On the recordApril 24, 2012
Mr. President and colleagues, this amendment is for the more than 25 million Americans--more than 800,000 of them serving in the military--who vote by mail in our system of government, the most open and free system of government in the world. Those millions of Americans may vote absentee, they may vote in what is called no-excuse absentee, or they may vote in an all-mail election, but they deserve this fall to have the assurance from the U.S. Senate that as we reform the Postal Service, the election will not be disrupted. I hope my colleagues will support this. I think it has been discussed at length on both sides of the aisle. It has always been bipartisan to try to expand the franchise. I hope we can pass this on a voice vote. I wish to thank both Chairman Lieberman and Senator Collins, who had a real challenge handling all of these amendments and who have been very gracious, both of them, as always. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
