Vicente Gonzalez: “First of all, I would like to address some of the remarks made by the proponents of this particular bill. First, I know…”

“First of all, I would like to address some of the remarks made by the proponents of this particular bill. First, I know it was not intentional to mischaracterize the words of Mr. Hoyer. He did not state that the EAC should have an eternal life. What he said is, it was essential, in its present form, in the function that it provides. I think he also indicated that everything is not a simple budget or mathematical problem. There is cost benefit to look into and see what the true benefit is for the investment of that Federal dollar. Much has been said about the National Association of Secretaries of State coming out with a resolution. That is not news. From the very inception they opposed the creation of the Election Assistance Commission, and on a regular basis they would pass a resolution expressing that opposition. But I do wish to point out that the president of the National Association of Secretaries of State, Secretary of State of Minnesota Mark Ritchie--whose State knows something about the cost of problematic elections--testified before our committee on March 31 that he was certainly not in favor of terminating the Election Assistance Commission. I also wish to read from a letter that we received today at about 4 p.m. to a House Administration election staffer: Dear Mr. Khalil, I am the election director of Harford County Board of Elections in northeastern Maryland.…”