Transcripts For CSPAN Federal Election Commission FEC Nominees Testify Before Senate Rules... 20240711

The committee on rules and administration will come to order, good morning i want to thank my colleagues for joining us today, i would like to welcome my nominees to todays hearing. Shana broussard, sean cooksey and Alan Dickerson are the president s nominees to be members of the federal elections commission, as our witnesses are joining us remotely, i also understand that their families and friends are watching today and so i welcome them as well. This is a big responsibility, is significant president ial nomination and significant to the work of this committee and i know youre proud, your Family Member as they have moved forward to this opportunity. Let me say a little bit about the nominees and then ill turn to another Committee Member senator cruz to talk about the third nominee, Alan Dickerson is not the nominee to be a member of the federal Election Commission for a term expiring on april the 30th 2025 and he has been practicing law for 20 years primarily in the areas of First Amendment and campaignfinance since 2011 mr. Dickerson has been the legal director of the institute for free speech, a Nonprofit Organization that litigates First Amendment and campaignfinance cases in state and federal courts. He is also a captain in the judge advocate generals court for the United States army reserve he and his wife rachel have one child in expecting a second child. Shana broussard is the nominee to be a member of the federal Election Commission for a term expiring on april 30, 2023. Shana broussard was born at Vandenberg Air port based in california but she truly hails from louisiana as is clear with my visit with her this week. She graduated from Dillard University in 1991 and Southern University law school in 1995, she has had a 25 year legal career and for the past 12 of which shes worked at the fec as an enforcement attorney in the office of the general counsel until 2015 and then executive assistant for mr. Walker since 2015. Shana broussard also worked with the Internal Revenue service and in louisiana as a prosecutor for the attorney general and new orleans paris District Attorney and the clerk at the Second Circuit court of appeals. I would like to recognize senator cruz to introduce our third nominee mr. Cooksey. Thank you mr. Chairman i am very proud to introduce sean cooksey to the federal election committee. As the chairman knows, he is from missouri and works for the junior senator from missouri. But im going to go ahead and claim him anyway as an honorary texan. Not only did he clerk for one of the most respected appellate judges in the country, jerry smith in my hometown of houston buddy also worked on my staff as deputy chief counsel serving the 29 Million People in the great state of texas. Seans impeccable educational credentials include graduating silicone lottie from Truman State University and receiving his jd from the university of Chicago Law School where he graduated with high honors in order of the choir. From there he clerked for judge smith on the u. S. Court of appeals, before joining one of the nations most respected law firms in d. C. As a litigation associate focusing on appeals and constitutional law, most notably as the youngest associate he worked on the Supreme Court matter in which his client ultimately prevailed 8 1, then in 2018 sean joined my staff as deputy chief counsel working on a wide array of an important complex issues including election law, he did a fantastic job and we were sad that we were excited for him when he left in 2019 to serve as senator hawleys chief counsel and senator hawley joined us on the judiciary committee, he serves in that role doing an excellent job for senator hawley on judicial nominations and election law, federal critical law ethics, compliance and a whole lot more. My experience with sean has demonstrated that is not only in exceptional talented lawyer but someone deeply committed to the rule of law. He will be prepared to hit the day ground running on day one as a commissioner and i have complete confidence that he will faithfully apply the law fairly and neutrally. I will also note that sean and his wife ellen are expecting a baby this winter and so these are propitious times in the cooksey household and im proud to introduce my friend sean. Thank you, senator cruz, three nominees, two babies on the way into her the families. Earlier this year our committee gathered to confirm a nominee to restore a quorum at the fec, since that confirmation of tray trainer the fec lost a quorum with the resignation of commissioner hunter in july of this year, the confirmation of these three nominees before the committee today will restore a quorum at the fec but more importantly the confirmation of these three nominees would restore a full slate of commissioners to the ftc for the First Time Since february 2017. While the ftc has authorized to have six commissioners it currently only has three and only one commissioner trainer serves on unexpired term, the other two commissioners holdover status, their terms have expired years ago, commissioner walters in 2009 and commissioner weintraub in 2007. And while the quorum, a simple quorum allows fec to hold hearings, make new rules, advise through advisory opinions, conduct investigations or improve Enforcement Actions paints full slate of commissioners at the d. C. Is not hobbled and able to continue its work when a single commissioner departs the agency for some time when one commissioner left for whatever reason the commissioner was not able to function, hopefully our action through these hearings and later for the first time again will restore six members to the commission, the commission plays a vital role that the federal campaign committees, i mentioned in my last hearing for the last nominee and former secretary of state i worked with the commission on a regular basis then, since i been a candidate in nine federal elections which is about average for this committee and the members of this committee and the senate should know the importance of a fully functioning fec to federal candidates who need to avail themselves of the fec guidelines and advisory opinions, we also know all the important stability that the Agency Brings to the community that is regulated by the ftc. I look forward to hearing testimony from our nominees today, i also again, i look forward to having a full slate of commissioners at the fec and helper able to get that done before the Congress Adjourns this year, id like to turn to senator klobuchar for her Opening Statement. