House to vote on election law overhaul in response to January 6
The House pushed ahead Wednesday with legislation that would revamp the rules for certifying the results of a presidential election as lawmakers accelerate their response to the January 6, 2021, insurrection and Donald Trump’s failed attempt to remain in power. The legislation would overhaul an arcane 1800s-era statute known as the Electoral Count Act that governs, along with the U.S. Constitution, how states and Congress certify electors and declare presidential election winners. The House planned a vote on the bill after afternoon debate. While that process has long been routine and ceremonial, Trump and a group of his aides and lawyers tried to exploit loopholes in the law in an attempt to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election. The bill would set new parameters around the January 6 joint session of Congress that happens every four years after a presidential election. The day turned violent last year after hundreds of Trump’s supporters interrupted the proceedings, broke into the building, and threatened the lives of then-Vice President Mike Pence and members of Congress. The rioters echoed Trump’s false claims of widespread fraud and wanted Pence to block Democrat Joe Biden’s victory as he presided over the joint session. The legislation intends to ensure that future Jan. 6 sessions are “as the constitution envisioned, a ministerial day,” said Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, a Republican who co-sponsored the legislation with House Administration Committee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif. Both Cheney and Lofgren are also members of the House committee investigating the January 6 attack. Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, another member of the January 6 panel, said during the start of the House debate that the bill would modernize the elections law “to make sure that the will of the people is vindicated at every level.” The bill, which is similar to legislation moving through the Senate, would clarify in the law that the vice president’s role presiding over the count is only ceremonial and also sets out that each state can only send one certified set of electors. Trump’s allies had unsuccessfully tried to put together alternate slates of illegitimate pro-Trump electors in swing states where Biden won. The legislation would increase the threshold for individual lawmakers’ objections to any state’s electoral votes, requiring a third of the House and a third of the Senate to object to trigger votes on the results in both chambers. Currently, only one lawmaker in the House and one lawmaker in the Senate have to object. The House bill would set out very narrow grounds for those objections, an attempt to thwart baseless or politically motivated challenges. The legislation also would require courts to get involved if state or local officials want to delay a presidential vote or refuse to certify the results. The House vote comes as the Senate is moving on a similar track with enough Republican support to virtually ensure passage before the end of the year. After months of talks, House Democrats introduced the legislation on Monday and are holding a quick vote two days later in order to send the bill across the Capitol and start to resolve differences. A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation this summer, and a Senate committee is expected to vote on it next week. While the House bill is more expansive than the Senate version, the two bills cover similar ground, and members in both chambers are optimistic that they can work out the differences. While few House Republicans are expected to vote for the legislation — most are still allied with Trump — supporters are encouraged by the bipartisan effort in the Senate. “Both sides have an incentive to want a set of clear rules, and this is an antiquated law that no one understands,” said Benjamin Ginsburg, a longtime GOP lawyer who consulted with lawmakers as they wrote the bill. “All parties benefit from clarity.” House GOP leaders disagree and are encouraging their members to vote against the legislation. They say the involvement of courts could drag out elections and that the bill would take rights away from states. The bill is an “attempt to federalize our elections,” Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa., said on the House floor. He argued that voters are more focused on the economy and other issues than on elections law. “In my area of Pennsylvania, nobody is talking about this,” Reschenthaler said. Illinois Rep. Rodney Davis, Lofgren’s GOP counterpart on the House Administration Committee, said Tuesday that Democrats are “desperately trying to talk about their favorite topic, and that is former president Donald Trump.” Democrats said the bill was not only a response to Trump but also a way to prevent objections and mischief from all candidates in the future. “If you think that this legislation is an attack on President Trump, you simply haven’t read the legislation because there’s nothing in there attacking President Trump,” Raskin said. “This is about reforming the Electoral Count Act, so it works for the American people.” Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
Congressman Mike Rogers joins colleauges to voice concern over safety of Olympic athletes in China
