Support of the measure. Here is the house debate read. To House Resolution 1372, i call up the bill h. R. 8873 and ask for its immediate consideration in the house. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 8873, a bill to amend title 3, United States code, to reform the process for the counting of electoral votes and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to House Resolution 1372, the bill is considered as read. The bill shall be debatable for one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on House Administration or their respective designees. The gentlewoman from california, ms. Lofgren, and the gentleman from illinois, mr. Davis, will each control 30 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california, ms. Lofgren. Ms. Lofgren thank you, madam speaker. The speaker pro tempore the house is not in order. The gentlewoman may proceed. Ms. Lofgren thank you, madam speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on h. R. 8873 into the record. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Ms. Lofgren thank you. I yield myself such time as i may consume. Madam speaker, i rise today in strong support of h. R. 8873, the president ial election reform act. This bipartisan bill is a product of over two years of work. The first on the committee of House Administration and subsequently on the january 6 select committee, working in partnership with representative liz cheney, this has included we had extensive consultation with bipartisan law professors, former judges, and other experts. We have engaged in a fullsome, thoughtful, nonpartisan process, and where ms. Cheney and i didnt always agree, we compromised, in the great tradition of the legislative process. I want to thank my friend, colleague, and the vice chair of the january 6 subcommittee, liz cheney. Her partnership, leadership, intelligence, and frankly, her courage, had been invaluable to the select committees work and to the development of this bill. I want to be very clear. In revising the electoral count act and related laws, that no way condones the actions of the expresident and his allies. John eastman openly admitted that his plan violated the electoral count act. President trump was told the same. But this bill will make it harder to convince people that they have the right to overthrow the election. Heres a few things the bill does. First, this bill reaffirms the Vice President s authority at the electoral count is minute steerial. The Vice President s authority has always been minute stirrial ministerial but as we sought to unlawfully exploit it. The bill will have new electoral counting rules for congress. Previously, just a few members of each house were able to derail the proceedings with frivolous objections. That will no longer be the case. Under this bill, no objection will be heard unless 1 3 of each house supports it, and the only objections that will be permitted are those that are rooted in the constitution itself, a narrow set of issues. The bill also prevents state and local election subversion. For example, governors will be required to submit their states lawful certificate of appointment and federal courts will be empowered to force them to do so if they refuse. Ultimately, this bill is about protecting the will of the American Voters, which is a principle that is beyond partisanship. The bottom line is this if you want to object to the vote, you better have your colleagues and the constitution on your side. Dont try to overturn our democracy. And i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman reserves. The gentleman from illinois is recognized. Mr. Davis thank you, madam speaker. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman may proceed. Mr. Davis i think its important today to begin by taking a step back, provide some important context about the bill were considering today and reestablish some important facts. Election administration and the way elections work is a complicated process. For most of us, this experience typically consists of showing up, casting a ballot, and then digesting new coverage of results. Very few people realize what goes on behind the scenes. But recently, as Election Administration has come into the forefront, theres a lot of people who all of a sudden seem to think that they are an expert on the subject. This includes many people in these buildings and in the press. Many of those folks have never been on the ground in election offices across the country and couldnt tell the difference between an epoll book and a highspeed ballot scanner. Yet, they know their right. This has led to all sorts of rumors, narratives, and misinformation across the political spectrum to percolate within our society. And that has caused people to lose faith in our elections. This is a huge problem. I spent the past few years traveling the country to learn about the to learn about different state election processes and have met with countless republican and democrat election administers. Weve learned about the checks and balances in place. Free and Fair Elections are the bedrock of our democracy, and we must ensure people can have faith in elections, in election processes and outcomes in order for our democracy to continue to thrive. Unfortunately, one false narrative thats been pushed by my colleagues on the other side is that republican members of congress are election subverters or deniers trying to overthrow because of an electoral slate on january 6. This has been fueled by members of the media who dont understand the subject. Theyre claiming this particular action was unprecedented and an affront to democracy. However, so many of them, including powerful Committee Chairs that are in power today have objected in the past. In fact, democrats have objected to every