G. K. Butterfield: “I thank the chair of our committee for yielding me time this morning. Madam Speaker, I rise this morning in strong…”

“I thank the chair of our committee for yielding me time this morning. Madam Speaker, I rise this morning in strong support of H.R. 2722. It is past time that this Congress act boldly in response to the foreign interference that took place in our 2016 elections, and that is exactly what this bill does. The gentleman from Ohio, the ranking member of the committee, I say to him it is disingenuous to point the finger at the Obama administration. That may or may not be accurate, but let us look forward. This legislation provides $600 million in grants to State and local officials to secure election infrastructure and replace aging voting machines with voter-verified paper ballot voting systems; $175 million to States every 2 years to maintain elections infrastructure. It requires States to implement risk-limiting audits; it prohibits internet accessibility or connectivity for devices on which ballots are marked or tabulated; and it sets long-needed cybersecurity standards for vendors. I ask my colleagues, let us look forward. Let us protect the right to vote. Let us protect the ballot of every American citizen.”