Confirmation of Congressional Observer Access Act of 2023

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, first, let me thank my distinguished colleague and friend from Wisconsin, the chair of our committee, Mr. Steil.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Senate amendment to H.R. 6513. I am proud to say this measure is the byproduct of bipartisan and bicameral agreement.

As was noted, Article I, Section 5, Clause 1 of the Constitution grants Congress the authority to ``be the judge of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its own Members.''

The House of Representatives serves as the final arbiter over any contest to the seating of any Member-elect and is the ultimate authority over who may serve in the Chamber.

This measure, H.R. 6513, confirms Congress' constitutional authority to designate congressional staff to observe election administration procedures in congressional elections. This bill complements our longstanding Election Observer Program, as has been noted.

The program is conducted by the Committee on House Administration, as authorized by House rules and the Federal Contested Elections Act. The role of a congressional observer is to monitor the administration of the election, gather information, and report back to the committee.

Every 2 years, the committee's longstanding practice is to work collaboratively on a bipartisan basis to send observers. There is evidence of the committee sending observers dating back to at least the 99th Congress, 1985 to 1987.

Mr. Speaker, I want to, again, repeat that I am grateful to my colleague and chairman of the committee, Mr. Steil, as well as another colleague who serves on our committee, Representative Mike Carey of Ohio, for sponsoring the bill. This addresses several concerns raised in committee with an earlier version of the text, and I thank them for working with us. I thank the staff on both sides for coming to this agreement.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the Senate amendment to H.R. 6513, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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