Disapproving the Action of the District of Columbia Council in Approving the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022

Floor Speech

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Mr. LANGWORTHY. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 97, I call up the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 24) disapproving the action of the District of Columbia Council in approving the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022, and ask for its immediate consideration.

The Clerk read the title of the joint resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.J. Res. 24, disapproving the action of the District of Columbia Council in approving the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022, introduced by the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, James Comer of Kentucky.

Our Nation's Capital City is in crisis. Crime is rampant. Students in D.C. Public Schools suffered historic learning loss because Democrats kept schools closed. Buildings are sitting empty while Federal workers continue to work from home.

The D.C. Council has prioritized a bill to allow noncitizens, including illegal immigrants and foreign employees at embassies openly hostile to the United States to vote in local elections.

This move by the D.C. Council dilutes the votes of American citizens, including the many residents of the District who struggled and sacrificed to obtain legal citizenship the right way.

Voting is a pillar of American democracy and a constitutional right that must be protected and preserved for citizens of our country. Voting is how Americans exert their will upon their government.

Voting ultimately determines how laws are written and enforced so that citizens can shape the rules under which they can earn a living and be protected from harm.

Voting is an essential privilege and responsibility established at great cost throughout our Nation's history.

To quote one of our Founding Fathers, Samuel Adams: ``Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote . . . that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society.''

On November 21, 2022, the D.C. Council chose to trash this solemn trust by granting this sacred right of voting to anyone residing in the District, including those here illegally and other noncitizens.

Just think about the immediate implications of this law. Our Nation's Capital City plays host to virtually hundreds of foreign organizations and embassies. Many of these foreign nationals have interests directly opposed to those of the United States, and they make no claim otherwise.

D.C.'s law makes zero exceptions for such individuals whose role may be to disrupt or destroy the American way of life and principles our Nation stands upon.

For years, Democrats in Washington decried potential foreign influence in our electoral process, but D.C.'s new law potentially allows foreign agents from China, Russia, and other adversaries to participate in local elections held within this Nation's Capital City.

It is no secret that President Biden's policies have created the worst border crisis in American history, bar none. Just this week, the Committee on Oversight and Accountability heard from the U.S. Border Patrol about how the Biden administration's policies are undermining their ability to secure our southern border. Now, D.C. Democrats are providing another magnet for illegal immigration.

This law is so bad that the D.C. Council even lost the support of The Washington Post's editorial board. In October of last year, The Washington Post editorial board announced it opposed the bill declaring that ``voting is a foundational right of citizenship.''

The Post went on to note that allowing an estimated 50,000 noncitizen D.C. residents to vote is just simply a bridge too far. I think most of us can agree on that, and I think most of the American people would certainly agree with that.

Even D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser agrees with us. She chose to withhold her own signature from this legislation. While the bill was ultimately enacted without her support, it is shocking that even the progressive Democrat Mayor of D.C. does not support the actions of this out-of- control D.C. Council. If a bill goes too far for Mayor Bowser, then the alarm bells should be ringing in every State and locality across the Nation.

Our free and fair elections are the hallmark of a healthy democracy, and we must protect them. The D.C. Council's law intends to do the opposite.

Mr. Speaker, for these reasons, I urge you to support the resolution of disapproval to stop this radical reform in its tracks.

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Mr. LANGWORTHY. Lee).

Mr. Speaker, there is talk about how people are accountable to different levels of government.

But how are you accountable when there is no protection articulated in this legislation for the voters on keeping two sets of voter lists?

D.C. residents are entitled to vote for the Presidency and for Federal offices.

I need to ask the question out loud: Are Members of Congress okay with members of the CCP who work at the Chinese Embassy voting in U.S. elections?

Are you comfortable with employees and members of Putin's regime who work at the Russian Federation Embassy voting in D.C. elections?

These are questions that this body must ask itself when considering this legislation. And make no mistake, Mr. Speaker, two sets of books aren't going to work in any board of elections in America. You are entitled to vote in this election but not that. There is going to be commingling, and the volunteers who work the polls are not going to have all of the tools necessary to stop people from intermingling in those elections.

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Mr. LANGWORTHY.

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Mr. LANGWORTHY. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time is remaining?

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Mr. LANGWORTHY. Mr. Speaker, I also have no further speakers.

The D.C. Council has once again put its radical agenda ahead of the American people. This time, the District's progressive D.C. Council is directly disenfranchising American citizens.

In this day and age, it is often the case that the only factor differentiating the privileges of American citizens from noncitizens is the right to vote. The D.C. Council wants to erase that distinction.

The United States Congress must exercise its constitutional oversight role over the District of Columbia, the seat of our Nation's Capital, and reject this offensive local legislation.

In a time when our democratic institutions must be protected more than ever, it is imperative that the United States House of Representatives, the people's House, unite in opposition to the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act. We must reject the D.C. Council's misguided efforts.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support the sacred rights of the American citizenry by voting for Representative James Comer of Kentucky's resolution of disapproval.

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