For the People Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Mrs. HINSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 1.

The 2020 election and its aftermath were chaotic and harmful to our democracy. We should be working hard in this Chamber in a bipartisan way to restore faith in our electoral process.

I have heard my colleagues across the aisle say that this bill would help to transform our elections. They are certainly right about that. H.R. 1 is the largest expansion of the Federal Government's role in our elections, ever.

It would take away States' constitutional authority to run their own elections. When I was in the Iowa State House, we worked hard to secure our election system, to safeguard against fraud, and to ensure that only legal votes were counted. Our goal in Iowa was to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat, and we succeeded in doing that.

But H.R. 1 would overrule those efforts, and it would force Washington's one-size-fits-all policy and voting practices on Iowans. H.R. 1 would also send taxpayer dollars directly to political candidates. That is right. The Federal Government would send your money to fill the campaign coffers of a politician you might not even agree with.

This bill would take authority away from Iowans to run their own elections while Democrats here in Congress are also laying the groundwork to overturn the official election results in Iowa's Second Congressional District, where the votes have been counted, recounted, and certified for Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks.

Our Constitution is clear, States determine elections, not Congress.

H.R. 1 will harm and it will not protect the integrity of our elections. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues in this body to vote ``no'' on this bill.

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