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman, today as you know we are here to consider three nominees to the federal Election Commission which is the independent Agency Responsible for enforcing a federal Campaign Finance laws. First i want to bring up the fact that this committee has oversight over federal elections, its important to acknowledge that nearly 160 million americans voted this year, more people than ever before in the United States history and even though we are in the midst of a Global Pandemic elections were administered successfully do to the hard work of state and local officials, both democratic and republican and independent state and local officials, last week officials in charge of Election Security and the Trump Administration including dhs, people there secretary of state and the Election Assistance Commission put on a joint statement that said the novembet secure in america history, again this is testament to local officials and also to chris crabs who unfortunately was fired yesterday by the president via tweet but i know that he has respect in many statements from republican senators today of many in the u. S. Senate, regardless of that unfortunate incident i would say we all on debt of gratitude to these hardworking Election Officials. Turning to the topic of todays hearing with the exception as the chairman noted as a brief. The fec has been without a forum for 15 months over that time i have urged my colleagues to work with us to get the agency up and running, the nominees are confirmed in bipartisan pairs, this brings to push forward a controversial nominee without a democratic nominee. This approach open the door to the fec losing his quorum 46 days after it was restored. This lack of quorum is a major problem and we know why and we must have an fec that can enforce the law. The truth is we need it more than ever the center for responsive politics estimates spending for the 2020 election cycle was approximately 14 billion, that is more than double the 2016 election cycle and it includes 2. 6 billion and outside spending by Political Parties and dark many groups, and our democracy to work for the people we need strong roles for Campaign Spending and Strong Agency to enforce the rules, congress created that very purpose after the watergate scandal to help restore the publics faith in the electoral policy. Since taking over the Ranking Member of this committee i worked with several of my colleagues to propose solutions to get the agency back on track including a bill at the very least we should Work Together to select strong experience nominees from both parties to understand that their job is to enforce the law and protect our election system. I am concerned about the abuse of some of these nominees and i will briefly go through the, i did have a discussion with all three of them, i appreciate that i had the opportunity to discuss views such as social media political ads and the need for the fec to move forward with the rules regarding those ads which have billions of dollars of political spending. First mr. Dickerson has extensive experience in campaignfinance, unfortunately he has been focusing on less not more transparency for political spending, he is supposed restriction on individual donations, attempts to bring transparency to corporate dark money spending after the Citizens United decision and effort to stop foreign money from ar influence in our electi. If we are gonna break out of the gridlock in the fec we need commissioners to Work Together to find areas where they agree, its my sincere hope that mr. Dickerson views on the role of money in transparency and politics do not make it harder to find consensus with the other commissioners. Mr. Cooksey, already discussed senator cruz, he does not have an extensive record on campaignfinance or election issues in his testimony for this hearing does not provide enough information regarding his qualification, the view of the commission and how he plans his approach the role, again i appreciated the fact that he talked to me and we discussed some really important issues and i appreciated the words that we heard that they were willing to work on issues like the political ads and the fact that we dont have any set rules in place for social media ads. Finally we have Shana Broussard and i so appreciated mr. Chairman, your introduction of her, i have been urging the white house to nominate her for more than a year, our hope was months ago she wouldve confirmed to fill the vacancy, i will not go into all of that but lets talk about her because she is great. She served as a lawyer at the fec for 12 years both as a staff attorney and as a commissioner counsel to a commissioner. She is immensely qualified and well respected by her peers, her experience as a staffer would bring an important perspective to the commission, she would also be the first person of color to serve on the fec and i hope my colleagues that are here remotely listen to that, its incredible but has not been in the past i cant think of anyone to be the first. The pandemic has shown us how resilient our democracy can be when dedicated professionals work to respond to a crisis. As i said state and local officials rose to the challenge and now its time for the fec to rise to the challenge of the issues ahead of them, of course individual cases that come before them but then the key is modernizing our rules and the like to make them more responsive to the challenges of our elections over time. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman. Thank you senator klobuchar, im going to go try testimony from the witnesses, we of course have your written statements in the record but we would gladly use you up to five minutes and what other you would like to talk about, your background, the fec and what this committee should be considering, lets first go to Shana Broussard. Im not sure if youre able to hear me. We can hear. Thank you, good morning, everyone, thank you chairman, Ranking Member klobuchar and members of the committee. It is an honor to appear before you today as a nominee for the federal Election Commission, i would like to take the opportunity to say a few things if i may, i want to thank my brothers, i cannot thin asked fr greater cheering team than these two and i wanted take an opportunity to think my nephew tristian in albuquerque new mexico he is working on an essay that for a person that he admires her agenda myers he told me it was a tight race between myself and my brother, his father but apparently the process bumped me up, i want to say hello to tristan. Like my brothers i would also like to think my friends and my cohorts for their support and their encouragement throughout the process. Under traditional times i wouldve loved to be in a room filled but we are not in traditional times. Still your support has been unwavering in lets take a moment to think the most instrumental people in my life, my parents there is a little town, my father retired from the United States air force after 25 years of service to this country and my mother is a retired middle School Teacher having taught the very same school that she attended as a child, together they instilled the Public Service and a commitment to community that has guide us in my professional career and personal life, first professionally as a consistent District Attorney and then as the council and now with fec. , for more than a decade i have worked every day to advance the fec commission, although congress created the fec in 1975 the agencys mission to protect the integrity of the federal campaignfinance process has never been more urgent. Now more than ever is the time to Work Together towards repairing americans Peoples Trust in the agency. Now its never been more urgent for the commission to have individual bill lee c2 are measured impartial and focused on building consensus. As an sec attorney, carefully consider each enforcement matter before me making sure my recommended disposition for the supporting facts and the law, my recommendations were fair yet firm and always made towards transparency. As counsel for commissioner