Liz Cheney

Madam Speaker, I want to begin by thanking the gentlewoman from California, Chairwoman Lofgren, for her work on this bill. The chairwoman and I certainly have our disagreements on issues, but there is no one I respect more in this body for their diligence, for their commitment, for their expertise, for their commitment to our Constitution, to her constituents, and to this country. It has been a real pleasure working with her, as well as the staff of the House Administration Committee. I particularly thank my counsel on the January 6th Select Committee, Joe Maher, for his tremendous work on this bill.

This bill has benefited from a wide range of input from constitutional experts, including many conservative constitutional experts, jurists, and scholars who worked with us on this bill. Their input has been invaluable.

I also want to praise those in the Senate who have been working hard on their version of Electoral Count Act reform. Our bill builds on what they have already put forth.

Commentary from conservatives on our bill has been exceptionally positive. Here are a few examples.

Judge Luttig, a widely respected conservative legal expert, wrote that our bill was ``masterfully drafted'' to ensure we never have another day anything like January 6 and to avert other future efforts to overturn our Nation's democratic elections.

The Wall Street Journal editorial board offered a range of positive comments, including explaining that the House bill would make it harder for ``partisans in Congress who want to get C-Span-famous to lodge phony electoral college objections'' or for them to raise objections on the House floor because ``somebody had a funny feeling about the vote totals in west southeastern Pennsylvania.''

The conservative Cato Institute said this: ``In some respects,'' this bill is ``more conservative and originalist'' than the existing Senate bill.

Conservative commentator Quin Hillyer said in the Washington Examiner that the House bill adds to the work already done by the Senate and ``fills in almost all gaps with admirable and sensible specificity.''

There are many other examples from conservative commentators, as well. Madam Speaker, I urge my Republican colleagues to read those articles and editorials in full.

If your aim is to prevent future efforts to steal elections, I would respectfully suggest that conservatives should support this bill. If instead your aim is to leave open the door for elections to be stolen in the future, you might decide not to support this or any other bill to address the Electoral Count Act.

January 6, contrary to what my colleague from Illinois just said, was not ``democracy in action.'' Our oath of office is to support and defend the Constitution, which provides the method by which we elect our President. Legal challenges are not improper, but Donald Trump's refusal to abide by the rulings of the courts certainly was.

In our system of government, elections in the States determine who is the President. Our bill does not change that. This bill will prevent Congress from illegally choosing the President itself.

As we detailed in our January 6 hearings, a Federal judge has reviewed evidence submitted by the January 6th Select Committee and concluded that former President Trump likely violated two criminal statutes when he pressured Vice President Pence to reject legitimate State electoral votes in our joint session. That is what Vice President Pence called ``un-American.''

In our hearings, we have demonstrated that President Trump knew specifically that what he was doing was illegal, but he did it anyway. President Trump's conduct was illegal under the existing Electoral Count Act, and it would be illegal under this new bill, as well.

Our bill reaffirms what the Constitution and existing law make plain: The

Vice President has no authority or discretion to reject official State electoral slates. It also makes clear that if Members of Congress have any right to object to electoral slates, those grounds are limited to the explicit constitutional requirements for candidate and elector eligibility and the 12th Amendment's explicit requirements for elector balloting.

Under our system of elections, Governors must transmit lawful election results to Congress. If they fail to fulfill that duty, our bill provides that candidates for the Presidency should be able to sue in Federal court to ensure that Congress receives a State's lawful certification.

Finally, our bill makes clear that the rules governing an election cannot be changed retroactively. The Constitution assigns an important duty to State legislatures to determine the manner in which the States appoint their electors. This must not be read to allow State legislators to change the rules retroactively to alter the outcome.

Madam Speaker, this bill will preserve the rule of law for all future Presidential elections by ensuring that self-interested politicians cannot steal from the people the guarantee that our government derives its power from the consent of the governed.

Madam Speaker, I urge passage of this bill.

Madam Speaker, I am struck listening to my colleagues today on both sides of the aisle. The concept that I think we have to make sure we never lose sight of is that some things have to matter, and we, as individuals, determine whether or not our institutions survive.

We have heard consistently since January 6--actually, in the weeks just after January 6, we were in agreement. But shortly after that, we began to

hear excuses about what had happened. We began to hear people defending the indefensible.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to recognize that when you defend the indefensible, slowly but surely, you chip away at the great foundations of this Republic. You chip away at those very things that we are sworn to protect.

This bill is an excellent bill. This bill is a bill that will help to protect the rule of law. This bill is a bill that will help to ensure that future elections cannot be stolen. This bill will ensure that, in the future, the United States Congress is very clear that we have a very limited number of objections that can be made, if any can be made at all, and those are strictly limited to those outlined in the Constitution.

