On the recordMarch 8, 2021
I want to talk a little bit about H.R. 1, which passed the House of Representatives last week. Speaker Pelosi and the Democrats made clear what their top priority in this new Congress would be: a swamp takeover of America's elections. At its heart, this radical legislation is a massive Federal takeover that enables ballot harvesting, requires mass mail-in voting, and uses taxpayer money to fund political campaigns. This bill, mistakenly named the ``For the People Act,'' is targeted toward helping politicians, not the people. At a time when the American people are struggling, why is helping politicians, like herself, Speaker Pelosi's top priority? Whenever Washington gets involved, chaos and dysfunction follow closely behind. If somehow signed into law, H.R. 1 will follow in that familiar pattern. Mr. Speaker, 2020 brought to light serious concerns with our election system. We saw dramatic delays, uncertainty, and chaos from policies like universal mail-in voting and allowing votes to be counted for days after the election--and in the case of New York, weeks and months after the election. These concerns are real and present the need for fundamental reforms, but these reforms should be addressed by States, not Congress. And they should be the exact opposite of the disastrous H.R. 1. Mr. Speaker, this legislation sanctions the very practices that created chaos and uncertainty in the 2020 election and sowed widespread voter distrust.…