over the last six years i have worked with Commission Offices to build consensus and everything from Enforcement Matters to Commission Budget and management issues, im grateful for commissioner walter for the opportunity. He is an example of how to reach across the aisle to get work done. I also take this opportunity to thank commissioner ellen weintraub, she has been supportive in her dedication to the agency is unsurpassed. When i started working for the American People at the fec 12 years ago i never envisioned that i would be testifying before Congress Today about my qualifications as a commissioner. The opportunity to lead the commission rarely comes to those already working within the agency but its is very experience working day today sidebyside with fec staff and the mission to make it uniquely prepared to say or enter through the murky people of confirmed i will approach my board as a commissioner as they have done throughout my career the Public Service with diligence impartiality and integrity but equally important i will serve with the utmost appreciation and respect for the hard work. Having served with them i bring a new perspective to agency leadership, furthermore if confirmed i will be the first africanamerican to serve on the commission, this historic time cannot be ignored. 45 years of the establishment of this agency it is time the agency decides the integrity of our election for the American People with a little more like the American People, mr. Chairman, Ranking Member klobuchar and members of the committee thank you for the opportunity to appear today, i welcome any questions that you may have. Thank you Shana Broussard were glad to have you with us today. Lets go to mr. Cooksey next, sean cooksey. Good morning chairman, Ranking Member klobuchar and members of the committee it is honored to appear before you. I would like to think the chairman and the Ranking Member for convening this hearing to consider my nomination to the federal Election Commission and i would like to thank President Trump for nominating me. I would also be remiss if i did not think the Committee Staff in the white house staff who have helped with nine nomination. I do not have an Opening Statement but i would like to acknowledge important people. First and foremost is my wife ellen, she is my hero and an unwavering source of love and support. I think my parents, can in Susan Cooksey for all their love throughout my life, i am fortunate to be their son. I am also grateful for my two brothers, my grandmother and the many friends and colleagues who have encouraged me along the way. Finally i am indebted to three mentors, the first is judge jerry smith of the u. S. Court of appeals for the fifth circuit for whom i was lucky enough to clerk after graduating from law school. The second is senator ted cruz who gave me my first job in the United States senate and been a role model for me ever since, i think senator cruz for his warm introduction. Lastly i would like to think my current boss senator josh hawley who entrusted me too work for the people of missouri at his general counsel. It is been the honor of a lifetime to serve on his staff. With that chairman and Ranking Member klobuchar thank you for holding this hearing and i look forward to your questions. Thank you mr. Cooksey, lets go to Allen Dickerson for any comments you would like to make mr. Dickerson. Thank you and good morning chairman blood in Ranking Member klobuchar and members of the committee, it is a privilege to appear before you to discuss my nomination. I am grateful to the president for his confidence into this committee for providing me this opportunity. I am sorry we are meeting by videoconference, its a wise and responsible decision, something is lost with an event of this gravity is held remotely and for me personally that includes the ability of my wife rachel to be present in person and i understand that she has taken a break from her work as child to psychologist to do remote feed but the fact that she is not physically present does nothing to diminish my great appreciation and affection for her as a woman, wife and mother, nor does it lessen the sacrifices that she has made to support my career and allow me this opportunity for Public Service. While our daughter is too young for this discussion i do hope in the fullness of time she will be proud of her fathers career in the law and his service to this country. Its been a long road from california Mojave Desert to a hearing before the United States senate i am grateful to my parents terry and gail and my sister iris for setting me on the path and finally my thanks go to my colleagues at the Institute First free speech for nearly a decade of warm collegiality. I spent the last several years bouncing between two different roles as legal director of the institute for free speech i represent clients in court and advocating public for the robust review of the First Amendment i represented clients from across the political spectrum including elected officials and donors, Libertarian National committee, a progressive San Francisco Ballot Committee and the coalition for the government. I have authored scores of griefs joined by groups of color of change in the tea party patriots, aclu and the cato institute. At the same time as an officer and lawyer at the army reserve with the soldiers in a very different context of uniformed service, they are the rights of expression and Association Taking different form limited by the needs of the service and the requirements of good order discipline in the chain of command in both roles i have come away with a Great Respect for the diversity character and wisdom of the American People and i developed a deep trust in the vibrancy and resilience of american institutions. Congress created the fec to protect the institutions in the aftermath of watergate as Ranking Member klobuchar noted it established the commission to prevent corruption and enlighten the American Voters as they choose a representative. Its an Important Role in a challenging one because all of us, members of the bar, of congress, courts and the commission i worked hard over many years to find a delicate balance between the legitimate anticorruption and disclosure interest of the government on one hand and the First Amendment rights of the citizenry on the other. If the senate chooses to confer me i will work every day to provide the American People with an independent commission that faithfully administers the law as congress wrote it in the courts have interpreted, just when i don or doff the military uniform i recognize i have been asked to apply make screens to a new role and im prepared to work hard in this agency and the public role. It confirmed i look forward to working with my colleagues, those here in those already at the commission and with the dedicated syrians at the fec to explain a complex body of law clarify where appropriate and enforce it in the manner that congress in mission. