[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 147 (Wednesday, September 5, 2018)] [House] [Pages H7848-H7850] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] GLOBAL ELECTORAL EXCHANGE ACT Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5274) to promote international exchanges on best election practices, cultivate more secure democratic institutions around the world, and for other purposes, as amended. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 5274 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Global Electoral Exchange Act''. SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. It is the sense of Congress that-- (1) recent elections globally have illustrated the urgent need for the promotion and exchange of international best election practices, particularly in the areas of cybersecurity, results transmission, transparency of electoral data, election dispute resolution, and the elimination of discriminatory registration practices and other electoral irregularities; (2) the advancement of democracy worldwide promotes American interests, as stable democracies provide new market opportunities, improve global health outcomes, and promote economic freedom and regional security; (3) credible elections are the cornerstone of a healthy democracy and enable all persons to exercise their basic human right to have a say in how they are governed; (4) inclusive elections strengthen the credibility and stability of democracies more broadly, as democratic institutions flourish when representative of all groups of society; (5) at the heart of a strong election cycle is the professionalism of the election management body and an empowered civil society; and (6) the development of local expertise via peer-to-peer learning and exchanges promotes the independence of such bodies from internal and external influence. SEC. 3. GLOBAL ELECTORAL EXCHANGE. (a) Global Electoral Exchange.--The Secretary of State is authorized to establish and administer a Global Electoral Exchange Program to promote the utilization of sound election administration practices around the world. (b) Purpose.--The purpose of the Global Electoral Exchange Program described in subsection (a) shall include the promotion and exchange of international best election practices, including in the areas of-- (1) cybersecurity; (2) results transmission; (3) transparency of electoral data; (4) election dispute resolution; (5) the elimination of discriminatory registration practices and electoral irregularities; (6) equitable access to polling places, voter education information, and voting mechanisms (including by persons with disabilities); and (7) other sound election administration practices. (c) Exchange of Electoral Authorities.-- (1) In general.--The Secretary of State may, in consultation, as appropriate, with the United States Agency for International Development, make grants to any United States-based organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of [[Page H7849]] 1986 and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such Code with experience in comparative election systems or subject matter expertise in the areas of election administration or electoral integrity that submits an application in such form, and satisfying such requirements, as the Secretary may require. (2) Types of grants.--An organization described in paragraph (1) may receive a grant for one or more of the following purposes: (A) To design and implement programs bringing election administrators and officials, including government officials, poll workers, civil society representatives, members of the judiciary, and others who participate in the organization and administration of public elections in a foreign country to the United States to study election procedures in the United States for educational purposes. (B) To design and implement programs taking United States or another country's election administrators and officials, including government officials, poll workers, civil society representatives, members of the judiciary, and others who participate in the organization and administration of public elections to study election procedures for educational purposes. (3) Limits on activities.--Activities administered under the Global Electoral Exchange Program may not-- (A) include observation of an election for the purposes of assessing the validity or legitimacy of that election; or (B) facilitate any advocacy for a certain electoral result by a grantee when participating in the Program. (4) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of State should establish and maintain a network of Global Electoral Exchange Program alumni, to promote communication and further exchange of information regarding sound election administration practices among current and former program participants. (5) Further limits.--A recipient of a grant under the Global Electoral Exchange Program may use such grant for only the purpose for which such grant was awarded, unless otherwise authorized by the Secretary of State. (6) Not duplicative.--Grants made under this subsection may not be duplicative of any other grants made under any other provision of law for similar or related purposes. SEC. 4. CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT. Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act and in each of the following two years thereafter, the Secretary of State shall provide to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a briefing on the status of any activities carried out pursuant to this Act during the preceding year, which shall include, among other information, the following: (1) A summary of all exchanges conducted under the Global Electoral Exchange Program, including information regarding grantees, participants, and the locations where program activities were held. (2) A description of the criteria used to select grantees under the Global Electoral Exchange Program. (3) Any recommendations for the improvement of the Global Electoral Exchange Program, based on the purpose specified in section 3(b). SEC. 5. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED. No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the requirements of this Act. Such requirements shall be carried out using amounts otherwise authorized to be appropriated. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Castro) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California. General Leave Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include any extraneous material in the Record. