extension Act of 2021, which was amended by the Senate and will be amended yet again here in the House, if this rule passes.

I don't think anyone here is surprised by yet another last-minute meeting, but I am starting to feel the effects from all of the whiplash over the last year. This time, House Democrats seek to insert the Freedom to Vote Act and the Voting Rights Advancement Act as a last- ditch effort to cater to the Senate majority's sporadic attempts to get something passed for their radical base, even though we all know neither of these bills will pass through the Senate.

House Democrats and Senator Schumer still need bipartisan support for this partisan bill. And certain other Senators in their party have yet to cede to the fringe of their party and go nuclear on a longstanding Senate principle, the filibuster. Whatever the thought process behind this effort tonight, it is disappointing that it is yet another deeply partisan attempt to Federalize all elections.

Madam Speaker, the Constitution places the responsibility for elections at the State level and has a long history of letting each State run their own elections. But H.R. 4, a component of this bill, would grant the Federal Government unprecedented control over State and local elections. It would empower the Attorney General to bully States and force them to seek Federal approval before making changes to their own voting laws.

Madam Speaker, this is an assault on the rights of States and local governments to manage their own elections. The right to vote is one of our most fundamental rights as citizens. It is upsetting to see the majority take advantage of this important issue because they are so desperate to maintain their power. This can be seen almost explicitly in the Freedom to Vote Act, which includes a new campaign finance provision that would ensure certain candidates receive millions of dollars in public funding for running a campaign.

The majority does not discuss this provision very often, but do the American people really want public dollars to go to fund campaigns?

State oversight in elections is important. Like so many things, the majority fails to recognize what works best for one State is not necessarily going to work in another State or across the country. States know what practices work best for their voters, as they have done throughout history. It was not hard to find many flaws in this bill, and I was able to do so with less than an hour's time. But I remained disappointed in the priorities and practices of this majority.

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Mrs. FISCHBACH. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Babin).

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Mrs. FISCHBACH. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Pfluger).

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Mrs. FISCHBACH. Madam Speaker, I yield the gentleman from Texas an additional 30 seconds.

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Mrs. FISCHBACH. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess).

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Mrs. FISCHBACH. Madam Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, Republicans will offer an amendment to the rule allowing for the immediate consideration of H. Res. 866.

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Mrs. FISCHBACH. Madam Speaker, this resolution states clearly that the right to vote is fundamental to democracy, and that legitimate elections are those which are safe from foreign interference, including illegal votes from foreigners.

The resolution denounces the practice by some cities in America of giving the right to vote to noncitizens, including foreigners who have violated our laws by being here illegally in the U.S.

The resolution states firmly that the House of Representatives recognizes that allowing illegal immigrants the right to vote devalues the vote of every United States citizen.

Madam Speaker, I present this amendment, and I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rodney Davis).

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to defeat the previous question so that we can bring up my resolution, H. Res. 866, to highlight how imperative it is for election integrity and voter confidence that only American citizens vote in our elections.

As Members of Congress, most of us have attended a naturalization ceremony or two during our time of service. We have watched these very moving ceremonies as these prospective Americans take the oath of allegiance to the United States of America. They pledge their allegiance to our country. They swear to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

It is one of those moments that makes America the greatest country on Earth. They have earned the right to vote in our elections.

What New York City and others are doing, by allowing nearly a million noncitizens to vote, is a slap in the face to those who worked hard for that sacred right. While I don't support what New York is doing by any means, it is our job that we protect Federal elections.

Common sense will tell you that combining noncitizens and eligible American voters on the same voter rolls is ripe for abuse. It is really just not practical.

Currently, in Illinois, noncitizens cannot vote, and if they do, they face major legal consequences and could be deported. But in 2016, Illinois' Automatic Voter Registration program mistakenly registered to vote more than 500 noncitizens who had done the right thing by checking the box stating they are not citizens on their driver's license applications.

However, several of these noncitizens voted in the 2018 and 2019 elections. This does nothing to bolster voter confidence in our elections. In fact, Madam Speaker, it does the opposite.

Not only does this undermine the integrity of our elections, but the mistake by Illinois could also have had dire consequences for these individuals if they seek citizenship in the future.

All of this could be prevented if States were actually maintaining accurate voter rolls, which has been required by Federal law for nearly 30 years.

Whether intentional or not, we know this is happening. It is undermining the integrity of our elections. This amendment would simply ensure those who are noncitizens, who do not have the right to vote in Federal elections, are removed from States' voter rolls. This is especially critical as my friends on the other side of the aisle push for a Federal takeover of elections.

Let's defeat the previous question so that we can take a stand with my resolution to support only citizens voting in our elections and encourage States to adopt reforms that don't put noncitizens at risk of intentionally or unintentionally breaking the law by illegally voting in Federal elections.

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Mrs. FISCHBACH. Madam Speaker, I would like to remind my colleague from Massachusetts that I believe in 2016 he also objected to certification of the election. It doesn't always sound like that when he speaks about the objections.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Johnson).

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Mrs. FISCHBACH. Madam Speaker, I just want to remind everyone that the issue here is the Federal takeover of elections. The statement that was made was about someone objecting to the certification and how that was somehow wrong. I just wanted to simply remind my colleague that he himself had voted that way and many of the Democrats have, over the years, voted to object to certification.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Tenney).

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Mrs. FISCHBACH. Madam Speaker, I yield the gentlewoman an additional 20 seconds.

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Mrs. FISCHBACH. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

I have not heard any compelling arguments for pushing either of these bills forward because the flaws are clear. We cannot create a one-size- fits-all election system imposed from Washington that requires States to provide automatic same-day voter registration, prevents States from removing dormant voters from rolls, and overrides State ID laws.

The Freedom to Vote Act would also guarantee public dollars would go into certain candidates' coffers. This is all nothing more than a partisan play for the Democrats to federalize all of America's elections. They are pushing it because they think it will help them stay in power. Historically, States have had oversight of their own elections.

While there is always room for improvement, let's keep the Federal Government out of it and leave the States to handle their own elections, as has been done in the past.

I oppose the rule and the underlying bill, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mrs. FISCHBACH. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

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Mrs. FISCHBACH. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

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