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and i look forward to your questions. Thank you mr. Dickerson and thank you to all three of you, we have both at 11 and i think last my questions last to be sure everybody has a chance to get the questions asked and all give the first set of questions that i would normally ask to mr. Thank you, mr. Chairman and congratulations to all three of the nominees let me start with a general question what in your view is the responsibility of the fec and what would your responsibility be as commissioners. Senator cruz im happy to take that question first, the responsibility of the fec is to fairly and efficiently administer and enforce the Campaign Finance laws as congress has enacted them and consistent with the constitution and the rulings of court, my responsibility at the federal Election Commission or would to be juic do just that enforce thw as a c directed by congress and to do so in impartial and effective and fair manner. Senator i would agree with that characterization and add to that the appropriate discharge of our oath in that regard is intended to and i hope will have the effect of increasing the american confidence in our election process. Senator i also want to concur with my fellow nominees. Let me ask another question, in your judgment what is the relationship between federal Campaign Finance law and the First Amendment to the constitution . Senator the constitution is the paramount law of the lien, and always controls over any statutory law and as a fec commissioner, i would be bound to uphold the First Amendment first and foremost but to administer the statute as Congress Passed the consistent with that as interpreted by the court. I agree that is correct, its a matter that the campaignfinance law of an exception in the longrunning exception to the prohibition, its part of why the work is so important in explaining how this is put together and welcomed. Shana broussard are you going to respond to that . I think she may be cut off. I dont think video is working right now for her or the phone, she will have to get back on the. For Shana Broussard i asked that she answer that question in writing after words, sorry were having technical difficulties. Senator klobuchar. I might different till she gets back on if another senator wants to go. [silence] are you on Shana Broussard. I am, thus the technology today. I had a judiciary hearing recently and mr. Zuckerberg had trouble getting on the head of facebook so dont worry. That happen, i want to first ask you Shana Broussard we talked about this over the phone as i did with the other two nominees, the disclaimer and Disclosure Rules on online political ads, we know in 2016 there were ads paid for by rubles unfortunately the companies have changed some of their policy so that has gone better but i asked mr. Zuckerberg about this yesterday, we continue to have issues with ads and including ads that arent looked at by human beings and then get through are not true, i have this honest ads act which is Bipartisan Legislation by senator gran that graham with tv, radio and. , can you talk about your views on this and if you think the fec could take care of this, i would think its important to look at it is not just candidate ads, its also issue ads. Ashley thank you the honest ads act would increase or expand the definition of public munication as to the online political spending, i see theres an opportunity to increase the act but also prevent the director and directive spending a foreign entity into our political discourse which would provide a Greater Transparency to the American People as it relates to the fec if congress enacted this law it would be responsibility of the commission to Work Together by regulations that would assess that, i think the greatest start would be a look at the making for the internet rules that are currently before the commission now and the lack of quorum with the rulemaking had an inclusion of the definition of the public communication but the honest ads act taken by perspective and a Greater Transparency. The commission could do some of this by rule and the law would be very helpful to get it into place. Mr. Dickerson, last year in a speech, you argued that online political ads should not be regulated because they mounted a small portion of political speech, i want to make sure you know as of 2018 facebook and google collectively sold over 60 million political ads worth over 3. 2 billion dollars, i dont think i have the 2020 numbers on them but what i do have is the number on broadcast ads, 2. 5 billion in 2020 just to give you compares to. If you look over 3. 2 billion dollars on two platforms in the last three years, where are you on this bill, senator graham and i are trying to make sure that the rules apply are the same of the tv, broadcast as they are when it comes to the social media platforms. I appreciate the question and thank you for the chance to comment on it. The difficulty in this area that there are two lines of the Supreme Court as you know, there is one that says a right of Privacy Association unbelief under the First Amendment gather and need for transparency in certain types of political spending, thats a very difficult balance and as i have said publicly, i do think that those balancing questions help the American People elect representatives in congress. I have been skeptical of the difficulties of bridging that gap but i have made those comments in the role of an advocate in public and i do not consider it as an fec commissioner to stephen the way of legislation. As you know what will be before you if you get confirmed of this rulemaking. I hope you will remain open to it and will take the same openview, my last question for years theyve been deadlocked whether the agency staff should investigate potential violation, many believe that these deadlocks have significantly impaired the agencys ability to investigate potential criminal activity regardless of the Candidates Party and enforce the law, in order to start an investigation for commissioners must find there is a reason to believe there has been a violation of the law, i would ask each of you if there are reliable public reports of the potential violation of the law would not be enough to vote to open an investigation . If you want to go in the order you are introduced. Mr. Cooksey first. Thank you for the question senator. I think the senator for finding reasons to believe is obviously a Legal Standard and one that can be quantified, i would say news reports could be part of the evidence for finding reason to believe, i dont know if i take the categorical rule that they would always be relevant but i would keep an open mind to including those in finding a reason to believe. If you need Additional Information beyond public reports would you support reaching out to federal agencies to get Additional Information, as you know theres a strong relationship between d. O. J. And the fec. Yes senator, i think a referral from the federal agencies are often times a very credible source of potential investigation on the Civil Enforcement side of the fec. Thank you mr. Dickerson, same two questions. I would completely agree with mr. Cooksey it will be casebycase but certainly relying and it would be strong evidence for finding reason to believe. He would be open to giving Additional Information beyond public reports to reaching out to federal agencies to get the information . As i understand the other agencies in fec are required by statute to coordinate in that manner. Very good, Shana Broussard do you want to finish up so i turned over to our calling everything that by cohen nominees i agree with their consideration if there is sufficient Information Available in the complaint then there is a reason to