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from California? There was no objection. Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, America is more secure when fewer nations are authoritarian, and that is the unfortunate alternative to democracy, are authoritarian strongmen. These strongmen regimes justify their repression at home by creating enemies abroad. Since the freedom we enjoy is a threat to authoritarian regimes, the U.S. and our allies are natural targets for their aggression. We have seen this, unfortunately, with Moscow, with Beijing, and with the regime in North Korea. This is why there is longstanding, bipartisan support in this Congress for our democracy promotion programs overseas. In recent years, however, we have seen democracy decline worldwide. This is fueled, in many cases, by a decreasing level of public confidence in democracy and in elections. Unfortunately, many people around the world just cannot trust that their elections are free and fair, and we have seen this happen in Honduras, in Cambodia, and in the DRC. The bill before us addresses these issues by crafting an international exchange program with an objective, and that is, of promoting capabilities and instilling best election practices around this planet. This two-way exchange program will support countries in between their election cycles when they have the time to assess shortcomings. And then it will help them during elections to integrate lessons learned, to build coalitions, and to implement reforms. Healthy societies depend on elections that accurately reflect the decision of voters. The world has a shared stake in the integrity of the election mechanisms--these are the nuts and bolts of how people cast their votes and how these votes are counted, and how they have done this free from manipulation. I want to close by noting that this is a very real-time concern, and particularly important in the Western Hemisphere, as there are national elections coming up this fall in Brazil, and next year in Bolivia and El Salvador. So I urge my colleagues to support this measure. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of the bipartisan Global Electoral Exchange Act, H.R. 5274, which I introduced with my colleague, my Republican colleague, Mark Meadows, and also others, including my colleague from Texas, Ted Poe. I would like to first thank Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel for their support on this legislation and helping bring it to the floor. It is important to note the bipartisanship of this legislation because strengthening democracies abroad is a critical national interest and one that can be supported by both sides of the aisle. In recent years, democracies have been reeling across the world, even in our own neighborhood. This is a reversal of a longstanding trend toward democratization that continued through the end of the Cold War in the 1990s. In countries around the world, there are partners willing to work with us to strengthen their country's democracy. This is naturally in our bipartisan interests. Our strongest relationships are those with other democracies. Some examples include Canada, Mexico, Japan, India, Australia, and the member nations of the European Union. When two countries speak the language of democracy, when they each commit to the rule of law and the will of the people, the potential for a genuine partnership is formed. An election is a complex endeavor. It is an exercise a society undertakes together. To run effectively and efficiently, an election requires an engaged public, robust institutions, and a transparent, technically sound electoral mechanism. There are certain practices we ascribe to effective election systems, including a secret ballot, inclusive voting systems, chain of custody, neutral instructions to voters, and so much more of what may be considered good electoral practices. When elections are technically unsound, their results can be suspect. We saw this firsthand in Kenya and Honduras over the last year, where electoral failure led to election violence and a questionable outcome for many. It is in the interests of both the incumbent looking to be re-elected with the legitimacy that an election brings, and the challenger seeking to rise to office, to support transparent election practices. The State Department and USAID already engage in excellent work, in partnership with groups like the National Endowment for Democracy, National Democratic Institute, International Republican Institute, and International Foundation for Electoral Systems, supporting democracy worldwide. This bipartisan bill augments those efforts, allowing the Secretary of State [[Page H7850]] to support exchange programs with other countries to promote best practices in election administration. When we bring folks over here to show them how we do things and send Americans to other nations to see how elections are conducted overseas, we can have candid conversations on how all of us can improve. I would like to thank, again, Congressman Meadows for working with me on this bipartisan bill, and for all of his insight in making this bill and this legislation more effective. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would like to thank the authors of the bill. I would like to thank Representative Castro and Representative Meadows. I would like to thank also our ranking member, Mr. Engel. They put a lot of work in on this important legislation. There has long been a strong bipartisan consensus in Congress on the importance of promoting democracy overseas, and this is because America is undeniably more secure when fewer nations are authoritarian. But democracy promotion is not just about that. It is not just about our security. It is also morally just. Human rights are far better protected in democratic countries, ones without dank prison cells full of political prisoners. Elections are an important part of democracy, but all too often, elections overseas are plagued, often by corruption or technical challenges, sometimes by lack of transparency. And this bill will address these impediments by creating an electoral exchange program so that we can take our best practices and lessons learned overseas to help local governments improve their own election capacity. So I urge my colleagues to support this measure, and I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Rogers of Kentucky). The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5274, as amended. The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed. A motion to reconsider was laid on the table. ____________________