This bill is a very important and crucial bill to ensure that what happened on January 6 never happens again.

It saddens me, Madam Speaker, that my colleagues on this side of the aisle continue to play politics. I can tell you that is not what we are doing on the January 6th Committee. My colleagues ought to watch the hearings on the January 6th Committee. We have been very clear in terms of putting forward what happened and in terms of putting forth former- President Trump's responsibility and role in every aspect of the attack that happened that day.

Contrary, again, to the assertions my friend and colleague from Illinois made previously, what happened on January 6 was not the normal functioning of our democracy. President Trump had every right to bring those cases in court, but he did not have the right, and it was a fundamental violation of his oath of office, to refuse to abide by the rulings of the court.

Madam Speaker, we are a Nation of laws, not of men. I urge my colleagues to pass this bill. It is a very good bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Cameron (Cam) Sholly and his staff for the outstanding leadership they demonstrated in the face of a crisis situation, and to recognize their tireless efforts to address the needs of Yellowstone National Park and the surrounding communities after the devastating flooding that took place there on June 13, 2022.

Cam and his staff went above and beyond in service to the communities surrounding the park, even those not directly affected by the flooding. During the weeks following the flood, they held public virtual meetings with community stakeholders, oftentimes daily, to ensure the health, safety, and requirements of the people and businesses were being met. These meetings served as an opportunity to collaborate on effective ways to reopen and provide admittance to the park. Cam and his team also worked closely with the Wyoming Congressional Delegation and with state officials to ensure transparency throughout the cleanup and reopening processes. They all continue to check in with businesses and chambers of commerce in the communities several times a week to ensure that any outstanding issues are being addressed.

Cam is a third-generation park service manager and began his National Park Service Career in 1990. He assumed duties as the Superintendent of Yellowstone National Park in October of 2018. Yellowstone is one of the largest national park operations in the world spanning 2.2 million acres and receiving over 4 million visits each year. The park has a team of over 1,000 employees and volunteers. Cam was awarded the Superintendent of the Year Award for the Southeast Region in 2011 and the Department of Interior's Meritorious Achievement Award in 2015 for his wide-ranging executive leadership actions. Cam is also a veteran of the U.S. Army and deployed to Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

I express my most sincere thanks and admiration to Cam and his staff for their responsiveness and dedication to Wyoming and the communities surrounding Yellowstone National Park. Their exemplary service should serve as the gold standard for all governmental agencies.

Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding. I appreciate it.

I am very pleased, Madam Speaker, that today the House will have the opportunity to vote on this important bipartisan legislation. It is an unusual circumstance to have a bill that has such broad bipartisan support.

I know many of my colleagues have worked on many different aspects of the bill that we are going to consider and vote on today. I am honored to be an original cosponsor of this bill, along with my good friend from Michigan, Congresswoman Dingell, who spoke earlier.

All of us, I think, around the country, especially in rural America, saw the impact of COVID on the ability of our constituents to get the treatment that they need. We first began working on legislation to expand telehealth capabilities more than 2 years ago, following the onset of the pandemic.

In Wyoming, we have long known how important it is for citizens to be able to take advantage of the technology that exists today, how crucial telehealth services are in allowing all of our citizens to interact with their doctors and their other healthcare providers, and we saw this, in particular, during the pandemic.

We know it is vital that Medicare adapt to the ever-changing innovation in medical technology that allows telehealth services, and this legislation really will expand freedom for patients by giving them more flexibility and more capability to use telehealth services.

Specifically, the legislation removes geographic requirements, and it expands originating sites so that Medicare beneficiaries can receive care at any site. It can expand the practitioners who are able to furnish telehealth services, and it also provides for audio-only telehealth.

I am very pleased that this extension through 2024 was fully paid for using the Medicare Improvement Fund, and the CBO has shown that it will not increase direct spending.

Madam Speaker, in Wyoming, especially, we know how important this is, how important telehealth access is. Many of our citizens live hours away, hundreds of miles away, from their closest medical provider. I am very proud that this bill has the support of the Wyoming Hospital Association, in addition to the American Medical Association and a number of other crucial groups whose mission is to serve patients and provide quality care.

While I know we in this body will continue to have legitimate and important ongoing policy debates about

healthcare, there is, as I said, broad bipartisan agreement for expanding access so that all of our citizens can receive high-quality care. That needs to continue to be a top priority. This bill does just that by allowing more Americans to utilize telehealth services.

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleagues from both sides of the aisle for joining me in advancing our bill to this point, and I urge all Members to vote in favor of this legislation so more citizens can connect and receive care from the medical professionals of their choice.