look further and i will support any recommendation that comes before me if i was confirmed with such information. Thank you very much. Thank you, senator klobuchar, will go to senator capital followed by senator udall. Thank you and i think the Ranking Members as well and congratulations to the nominees on your nominatio for this veryt role, of a question for all nominees, as we know the fec is unique and independent agencies that Neither Party is allowed the majority to speak when the commission is constituting the backing of one commissioner from each party it is necessary to form a majority for the enforcement action, this adds to the commissions legitimacy that the fec cannot impose politically motivated penalties and i think that is great but it does present challenges in the structure however, can make it difficult to result in certain cases. I will start with broussard, im sure she seen this as a staffer on the committee, how would you work with other commissioners including those across the aisle to resolve these matters in a bipartisan way and id be interested to know from your experience with the fec, has this been an enormous problem, a small problem or how does it prove that challenge. Thank you for the question, as you already said i have quite a few years of experience inside the agency so im familiar with this concept. First i have to save by restoring the full commission it creates a better opportunity for less of a deadlock, it creates opportunity for consensus and actually creates a better roadmap so its acquired that people truly communicate together for resolution that the American Public can have full disclosure. I have a wealth of experience of working across the aisle because working with mission or walter on his counsel we had the opportunity to build down into the weeds of cases and sometimes it might not work with one commissioner when you have six commissioners coming have the opportunity to reach to another person and it builds consensus, this is having a full body of a commission, its a perfect opportunity for people to Work Together to find resolution. Mr. Dickerson . I completely agree, as a big believer in litigator in the process i think more voices in the better bedding you have a legal question is a new wants and an agreement, i would note that wha much of what the commin does does not fall victim to deadlock votes that even in contested matters the commissions do not reach a majority there in the inception and the role, i hope that will continue to be the case because i think the ability of the commission to give guidance to the Community Helps by the majority former over own making in the way that doesnt necessarily provide the same level of certainty. I would hope to join my colleagues in reaching towards that goal. Mr. Cooksey. Thank you, senator, i think youre right the structure of the commission is unique and an important feature to ensure the legitimacy of the action and i think deadlocks are consequences but i cant really improve on what my fellow nominees have said i think often its a mechanism that forces compromise enforces contentious building and it comes from a background in the legislative branch i feel im very used to the dynamic in finding compromise and Common Ground is something i would be committed to doing but if im lucky enough to be confirmed. Mr. Cooksey let me continue with you youve counseled the senators holly and cruise and you have advised the nominations and election loss, you just touched on a little bit but i dont know if you want to flush out on your legislative experience would help you in your role as being a commissioner. Take you for the opportunity to discuss that, i think my role as a legislative staffer with bringing a unique set of skills and experiences to the commission i have a lot of experience working across the aisle, working in a small setting with a Small Committee committee numbers and a lot of important compromises even if we cant agree 100 of the time finding the areas that we can agree in moving forward, i think there is a long and important history of people who have gone onto the fec from a legislative background like mine and gone on to make big contributions there. Thank you, my last question to you, i dont know the answer to this and looking for information as an informed staffer, are there backlogged cases because the commission has not been functioning properly and when you have these situations where you do a backlog what is been the experience with the commission to prioritize areas of timeliness, and amount of dollars were the people, how do you prioritize when you have backlogs, my first question is there a large backlog, i dont know that and if there is how would you prioritize . Thank you, the quick answer to your question is yes there is a large backlog, is this public Information Available, that quarterly reports as published on the ftc website and it reflects the last quarter the 380 cases of the enforcement division, there are 200 before the commission, obviously the answer to your question if there is a backlog but what i think the intent would be if confirmed is to prioritize the enforcement cases based on the statute of limitation, those matters in the limitation of the statute we would be able to assess the severity of the allegation and prioritize the have greater harm to the public or higher prioritize matters and compare that based upon the statute of limitations and i would suggest working in consensus of those cases. Is at something when youre seeking to prioritize that you have to have commissions on, do they set the agenda, is that how that is done . As it relates to the enforcement agenda, it is set by the chair of the commission which as you know alternate each year, they determine the agenda so that would be a priority for the chair which i believe if confirmed i would prioritize those matters if i was the chair. Thank you all very much and good luck and good answers. Thank yothank you, senator c, senator udall. Thank you, i have closely followed the work of Ranking Member klobuchar, i have followed the work of the federal Election Commission and reform of the commission during my time and i believe in the current state the f ec has failed to uphold its mission and im quoting on the mission to protect the integrity of the federal Campaign Finance process by providing transparency and fairly in enforcing federal Campaign Finance laws, congress created the federal Election Commission to political corruption after watergate the more recently partisan gridlock left the agency powerless to enforce the Campaign Finance laws remaining on the books, and 2016 we saw record spending of millions of dollars in undisclosed dark money and we seen the spending continue and on and on without a strong watchdog looking over their shoulders, super tax and billionaire donors have free reign to push the limits, i disagree profoundly the Citizens United in the Supreme Courts campaignfinance decisions but we have to acknowledge the court is not the only one at fault the gridlock, fec specifically to block who nearly always boat and locks dan has played a big role in undermining our campaignfinance laws. For the last decade gop commissioners have blocked every attempt to close the loopholes in ftc regulations to allow dark money groups to flourish, they failed to compel groups and is been virtually all of