For the People Act of 2021
Floor Speech
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Mr. MURPHY of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, I rise today in ardent opposition to H.R. 1, the alleged For the People Act.
Before I do that, I want to speak to the recent amendment submitted that would allow criminals, convicted felons, in this country to vote. I have traveled around the world. I don't know any country in this world that allows criminals, convicted felons, to vote. That is not keeping them from committing their crime. It is called punishment. It is punishment for their crime. It is unconscionable to me we are actually debating some of these things that we debate on the floor now.
Madam Speaker, the last election showed the Democrats' true goals for reform, a way to permanently federalize the States' elections away from Republicans.
If someone would read the Constitution, it is a beautiful document. It talks about States making their own election law. This bill, if anything, should be referred to as the for the politicians act.
Madam Speaker, let's just look at the process before I lambast the policy. There were 183 amendments submitted, but only 56 were made in order. Of those 56, only eight were allowed by Republican Members.
Thanks to the McGovern rule, Democrats are continually able to submit rule bills on the floor without a committee markup--it is called the democratic process--without a markup or a hearing.
Madam Speaker, policywise, things look even worse. This massive bill provides taxpayer money to finance incumbents' campaigns. It curbs free speech, significantly increases Federal bureaucracy and red tape, and creates a one-size-fits-all Federal election system.
Madam Speaker, our Founders purposefully decentralized our election process to give States the authority to conduct a smooth and open election day. Get the Federal Government out of State and local affairs. Not every precinct is equal or is of the same composition. Eastern North Carolina is not the same, thank God, as California; Portland, Oregon; or Manhattan.
Madam Speaker, furthermore, many of these changes were made without the input of State and local leaders who have the best on-the-ground knowledge.
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