National Defense Authorization Act For Fiscal Year 2010--Conference Report

Floor Speech

NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2010--CONFERENCE REPORT -- (Senate - October 22, 2009)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I would like to make a few comments about the Defense authorization conference report, which we will vote on, presumably, later this afternoon.

First, I wish to express my appreciation to the conferees for fighting for legislation we passed out of the Senate but which was not included in the House version of this bill. This legislation is contained in sections 575 through 589 of the conference report, and it is called the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act--or the MOVE Act--and it addresses a national disgrace.

Our military servicemembers, we know, put their lives on the line for us every day to protect our rights and freedoms. Yet too many of them who are deployed overseas face many stumbling blocks and hurdles as they attempt to cast their votes and participate in our national elections.

In 2008, more than a quarter of the ballots requested by uniformed and overseas voters went either uncollected or uncounted--a quarter of the ballots--according to a recent survey of seven States with high military populations.

Another recent study by the Heritage Foundation documented the problems during the last election cycle. They looked at 20 States with large military populations and concluded that as many as three-quarters of our troops and their family members were ``disenfranchised by their inability to request an absentee ballot'' and that as many as one-third of the ballots that were requested never reached the appropriate election officials to be counted on a timely basis.

Voting has remained a challenge for our troops and their families for many reasons. One is our election laws are varied from State to State and they are very complex. We also know that multiple levels of government bureaucracy are involved--from the local level, to the State level, to the Federal level. We know election challenges and other unforeseen events can delay the finalization of ballots. We know, with the high tempo of military operations, frequent deployments for our troops and their families make it hard for them to exercise their most fundamental civil right, which is the right to vote.

What this legislation does--the MOVE Act--is address several of the biggest roadblocks our troops and their families face when attempting to vote.

First, the MOVE Act reduces the reliance on ``snail mail'' for correspondence between election officials and our troops.

Under current election laws, many troops must, first, mail a request for an absentee ballot. Then they have to wait for the election officials to mail them the blank ballot. Then they must mail the completed ballot in time to be counted.

This legislation requires election officials to create electronic blank ballots and to post them online to cut down on some of these steps. Election officials must allow the use of faxes and e-mails to expedite correspondence with our troops. Together, these reforms will reduce dependence on snail mail--until the servicemember is ready to return the completed ballot to be counted.

Second, the MOVE Act will expedite the return of the completed ballot to elections officials. Under current law, each servicemember is responsible for making sure his or her ballot is postmarked and returned on time. Our legislation--this bipartisan legislation--requires the Department of Defense to take possession of completed ballots and ensure they get to election officials on a timely basis by using express mail, if necessary. This legislation will also require election officials to give our troops at least--at least--45 days in which to return their ballots.

The MOVE Act contains many other commonsense reforms that were suggested by other Senators and which will help end the effective disenfranchisement of our troops and their family members. However, one key provision of the bill we passed out of the Senate was modified in conference, and I believe all Senators should understand why and how that happened.

The provision I am referring to was in the bill I introduced called the Military Voters' Equal Access to Registration Act. It too became part of the MOVE Act and was amended to the Defense authorization bill as it passed out of the Senate. This legislation was designed to provide basic voting assistance services to every servicemember and family member upon transfer to a new military installation, as well as at other significant transition points in their military careers.

As part of in-processing at each base, every servicemember was to be offered an opportunity to fill out a simple form that would, first, register the servicemember or that family member to vote; it would, secondly, update existing registrations; and it would request absentee ballots for the next Federal election cycle. The Department of Defense would have then been responsible for forwarding the completed forms to the appropriate election officials.

This kind of voting assistance may sound familiar because it is nearly identical to the motor voter provisions contained in the National Voter Registration Act. The logic is that military installations can and should offer the same kind of voting assistance that their local department of motor vehicles would offer to them if they lived at home stateside.

This legislation makes practical sense because many of our troops and their families are transferred quickly and without much notice, and it is difficult for them to keep changing the address that local officials have on file.

During the conference process, when we were working with our counterparts in the House of Representatives, this legislation was watered down, unfortunately, and was made optional for the Department of Defense to offer voting assistance to our troops and their families.

I have to say, I was disappointed at this action because when our troops are given orders to deploy elsewhere, obviously, those orders are not optional and neither should the requirement of the Department of Defense when it comes to helping make sure our deployed troops' votes actually count. So it should not be optional for the Department of Defense to offer these services to the troops and their families when they arrive, as ordered, at their new post.

I am particularly concerned this legislation was weakened at the specific
request of the Department of Defense. Furthermore, the Department's objection was based on a misreading of the National Voter Registration Act. In fact, at our request, the Department of Defense's objections were reviewed by subject matter experts at the Department of Justice. These experts at the Department of Justice agreed with us on the clear meaning of the law and that the Department of Defense had made an error in interpreting the Senate bill. Unfortunately, by then the damage was done and House conferees deferred to the Department of Defense interpretation of this legislation and made it optional at their request.

I do not think the Senate should be content to kick a field goal when we could have scored a touchdown for the men and women of our U.S. military--and we will.

First, I expect the Department of Defense to implement this optional program at every applicable military installation. I will request regular updates from the Department on its implementation, as well as any explanation for delays. We will not let up until we make sure this is complied with.

Secondly, I expect the Department of Defense to correct the official record and to make clear to the Members of the House and the Senate who were conferees that its objection to this legislation was based on an erroneous interpretation of the law.

Third, I intend to offer amendments to other legislative vehicles to correct this watering down of this important provision--the language passed out of this Chamber unanimously--and I will continue to make sure it becomes ultimately the law of the land.

The provisions of the MOVE Act that did make it through conference, I do believe, represent a clear win for our troops and their families. Many of my colleagues were instrumental in making this happen, and I thank all of them. Again, this was a bipartisan effort.

However, my colleagues in the conference also included language in the Defense authorization bill which clearly does not belong in this bill and which I do not support. I refer, of course, to language addressing so-called hate crimes in the conference report.

I, in a previous life, was a judge for 13 years and attorney general of my State after that. I believe very firmly in the concept of equal justice under the law, and I believe crime should not be treated differently based on the victim of that crime. I have had the privilege of working with many victims of crime and their families, and I share their determination that those who commit crimes should be delivered swift justice and be held accountable.

But a fair justice system, committed to equal justice under the law, does not distinguish between crimes based on race, gender or whatever the category that is included in a particular list. A fair justice system, committed to equal justice under the law, does not criminalize thoughts or perceptions. It criminalizes behavior. In this country, a fair justice system, committed to equal justice under the law, is based on federalism, one which respects that State and local law enforcement and prosecutors are doing their jobs fairly and responsibly.

Expanding hate crimes legislation should not be part of this conference report. Not withstanding this flaw in the bill, I will vote for the conference report but with this reservation. The hate crimes provision does not belong in the bill and I believe violates our national commitment to equal justice under the law.

I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source