their money on political advocacy to register as packed which would require them to disclose their donors, 2018 we now know there were efforts to secretly fund Foreign Campaign money to candidates to violating our campaignfinance laws to interfere in the outcome of those elections, i believe a decisive fec that can judiciously enforce campaignfinance violations is crucial to maintaining the legitimacy of our elections and our democracy, traditionally the fec nominees have moved in bipartisan pairs but what troubles me about the nominations is the posture, republicans live a long hailed Senate Tradition when they refused to move the democratic nominee with commissioner traynors nomination and theyre now advancing republican nominees after the recent president ial election. It is time for the fec to be fully functional there is still more work to be done. Ms. Broussard, thank you for joining us you have built a career dedicated to Public Service and served as an attorney for the fec and the office of general counsel since 2008, given your experience, what would you recommend that the commission do to improve its effectiveness and are there specific ways that fec can increase election finance transparency within its current structure . Thank you, senator. To answer the question regarding specifically to transparency. From a perspective of educating the public on the voluntary compliance we currently have quite a few webinars and everything in place that gives the political stakeholders the opportunity for education and advancement, as a working fec i consider that to be able to advance the goals of disclosure to the public by promoting that compliance, i have to apologize, if you can repeat the first half of your question id be happy to answer. Sure, let me give you that one for the record because i want to ask one more question, since a president ial election, President Trump has made claims of voter fraud, however, judges have repeatedly and overwhelmingly ruled against the Trump Campaign claims of fraud, gop Election Officials and gop states have disagreed with these claims and just last week the cybersecurity and infrastructure security agencies issued a statement calling the 2020 president ial election the most secure in american history, mr. Dickerson and mr. Cooksey do you believe there was widespread Election Fraud in 2020 and do you believe it is wrong for individuals that there was widespread fraud without any proof . Thank you for the question senator. I do not have any personal knowledge of any widespread voter fraud in the recent election, i know there is ongoing litigation by various candidates about the consequences are the outcomes of the election that i have not followed it myself and cannot speak to in detail. Thank you. Senator thank you for the question the only thing that i would add to mr. Cookseys response is to remind the committee and anyone who is watching that the fec has no role whatsoever in Election Administration or electoral outcomes. I think it is important that the fec remain within the four quarters in the congress separate. Remember as official in official positions when issues come up youre gonna be asked and its important to people speak truth to power, thank you so much mr. Chairman. Thank you, senator udall, senator warner is ready for questions, will go to him and if not will go to senator highsmith pgh thank you, mr. Chairman, i am ready and i am here, i will pick up where senator udall left off, i gotta take mr. Dickerson, im pretty amazingly disappointed by your lack, the fec along with the Election Assistance Commission, dhs sets up all parts of the group that ensure the integrity of our election system and that goes from Voting Machines to transparency around election contributions and on my agreement that klobuchar great work and im proud to be a member of, i know setting for my position, if you would assess 30 or 45 days out on the selection and people showing up with guns at our polling station with the potential of many of our intelligence and Law Enforcement Agencies Concerned about immediate aftermath of violence at our polling stations, i think americans responded remarkable, it could turn out that our poll workers and officials did a great job that the secretary of state, former secretaries of state on this panel on both parties did a good job, i am outraged that the entity responsible for Election Security have indicated that this has been the safest and most secure election in our history, i think its remarkable that the president fired the head of them last night, i want to give you in all three members of the panel a chance to answer, do not feel that the integrity of our election system is our responsibility of the fec and do any of you want to weigh in at all on the election that took place and what conducted a safe and fair way, the election experts you must have an opinion on whether these elections were conducted appropriately or not and ill ask each one to respond briefly. I appreciate the opportunity in particular because i share your concerns and those in the Intelligence Committee foreign influence and meddling in government. I think my comment which i do stand by is to note that combating that risk is a governmentwide commission. There are other larger more expert and better resource agencies and some of which you mentioned and ill add the Intelligence Committee itself department of defense, the widespread abilities and department of justice in this area that are a better fit. If you are to become confirm you dont take the role of the commissioner is to also try to support the integrity in the election system. Absolutely i do, is not undermined when people recklessly give out proof and attack the election results, i wont get into the firing of mrs extraordinarily inappropriate but im looking for fec commissioners who will stand up for rule of law and speaking out when the integrity of our system is being attacked, i think mr. Chairman i will probably run out of time but very briefly can i get the other two witnesses to respond. Im happy to respond, i apologize, i agree with you senator and the responsibility of the commission to promote the integrity of the federal election process and protect the disclosure of information and to protect the american from the election process itself, i dont have any information that anything that there was any evidence of voter fraud and we have public report of National Resources that we do not have any issues of the selection and it was a quite Fair Election and has been mentioned with an excellent amount of voter turnover which i thought was extremely exciting and the commissioner to verbally promote the safety, the quality, the furnace of election is the responsibility although we are specifically enforcing. Senator to be brief, i agree with what my fellow nominees have said, the Principal Commission of the fec is to promote transparency and accountability in the campaignfinance system the fec commissioners are public figures and have a broader responsibility to promote the integrity in our election. Thank you, mr. Chairman i dont often get to my meetings and i may have gone beyond my time so ill ask my last question or i wont be invited back. Thank you, senator klobuchar for your leadership. There will be a chance for questions for the record and thank you for your time today. I want to thank senator