Providing for Consideration of H.R. Presidential Election Reform Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, my colleague from Pennsylvania mentioned me by name in his speech. And I just want to say, because I think it is important to clear things up, please do not compare my objections or the objections of others in the past to what happened on January 6. It is insulting.

Our objections were symbolic. What happened on January 6 was violent. It was an attempt to overthrow the government of the United States of America. It was an attempt to basically overturn the will of the American people.

Madam Speaker, we are here today because democracy faces a crisis of legitimacy, not just here at home, but around the world.

According to Freedom House, 2021 was the 16th consecutive year in which more countries declined in freedom than gained. Democracy's reach has ebbed and flowed through the decades, but it is clear that right now we are in a democratic recession.

More countries are turning toward authoritarianism than ever before. Countries we had thought were free are losing ground. Even the United States, the global bastion of democracy, has been labeled a backsliding democracy for the first time our history. This fact alone should set off alarm bells in all of our heads.

I have seen what happens when democracies fall, and I have seen the good that can come when the United States upholds democratic values around the world.

We can't preach democracy abroad when democracy is under attack at home. Because the deal is, there are people sowing the narrative that democracies cannot handle the problems of this century. There are people who advocate for authoritarian regimes that ignore the will of the people. In the global struggle between democracy and autocracy, these bad actors are a cold reminder that it isn't inevitable that democracy prevails. We have to fight like hell to make sure that it does.

Madam Speaker, all this is to say that the world is watching what we do here today. We have to make a choice, and if we make the wrong one, the consequences will be grave. No one is coming to save us. We have to save ourselves.

The Presidential Elections Reform Act addresses some serious issues with our Presidential elections. It used to be that our leaders would respect the will of the voters--win or lose. In a functional democracy, that is how it works. But now, people who don't like the results of an election feel empowered to lie and reject those results--sometimes violently.

The dismantling of our democracy won't happen all at once; it will continue to erode bit by bit until one day we will look around and see that it is too late. And the thing is, it starts with the elections.

Our elections are the keystone of our democracy. They are how the will of the people becomes the action of the government. We have a responsibility to shore up the institutions of our democracy against the forces that seek to erode them.

The Presidential Election Reform Act gives us the opportunity to do just that.

This bill is about strengthening democracy, prohibiting election officials from refusing to certify elections, clarifying that the Vice President can't just throw away electoral college votes, ensuring States only send one accurate election certificate to Congress so we don't see illegal, fraudulent slates of electors like we did in 2020.

These reforms will strengthen our elections and breathe life into our democratic institutions. Perhaps equally as important, they will send a signal to the world that American democracy is more resilient than the forces that seek to subvert it.

Madam Speaker, I know that sometimes when we talk about things like democracy or democratic institutions, it sounds abstract and lofty. Let me be perfectly clear. There is nothing abstract about this.

If we cannot ensure free and fair elections, we cannot ensure a free and fair society. We have to ask ourselves whether we believe our country should be governed with force or with consent.

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Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, our government cannot work and our democracy cannot survive if we fall on different sides of this question. The choice we make matters. What we do here today matters.

This should not be partisan; it should not be controversial. We all have a stake when it comes to the survival of our democracy. If you believe that freedom and democracy are worth it and you believe in the promise of what America can be, I implore you to vote in favor of the Presidential Election Reform Act.

Vote like the future of our democracy depends on this bill, because it does.

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