single republican president ial win in the 21st century. Another false narrative is that somehow the legal actions taken by the trump campaign, the rhetoric of former President Trump, republican members of Congress Voting to object to a states electors, and the illegal actions of many people who attacked the capitol on january 6 were all connected in some kind of mass conspiracy by republicans to stage a coup. These two narratives are now presented on a daily basis as though they are fact, but that is quite simply not true. The fact of the matter is there are long standing legal frameworks in place to adjudicate disputes in Election Outcomes that have been used regularly, regardless of party. Theres not enough time to go through all of them but the point is these processes have existed for a long time and they are used frequently and often by candidates of all political stripes. There are checks, balances, and safeguards woven in throughout the system. The goal of every election framework is to ensure the person who takes the oath of office is the one who actually won. Thats true in the states, in the courts, and here in congress. The best news of all is these systems have worked. At the end of the day, the out outcomes were exactly as they should have been. Its why people can and should have faith in our election system. This isnt to say that our system is perfect. Theres always room for improvement. Unfortunately, thats not what is happening here today. The electoral count act has been in place for over a century and directly implements constitutional provisions. Members of all Political Parties have exercised their rights under the law to raise disputes if they determine something may be improper. This is not an affront to democracy. Frankly, its democracy in action. In fact, democrats have quite an extensive history of objecting to the electoral count. Id like to insert into the record a list of over 80 democrats denying Election Results, including many chairs. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Davis thank you. Including people like chairperson maxine waters, chairman bennie thompson, representative jamie raskin, and many others here today. And again, the result in all of these cases was that our system worked. The house and senate did what they were supposed to do, heard the objections, dispose of them properly, and ultimately certify the lks as originally presented. Objecting does not make you an election subverter or denier. Each member of congress has a constitutional duty to do what they think is best for their constituents. At the same time, democrats were accusing republicans of undermining democracy they themselves were attempting to overturn the results of a duly certified election in is second district. The challenger said she brought the contest to a partisan committee in d. C. Instead of iowa courts, quote, in order to get the result we need, end quote. This was after the state of iowa followed their normal process throughout the election of iowa two. It was recounted. Multiple bipartisan recount boards and duly certified. Yet, this majority orchestrated having their candidate bypass state courts and instead attempted to utilize the house itself to steal a congressional seat to boost their slim majority. This was the single biggest act of election subversion that occurred in the 2020 election cycle and it was carried out by the same people here today claiming that republicans are a threat to democracy. Fast forward to today, democrats are once again attempting to move a major piece of legislation that overhauls a key piece of our election system in a partisan manner behind closed doors. They didnt hold a hearing or a ma markup on this bill. They didnt release legislative text until 24 hours before it was considered in the rules committee. They didnt consult republicans on the committee of jurisdiction despite repeated overtures to work on this important issue. All rebuffed. Why rush such a significant piece of legislation when the next president ial certification wont happen for over two years . Its pretty simple, madam speaker. The midterm elections are just weeks away. The democrats are desperately trying to talk about their favorite topic former President Trump. As someone who voted to certify joe biden as president and who recently lost a primary race to a candidate endorsed by the former candidate, i believe what House Democrats and the 1 6 committee is doing is irresponsible and wrong. They allowed a dislike for one man, donald trump, to cloud their actions no matter the constitution they claim they want to uphold. We need to start being honest with ourselves and the American People and the facts are the president and his Campaign Filing legal challenges in states and federal courts around the country was not improper nor unprecedented. Everyone is entitled to their day in court. Those suits were considered by judges and ultimately rejected. The process worked. The rhetoric of former President Trump following the 2020 election was highly inappropriate. Republican members of congress objecting to a states slate of electors is not election subversion or unprecedented. The actions of the individuals who attacked the capitol on january 6 was wrong. Those individuals should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Democrats have just as long of a history as republicans of challenging and questioning elections, including attempting to overturn a duly certified Congressional Election in iowa. This is not a partisan issue and the process is in place processes in place have worked. In closing, i would just reiterate the peoples faith in our elections is critical to the longterm success of our democracy. Its time for House Democrats to quit playing partisan political games and pushing false narratives just to preserve their own power. It is incumbent upon all of us to be honest and work in good faith and serve the American People, restore faith in our elections, protect our democracy. And i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from illinois reserves. The gentlewoman from california is recognized. Ms. Lofgren madam speaker, on january 6, the president had whipped up a mob, told them that the Vice President could overturn the election, and a majority of the republicans in this house voted to reject the decision made by American Voters as reflected in the Electoral College for no reason whatsoever other than sham fraud claims. I would now like to yield to the vice chair of the january 6 select committee, ms. Cheney, five minutes. