Rep. Byron Donalds: 'Wasteful spending' is cornerstone of Biden's COVID relief bill
Florida Republican joins 'Fox Report' to discuss the legislative hurdles facing the president.
The Democrats like to reference the Constitution when prosecuting not one but two fruitless impeachment trials – but they struggle to follow the Constitution when doing the job they were elected to do, legislating.
Case in point – House Resolution 1. Article I, Section 4, Clause I of the U.S. Constitution states: "The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators."
The Constitution outlines a clear and unambiguous roadmap that delineates the government's national framework, including our nation's election system.
H.R. 1, also known as the For the People Act, is the Democrats' latest attempt to disregard the Constitution in their ruthless power grab in the form of "election reform." This unconstitutional resolution would strip states of their constitutional responsibility as the referees of their elections by subverting local and state rules with the rule of coastal elitist politicians.
Election law, like most laws, cannot be solved by imposing one-size-fits-all policies. Since entering Congress less than two months ago, I have witnessed first-hand D.C. politicians' disingenuous efforts to package lousy policy under the guise of flashy slogans and hashtags that ring hollow.
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This bill will strip power away from elected officials and the people they were elected to serve in state capitals from Tallahassee, Fla., to Pierre, S.D., Concord, N.H., Phoenix, Ariz., and across the nation.
Unlike Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who famously said, "We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it," I read the bill, and it is a disaster.
Hidden in this nearly 600-page monstrosity is the ability to do the following: Dissolve voter I.D. laws; give Washington bureaucrats the power to redraw congressional districts and create voter qualifications such as allowing 16-year-olds to vote; open the door to taxpayer-funded political campaigns, and set up fraud-prone mail-in ballots as the new standard of voting.
Furthermore, this bill buries the politically polarizing maneuver to make Washington, D.C., a state – which speaks to this bill's misguided and elitist motivations.
This bill is a blatant assault on the Constitution.
Also, H.R. 1 changes the Federal Election Commission's membership to five members, effectively giving the Democrats complete control over the future of America's sole enforcer of campaign finance laws in the United States.
This bill is a blatant assault on the Constitution.
Florida has the battle scars of poorly run elections. Still, the third largest state in the union has recovered from its mistakes and stands as a model for administering elections. Florida has enhanced its voter system through state and local leadership, not federal. We have been able to offer solicited absentee voting with proper safeguards such as signature verification, requiring voter I.D., and maintaining up-to-date voter rolls to ensure that the only ballots are from eligible citizens.
The media and Democratic politicians tend to poison the election integrity debate by tagging the phrase "conspiracy theory" when reporters and conservative politicians call into question breaches in election law. But following the 2020 general election, election integrity and efficiency are more important than ever.
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There is a dire need for reform in many states, but they don’t need the help of Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. States should look to Florida as the best model for managing and executing elections.
Our constitutional republic's integrity can only thrive if the chief executive and our representatives are democratically elected by eligible voters.