Zoe Lofgren

Ms. LOFGREN

Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Missouri (Ms. Bush) for yielding. Madam Speaker, I would just like to note that the underlying bill provides that once individuals are re-enfranchised, they may vote. And H.R. 1 also ends the practice of so-called prison gerrymandering, where persons who are incarcerated are counted where they are incarcerated not in their home districts, even though they cannot vote there. Now, I know different people have different viewpoints on this amendment. The committee Democrats have no official position, but speaking just personally, I feel there is merit to this amendment. If you are going to count the individuals for redistricting purposes in their prisons, then I think they have to be allowed to vote there, or else that entire scheme is completely wrong. Madam Speaker, further, it occurs to me that those who oppose it think that denying a vote would somehow be a deterrent to criminal conduct. In fact, empowering people to be full citizens encourages rehabilitation.

Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, it is interesting to listen to some of the comments that are made here this morning. We have talked a lot about Article I, Section 4, that says that the Congress may at any time regulate these elections. But what is the basis for that? It is really Article IV, Section 4, which says, ``The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government.'' If a majority of voters vote and their votes are not powerful, they are not counted. Or if Americans are prohibited from voting, even though they should be able to cast their vote, that is not a Republican form of government. So what we are doing here is the most important thing we could do, which is to preserve our American democracy. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).

Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on H.R. 1 into the Record.

Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett).

Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution 8, the yeas and nays are ordered. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this question are postponed. Amendments En Bloc No. 3 Offered by Ms. Lofgren of California

Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Missouri (Ms. Bush), a new Member of Congress and a member of the House Judiciary Committee, who I serve with.

Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Just a few points. As I am sure the gentleman from Illinois knows, we had a markup last year on H.R. 1, and one of the issues raised was the propriety of having taxpayer dollars fund the pilot program, the matching program. And we agreed--we agreed with that observation. So we changed it. We made an amendment to address that concern. It is not an additional--an existing fund. If a corporation does wrong and is assessed a fine, there is an additional fine hit on that bad-doing corporation that would fund the pilot project. And if there aren't enough bad-doers to actually fully fund the program, the program is scaled back. There is no taxpayer money in this program. These amendments in this bill address things that are important. And let me just reference the letter from the attorneys general that I included in the Record earlier. We are talking about what is happening right now, and this is what they state: ``. . . State legislators have seized upon former President Trump's baseless voter fraud allegations to curtail mail-in voting options, impose stringent voter ID requirements, limit voter registration opportunities, and allow even more aggressive purging of voter rolls. In the wake of a safe and secure election, which enabled greater levels of voter participation than in over a century, we should be building on this progress, not dismantling it.'' And that is what this act would do. They go on to say: ``The act includes several measures that would neutralize these cynical efforts at voter suppression. . . .'' Madam Speaker, I think we should recognize that what is going on in State legislatures around the United States right now is, in fact, what the attorneys general have said, a cynical effort to suppress the vote, because we have the greatest voter turnout in American history with the new tools that the pandemic actually led us to: a broader opportunity to cast your vote by absentee, a broader opportunity to vote early. We had great turnout. And I don't know in the end which party will benefit when more Americans vote. Could it be the Republicans? Could it be the Democrats? I don't know. But I do know this: Who will win is America. America wins when all Americans have a chance to cast their vote. So, once again, I would like to thank the attorneys general of Maryland, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, and Washington for standing up for the rule of law, for pointing out that H.R. 1 will lead to clean elections, and that American democracy needs repairing, and this bill will repair it. Madam Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on the en bloc amendments, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Phillips).

Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 179, I rise to offer amendments en bloc No. 2.

Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Auchincloss), a new member of the House who has two amendments encompassed in this en bloc amendment.

Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, my Republican colleagues are the authors of all of the amendments included in this en bloc, and I think these amendments represent a number of thoughtful amendments that will improve the bill. Included is an amendment that exempts any State that does not utilize voter registration on the enactment date of this act and continuously thereafter from complying with voter registration requirements in the act. This is reasonable, as North Dakota does not have voter registration. As the State does not require voter registration, it is reasonable not to force them to begin doing so now. There is also an amendment in this en bloc that requires a report to Congress on the impact of widespread mail-in voting on the suffrage of Active Duty military servicemembers, how quickly their votes are counted and whether the high volumes of mail-in votes makes it harder for those individuals to vote. Republicans and Democrats alike, can agree that insights into how to better secure our election infrastructure are needed to protect our democracy. Included in this en bloc is an amendment to require a report to Congress on the data collection practices; the required necessary security resources; and the impact of a potential data breach of local, State, or Federal online voter registration systems. Additionally, there is an amendment directing the Election Assistance Commission to study the use of blockchain technology to enhance election security. I hope that study will include the use of electricity in the creation of blockchain technology. Much of H.R. 1's provisions are aimed at restoring the American public's faith in the government by improving ethics standards imposed on public officials. An amendment included in this en bloc would require ethics waivers granted by Congress to the executive branch officials to be disclosed, and require members of the Presidential transition team to disclose nongovernmental positions they have held in the year prior to starting their service on the transition team. I thank my colleagues on the other side of the aisle for putting forward these amendments, and I believe it will gather bipartisan support. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Scanlon), who is a member of the House Judiciary Committee.

Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland.

Ms. LOFGREN

Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I rise to acknowledge the 90th anniversary of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (``NLS''). Established by a 1931 Act of Congress, the NLS administers a free national library program that provides braille and recorded materials to people who cannot see or handle traditional print materials through a national network of cooperating libraries. Since its establishment, the NLS has remained a leading force in the national effort to increase the access of those with low vision, blindness, or other print disabilities to reading materials and a shining example for similar programs around the world. Initially established as a program to serve only blind adults, the NLS was expanded in 1952 to include children, in 1966 to include individuals with other physical disabilities that prevent reading traditional print materials, and in 2016 to permit NLS to provide refreshable braille displays. Under a special provision of the U.S. Copyright Law, and with the permission of authors and publishers of works not covered by that provision, NLS selects books and magazines for full-length publication in braille, e-braille, and digital audio format. These materials (along with free playback equipment needed to ready audiobooks and magazines) are circulated to patrons within the United States and its territories and to American citizens living abroad. The program continues to expand in both its reach and capabilities, now allowing for instantly downloadable digital audio and e-braille materials via the NLS mobile applications and allowing patrons to request accessible materials in a wide range of languages from libraries around the world. The banner atop the NLS webpage announces the service's noble mission: ``That All May Read.'' Over the past 90 years, the NLS, which updated its name from the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped in 2019, has been steadfast in its efforts to accomplish this mission, ensuring that no person be denied the joy of literature and reading because of blindness or disability. The impact of the NLS over the past 90 years has been vast and far-reaching and I look forward to witnessing what the NLS will accomplish with another 90 years. On behalf of all of us in this House, congratulations to the National Library Service and to those who work tirelessly to make the NLS's outstanding mission a reality. Many thanks for all their good work.