Mike Lee

Mr. President, Claims · 149 wordsI would like to address the Senate today regarding a bill that has been passed by the House of Representatives known as H.R.¹ 7008. H.R. 7008 performs two badly needed functions to restore faith and integrity in our system of government: Firstly, it bans Members of Congress from using their unique access and knowledge to profit through stock market speculation; ²secondly, it requires something very simple, a voter ID.³ You have got to show an ID when you pick up something at will call if you are there to pick up tickets to the theater, if you are picking up a prescription at the pharmacy, if you are going to the bank, if you are boarding an airplane--you are doing all kinds of things that are part of Americans’ day-to-day experience where it matters whether you are who you claim to be, you have got to show an ID. Reasoning · 96 wordsWe should require nothing less when it comes to the exercise of one of the most fundamental rights that Americans have; that is, their right to vote. You see, when someone else votes in your place, they displace your vote. They offset your vote. If they are double voting, if they are voting when they are not allowed to vote because they are not a citizen or otherwise, if they do something foolish and they try to go and vote, they will be caught if they are asked to produce an ID at the balloting place. Claims · 220 wordsSo this bill accomplishes both of these things. And like I say, both of them would do a lot to restore faith, confidence, and integrity in our system of government.No reason given Dealing specifically with the voter ID requirement in this legislation, this is a very straightforward requirement. When you show up to vote, you just have to show an ID, just like you do at the bank, just like you do at the pharmacy or the doctor’s office or the bank or when boarding an airplane. And if you vote by mail, then that is easy to accommodate. You just include a simple photocopy of your photo ID. Now, we have gone to great lengths to make sure that everyone is taken care of here, to make sure that there is not a single U.S. citizen that would be disadvantaged or unable to vote if we were to pass this.Unearned certainty So for those who, let’s say, for whatever reason, don’t have access to a photocopier and they want to vote by mail, well, we have taken that into consideration. The bill requires States to provide the public to free access to photocopy machines so they can make a photocopy of their photo ID and send it in with their mail-in ballot if that is what they are using in their State.⁴ Procedure · 4 wordsNow, it is interesting.Procedure Claims · 104 wordsRight now the headquarters of the Democratic Party here in Washington, DC, displays a sign very prominently, and that sign makes clear that 100 percent of the visitors to the Democratic Party’s headquarters have to show a photo ID when they enter.⁵ Now, if they have to do that--and we know they have to do that when attending the Democratic National Convention to enter the convention hall, much less participate as a voting member of the Democratic National Convention.⁶ You have to prove who you are, and you have to show that you have the right to be there and the right to participate. Reasoning · 38 wordsSo far be it from us to second guess the Democratic Party in deciding people need to prove who they are to enter their convention hall or their party headquarters. We should have voters do the same thing.Logical leap Aside · 57 wordsAnd Democrats are smart in doing that because, after all, they don’t want somebody showing up to their convention. I mean, good heavens, what if a Republican showed up to their Democratic National Convention and tried to skew the results of their convention by pretending to be a Democrat--a Democrat delegate no less. That wouldn’t be fair.Aside Reasoning · 43 wordsSo they are absolutely right to require photo ID and to require delegates to present their convention credentials so that they can show that they are who they claim to be and that they have the right to participate at their own convention. Claims · 71 wordsAmericans at every corner of our country and at every point along the political idealogical spectrum in this country agree that this makes sense to do, specifically in the context--not just of needing to produce ID where it matters whether you are who you claim to be, Unearned certaintybut specifically in the context of voter ID, of having to produce identification at the moment you vote, at the place where you vote. Mr. President, Claims · 33 words83 percent of American voters, in total, support voter ID, ⁷and that includes a whopping 71 percent of Democrat voters.⁸ So this is neither Republican nor Democratic. This is neither liberal nor conservative. Reasoning · 58 wordsThis is simply an American issue because we don’t want anyone’s right to vote to be taken away. We don’t want anyone disenfranchised, and that is exactly what happens when you allow someone who is not whom they claim to be, who is not entitled to vote, to show up and cast a vote, and that is wrong. The ask · 30 wordsSo today we have got a really good opportunity to address these two issues that Americans are deeply concerned about, and I hope we can take advantage of this opportunity. Claims · 59 wordsNow, the vote on the House of Representatives’ side of this bill-- like I say, it was just passed recently by the House of Representatives--it was bipartisan.⁹ You had Republicans overwhelmingly support it, but you also had a number of House Democrats voting with every House Republican in favor of this bill with the clean voter ID requirement attached. Procedure · 14 wordsSo we are going to be talking about this for a little while tonight, ProcedureThe ask · 62 wordsand I just want to encourage my Democratic colleagues on this side of the Capitol right here in the U.S. Senate to follow the lead of the wise Democrats who joined every Republican to vote for this in the House of Representatives. We need to get this done. We should get it done. We have the opportunity to get it done tonight, Procedure · 11 wordsand we will be talking more about that in a moment.Procedure