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman may proceed. Ms. Cheney thank you very much, madam speaker. I want to begin by thanking the gentlewoman from california, chairwoman lofgren. The chairwoman and i certainly have our disagreements on issues but theres no one i respect more in this body for their diligence, for their commitment, for their expertise, for their commitment to our constitution, to our constituents and to this country. And it has been a real pleasure working with her, as well as the staff of the House Admin Committee and particularly want to mention my counsel on the selects committee, mr. Joe maher, for their tremendous work on this bill. This bill has benefited from a wide range of input from constitution alex pelters, including constitutional experts, including many constitutional conservative experts, jurists and scommers who have work scholars who have worked with us on this bill. Their input has been invaluable. I also want to praise those in the senate who have been working hard on their version of electoral count act reform. Our bill builds on what they have already put forth. Commentary from conservatives on our bill has been exceptionally positive. Here are a few examples. Judge ludig, a widely respected conservative legal expert, wrote that our bill was, quote, masterfully drafted to ensure we never have another day anything like january 6 and to avert future efforts to overturn our nations democratic elections. The wall street Journal Editorial Board offered a range of positive comments, including explaining that the house bill would make it harder, quote, for partisans in congress who want to get cspan famous to lodge phony Electoral College objections. Or for them to raise objections on the house floor because, quote, somebody had a funny feeling about the vote totals in westsoutheastern pennsylvania. The conservative Cato Institute said this, quote in some respects this bill is more conservative and originalist than the existing senate bill. Conservative commentator Quinn Hillier said in the washington examiner, the house bill adds to the work already done by the senate and fills in almost all gaps with admirable and sensible specificity. There are many other examples from conservative commentators as well. I urge my republican colleagues to read those articles and editorials in full. If your aim is to prevent future efforts to steal elections, i would respectfully suggest that conservatives should support this bill. If instead your aim is to leave open the door for elections to be stolen in the future, you might decide not to support this or any other bill to address the electoral count act. January 6, contrary to what my colleague from illinois just said, was not, quote, democracy in action. And our oath of office is to support and defend the constitution, which provides the method by which we elect our president. Legal challenges are not improper. But Donald Trumps refusal to abide by the rulings of the courts certainly was. In our system of government, elections in the states determine who is the president. Our bill does not change that. But this bill will prevent congress from illegally choosing the president itself. As we detailed in our january 6 hearings, a federal judge has reviewed evidence submitted by the january 6 committee and concluded that former President Trump likely violated two criminal statutes when he pressured Vice President pence to reject legitimate state electoral votes in our joint session. Thats what Vice President pence called, quote, unamerican. In our hearings, we have demonstrated that President Trump knew specifically, knew specifically that what he was doing was illegal, but he did it anyway. President trumps conduct was illegal under the existing electoral count act, and it would be illegal under this new bill as well. Our bill reaffirms what the constitution and existing law make plain. The Vice President has no authority or discretion to reject official state electric thunderstorm slates. It electric electoral slates. Those grownltds are limited to the ex glownlds grounds are limited to electric torrell jibility in the 12th amendments requirements for electricker to balloting. Under our system of elections, governors must transmit lawful Election Results to congress. If they fail to fulfill that duty, our bill provides that candidates for presidency should be able to sue in federal court to ensure that states receive congress certification. Finally, our bill makes clear that the rules governing an election cannot be changed retroactively. The constitution assigns an important duty to state legislatures to determine the manner in which the states appoint their electricker toes. But this electors, but this must not be read to allow state legislators to change the rules retroactively to alter the outcome. This bill will preserve the rule of law. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewomans time has expired. Ms. Lofgren i yield the gentlelady an additional minute