Equal Representation Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I want to simply explain what we are talking about here.

Mr. Speaker, you could have a citizen of Russia who illegally crosses our southern border, pays cartels, comes across our southern border, and decides to set up shop in California. That citizen of Russia, who can still vote for Vladimir Putin all day long, also is counted in the distribution of electoral votes in the United States, therefore having influence and therefore shaping who is President of the United States.

I don't know what else could possibly be foreign interference in elections than what we are talking about today.

Mr. Speaker, I am from the State of Louisiana. We have six Members of Congress. We have six. By some calculations, the State of California alone has six Members of Congress entirely attributable to citizens of other countries, therefore, just offsetting all of the votes of all of the citizens of Louisiana.

This is outrageous.

To listen to people across the aisle talk about how this is inappropriate, I say: No, this is exactly appropriate. This is exactly appropriate.

As a matter of fact, regarding the way that we count American citizens in our territories, you are giving a greater status to an illegal alien in the United States, a citizen of a foreign country, than you are giving to an American citizen.

It is absolutely outrageous to listen to people who try to argue and justify this. This is 100 percent about stacking the vote, about foreign interference in elections, and about allowing and incentivizing sanctuary cities. That is what this does.

It actually takes American taxpayer dollars through the formula funding influenced by the Census, and it gives it to States that have illegal aliens.

This is completely outrageous. I can't even believe we are standing here having this debate.

Mr. Speaker, vote ``yes'' if you want Americans to be represented, and vote ``no'' if you think Russians, Chinese, and others should be represented.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill.

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