On the recordAugust 24, 2021
I am strongly opposed to H.R. 4. When our Founders created this self-governing constitutional republic, they vested the power to administer time, place, and manner of elections with our State legislatures. They knew the sacred right to vote would be better preserved by democratically elected, accountable State and local officials rather than unelected Federal bureaucrats. This principle has endured for two centuries. However, this principle is now under attack here in the people's House. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle argue that democracy is somehow in peril. And their solution to this problem is to relinquish total control of our elections, again, to Federal, unelected bureaucrats--a complete opposite of democratic concepts; bureaucrats with the power to prosecute based on political views and party affiliations. These are the same officials who were absent when now-disgraced former Democrat Governor Cuomo unilaterally altered New York election laws last year in violation of New York's constitution, which chaotically overstressed the system and compromised the guarantee of a free, secure, and fair election. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote against this legislation.