warner for his work, i had omitted mentioning him. Thank you. Senator highsmith. Thank you, mr. Chairman and thank you everyone for being here today, this is really important that we fill this position as you well know the vacancy that has been there for a while and i just have a question on how will your personal views or previous work of soaked through solutions that you might make that come before you as a fec commissioner and how would you go about recusing yourself if you thought there was any . Thank you, senator all take first shot at that because im the person appear representing clients most recently. In terms of the recusal process, i expect my colleagues who have firefiled letters with the commission outlining responsible these to recuse, i would add personally i consider those rules not a ceiling and i can imagine cases of the perception of entanglement with the me too recuse the rules. Those would be casebycase questions. There is a situation which i think it might be implicated, i would commit to consulting with the career staff and my colleagues to make sure that its followed. With the council to fill out. The most important thing is that we see the integrity and if we have any questions we can take advantage of the resources that we would have available to them. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, senator heinz math. Senator leigh he is available. If not we will go to senator cortez masco. Coming through . Yes, it is. I appreciate having this opportunity for each of you having been nominated at a critical moment. It was created to provoke participation in a democratic process. Thats difficult today when you have a president who every Public Statement undermines Public Confidence in our election and seeks to suppress the legally cast votes. The temper tantrum points aside all serious officials both republicans and democrats that the state unequivocally the results are legitimate. I will ask a question for each of you and you can answer yes or no. Is joe biden the president elect of the United States, yes or no . Yes. Senator im aware most media organizations projected former Vice President joe biden has won the election. I have no reason to doubt that. Thank you. I agree subject to the outcome of litigation. You have a serious litigation as you know in those cases being dismissed or now withdrawn. From out of the state brought a sex offender to baseless charges but Everything Else has been pretty well. President Trump Department of Homeland Security said this is the most secure. [inaudible] senator, in all frankness i have little expertise in that area and you might imagine my attention has been dedicated towards this hearing i will tell you the commissioner had very few substantiated complaints. Would you agree with that . Do you have any reason to disagree with that . I have no reason to disagree. Anybody else want to add . I have no reason to disagree. I do not doubt this statement. Thank you very much. You criticized efforts from the companies with foreign ties contributing money to the state campaigns. I would ask is it ever appropriate for the candidate or office to encourage or accept the reformed state. That would be an appropriate decision. During an abc news interview in 2019, basically they said theres nothing wrong from the foreign government. I must admit a number of my republican colleagues were shocked at that. Ive worried because some republican senators have echoed the president on the voter fraud some claimed the process and others with their claims of valor when the republican secretaries of state faced Death Threats because of that. If so, what is that path can you see that as a path to victory for the president . Im not aware of one but i havent looked at the cases in detail. Anybody else see one . Senator, i am aware on the litigation about the election and followed it in great detail. I am not in the position to comment on the merits of it. You are aware of an awful lot of the litigation that has been withdrawn or passed out by the courts. I have seen news articles to that effect. I am a lawyer and i watch it very, very carefully. And ive seen that the fact that its taken so long to set up the process we have with a new president coming in. Its damaging to the security and to the health of our people and if we suddenly have a new president inaugurated we suddenly have an attack. The president s in the past whether they were lost without the new president coming in. I am simply stating this as a senator ive never seen this happen with the republicans or democrats we should be prepared especially in a time of covid and extreme threats as the chair man is aware in this position of other committees that we should be prepared for the transition. Mr. Chairman, i appreciate you saying that this hearing and we have a vote to start on the floor. Thank you, senator leahy. You know where my office is. Exactly. And your office looks great here today. Thank you, senator leahy. Senator cortez masco. Thank you, thank you, chairman and Ranking Member. Thank you for all of your willingness to serve on the commission. Let me followup with senator leahys line of questioning. My question to all of you do you think that the fcc has a role to play limiting foreign interference in federal elections and if the question is yes what is that role . Let me start with you. And the contribution is longstanding if confirmed im committed to enforcing that just as it has been a priority for the commission over the recent years. Thank you. Mr. Dickerson. I entirely agree. I think the foreign contribution and expenditure prohibition has been an area of priority and i would plan to join that tradition. I noted [inaudible] working with fellow commissioners. Thank you. I know looking at the federal campaign act of there really is not a lot of qualifications for the commissioners that we have to look at other than that it commissioner shall be chosen on the basis of their experience and integrity, impartiality and good judgment. And i think that is the questioning that you are seeing here goes to the impartiality piece of it. So i appreciate the answers that you gave senator highsmith on the recusal. The fact that the presumption also has an impact and that should be considered when you are looking to wreak use. Its the commissioners decision to recuse or not at the end of the day so let me ask you this because over the past several years youve advocated against the disclosure act, and just about every effort by congress and the sec to strengthen transparency. So, if you are confirmed as commissioner, how can i be insured that you are going to be impartial when it comes to the issues of transparency and will make the decision to recuse yourself if appropriate. I am grateful. I would and analogize to what happens when an advocate or a practicing attorney is nominated for the judiciary. As we do often have the commission in this capacity which is why the happens so much. The simple answer is i will take it to the constitution if confirmed in this position and as i ought to remind people, the First Amendment is only one part of the constitution. And i have been emphasizing that aspect of it in my practice for the last decade. But i also recognize that the role of the commission has as a creature of statute bound by the congresses judgment is a very different one from that of an advocate in