Congressman Mike Rogers joined China Task Force Chairman Michael McCaul and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy in sending a letter to Board Chair of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) Susanne Lyons. The letter expresses concern and the importance of ensuring U.S. Olympians are educated on how to stay safe during the Olympics. Additionally, they commented on the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) gross human rights abuses, including genocide. The letter specifically asks that Olympians are informated on how to keep themselves safe. The Beijing Organizing Committee and the CCP has made clear that they will have an unprecedented level of control over the athletes. The letter also asks that the USOPC prepare athletes with the knowledge they need about their rights while in China and also requests an explanation of what steps have been taken to ensure the safety of athletes who may exercise their freedom of speech. “The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has a responsibility to ensure our athletes are prepared for these unprecedented Olympic games,” the lawmakers wrote. “Congress legislatively empowered the USOPC with the exclusive privilege of representing the United States in the Olympic community. American values are a core part of the USOPC’s Congressional charter, including a duty to ‘promote a safe environment in sports.’ In recent weeks, Congress has acted to further increase the preparedness and safety of American athletes representing the United States in human rights-violating countries, by codifying the American Values and Security in International Athletics Act.” The Republican-led China Task Force aims to help reinforce Congressional efforts to counter current and emerging cross-jurisdictional threats from China. The letter was also signed by China Task Force Members Reps. Andy Barr (R-KY), Liz Cheney (R-WY), Mike Gallagher (R-WI), Michael Waltz (R-FL), Darin LaHood (R-IL), Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), Chris Stewart (R-UT), Neal Dunn (R-FL), Mark Green (R-TN), Mike Garcia (R-CA), Austin Scott (R-GA), Diana Harshbarger (R-TN), and Young Kim (R-CA). Rogers stated on Twitter, “The abhorrent reality of the Olympics occurring in a genocidal state will leave a permanent stain on the legacy of Beining 2022 and the International Olympic Committee.” The full text of the letter is below: Dear Chair Lyons, The 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing will be the first Olympic games to take place in a country that is conducting an ongoing genocide. Therefore, these games are an unprecedented threat to American values, inalienable human rights, and the spirit of the Olympics. It is vital that our athletes arrive fully informed about the reality of the genocide occurring in China, as well as the broad range of other human rights abuses and malign actions committed by the Chinese government and Communist Party. The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has a responsibility to ensure our athletes are prepared for these unprecedented Olympic games. Congress legislatively empowered the USOPC with the exclusive privilege of representing the United States in the Olympic community. American values are a core part of the USOPC’s Congressional charter, including a duty to “promote a safe environment in sports.”1 In recent weeks, Congress has acted to further increase the preparedness and safety of American athletes representing the United States in human rights-violating countries, by codifying the American Values and Security in International Athletics Act2. The abhorrent reality of the Olympics occurring in a genocidal state will leave a permanent stain on the legacy of Beijing 2022 and the International Olympic Committee. The USOPC has a responsibility to ensure our athletes know that Congress and the Administration have designated the Chinese Communist Party’s crimes against Uyghurs as genocide, a term the U.S. government reserves for history’s most grave human rights atrocities. Over one million Uyghurs and members of other religious and ethnic minorities have been forced into concentration camps, been subject to abusive brainwashing and political indoctrination, have had their families forcibly separated, have been put to forced labor, and have been subject to sexual violence and efforts to reduce their population’s birth rate. We also remain seriously concerned that the American delegation to Beijing may be unprepared for personal security risks, particularly for individuals who exercise their freedom of speech. The “closed loop management system” enforced by the Beijing Organizing Committee – allegedly in response to the pandemic – will give the Chinese government an unprecedented level of control over international athletes, while at the same time hindering access by the U.S. State Department. The Department has been forthright that its consular access to athletes in need remains uncertain, and that the entirety of its China Travel Advisory applies to the games, including major threats of arbitrary detention “for sending private electronic messages critical of the PRC government,” a lack of due process, and the use of propaganda campaigns to target U.S. citizens. These risks are very likely to be heightened given the Chinese government’s total control inside the “closed loop” and the pervasive surveillance the CCP demands over events prioritized in its external propaganda efforts. This week, a Beijing Organizing Committee official issued a veiled threat to those who would speak out, saying “Any behavior or speech that is against the Olympic spirit, especially against the Chinese laws and regulations, are also subject to certain punishment.” Public statements from yourself and other USOPC officials acknowledge the danger, but sadly such statements indicate that our athletes are being encouraged to self-censor: “The laws of China are distinct and different… The expectation is we abide by the rules of that country.” Rather than push American athletes to follow the CCP’s party line, the USOPC should empower Team USA with the resources to understand the human rights crisis they face when representing our country in China and take action to ensure their safety. We urge you in the strongest terms to ensure that Team USA is fully informed about the human rights situation in China, including its ongoing genocide, and request that you reply with: An explanation of USOPC’s efforts to educate American participants in Beijing 2022 about the Chinese Communist Party’s malign actions including its
