A House Democrat unveiled an amendment to a government spending bill that Congress will consider next month that would block funding to President Trump’s much-maligned voter fraud panel.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) announced Wednesday the introduction of his amendment to the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriation Act for the 2018 fiscal year, which includes funding for government programs.
“This commission is an effort to validate the President’s repeated and baseless claim that millions of fraudulent ballots were cast in the 2016 election, and I fear it lays the groundwork for new efforts to make it more difficult to vote across the country,” Schiff said in a statement. “Congress should put an end to this charade before it can do additional damage by agreeing to this amendment, and we should instead enact measures that make voting more accessible for all eligible Americans.”
The amendment is not likely to go very far, given that it would need Republican votes to pass out of committee and lawmakers are expected to fund the government next month in a short-term spending deal, rather than through the typical appropriations process.
Nonetheless, it reflects Democrats’ moves to increase scrutiny on the commission, which is scheduled to hold its second meeting next month. Last week, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said in a Medium post that Senate Dems will push to disband the voter fraud commission through one of the must-pass bills Congress will consider this fall.
The commission, titled the “Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity,” was created by Trump after he falsely claimed the millions voted illegally in 2016. The commission is vice-chaired by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R), who is known for pushing restrictive voting laws. Many of its other members also have a record of inflaming unfounded fears about voter fraud and leading efforts to purge voter rolls.