the nonprofit space and so my commitment is i would take that seriously and recognize the very different role required by a nonpartisan Law Enforcement role as opposed to the do you think it is appropriate for a commissioner to be vocal on twitter or the media interviews supporting a particular candidate over another . I worry about it a great deal. I think that it does there has been unanimity among my fellow nominees and i that would like to be working towards unanimity and compromise on the commission. I suspect that the particular advocacy makes that hard inside of the building. So i cannot speak for anyone else who might be nominated or confirmed i would plan to avoid that sort of outside advocacy. Mr. Cooksey, same question to you. I agree with what was said in that if i am lucky enough to be confirmed my focus will be on the administration and enforcement of campaignfinance law and not on the political activity or advocacy. Thank you all again. Congratulations on your nomination. I have a couple of questions and a couple of comments. One is on all of the suggestions of your public view of elections generally. There are First Amendment rights. You do know more about elections and think more about them than most people, but i dont think that its the job of the federal Election Assistance Commission to try to enforce the campaignfinance law. I dont think its the job of the department of Homeland Security to give opinions on how they think the campaignfinance law should be enforced, and my thought on this is while there may be rulemaking authorities and other authorities that you have in the campaignfinance law area, i think it is unreasonable to expect to these agencies to constantly cross lines and decide while i know a lot because i am on the Election Assistance Commission. I think im going to start making determinations about how campaignfinance laws are being enforced, and i think generally you all three wound up in that space where you have important responsibilities. The integrity of the election system is important, but your role is pretty clearly defined. Ms. Bouchard made a comment i agree with if the Congress Passes a law, you are going to enforce it. There may be Rulemaking Authority that is on the edges of whether congress has passed to the law or not but understanding your job and how you do your job is critically important because nobody else is going to do your job. You spend all your time doing somebody elses job, nobody is doing your job which is critical. On what standard if youve had a chance to think about this yet, and i know ms. Bouchard has, what standard must be met before the commission offers an investigation and lets just go in alphabetical order here. What standard do you think needs to be met before the Commission Opens an investigation . Thank you, senator. There has to be reason to believe that a violation could occur and reason to believe that sufficient evidence as was already mentioned by one of the nominees it isnt a quantified percentage, but that is what is in the statute and its also the recognition. Mr. Cooksey. Yes, senator. Reason to believe is the standard i would describe reason to believe that the presence of credible evidence that a violation of the law has occurred on one of the campaignfinance laws that the fcc has administered. And senator, i find myself in the position of entirely agreeing with my fellow colleagues. Let me ask one more question and see if you agree with that one. The fec is the subject of a great deal of litigation. The adversarial process really requires somebody to be engaged to defend the position the commission has taken or nobody engages. What is your view of that . All three lawyers, all three capable attorneys. What do you think should be the view of litigation challenging a newly arrived at position taken . I dont think that there are any favors when there are certain constitutional or statutory law decided on default judgments or any sufficient due process for the people in the commission. There may be cases i wouldnt go to any form enforce or appeal or otherwise go to court. Senator, my approach to the question. I have a strong belief that the rulings and the decisions is a general matter should be defended in court. Ms. Bouchard . I believe we have to look at each case of the different facts of the law and with decisions with the council t council to me decision, but as mentioned, i agree there may be some cases whether there should be a defense and i am open to considering each to make the decision at that time. I think you all for joining us today. The record will be open until noon on friday, november 20th. I know the point when we had a slight disengagement and senator cruise had a question he hoped all three of you would answer that you didnt get a chance to answer and there are probably more questions to be filed. I am hopeful that we can move all three of these nominations this year and restore the commission to the sixmember status. I would point out for the observations that i would like to do this two at a time, one democrat and one republican. Theres been two vacancies on the court for over two terms on the commission for a decade or so now. One by a democrat and one by an independent that generally votes with that side of the commission. No nominee has ever been presented to the committee. I would love to have nominees for that and we would quickly move on those nominees even if they both come at the same time as long as theres otherwise a full commission. The committee is adjourned. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] sees bands washington journal. Every day we take your calls live on air and discuss policy issues that impact you. Coming up, the director of the National Institute for allergy and infectious diseases, dr. Anthony fauci discusses the response to the coronavirus pandemic. The impact of the pandemic and the impact on the aviation industry. In the National Congress of the American Indian on issues affecting native americans and alaskan natives and the role of native americans in campaign 2020. Be sure to join the discussion with your phone calls, facebook comments, text messages, and tweets. 2020 was a historic year for women with the election of the first woman Vice President , Kamala Harris, and we celebrate the 100th anniversary of womens right to vote. Sunday on q a, journalist and author elaine weiss on her book our, abouts h the womans right to vote. House byt passes the martin very small, it passes the senate by only a twovote margin. After the house passes it actually in 1918, it takes until june of 1919 before it passes both houses. And then the senate knew that they were sending it out for ratification in the states and what is called an off year, when most state legislatures were not going to be in session, and that was sort of purposeful, to make it more difficult, so they had to convince 30 governors to call their legislators back into special session to consider the momentum. Elaine weiss, sunday night at 8 00 eastern on cspans q a. President elect joe biden announced a number of foreignpolicy policy and National Security posts on tuesday. Nominees include tony blinken to be secretary of state and john kerry as the new special envoy for climate. Following his remarks, Vice President elect Kamala Harris closed out the event with brief comments. This runs 35 minutes. Ok