mr. chairman , i rise today in strong support of my colleague mr. baird 's amendment to h.r. 2985 the legislative branch appropriations for fiscal year 2006 . 
the baird amendment would strike the language of h.r. 841 , which would require states to hold special elections within 49 days of the speaker declaring that more than 100 vacancies exist in the house . 
first of all , this language has no business being in this appropriations measure , it clearly legislates on what is supposed to be a spending bill . 
truly , the other side of the aisle is trying to sneak in a piece of legislation within this appropriation in order to force its passage upon the senate . 
furthermore , this language within this bill threatens to weaken the electoral process , to disenfranchise overseas , disabled , and lower-income voters and thereby reduce individual rights . 
the more expedited the process of replacing the members of the house and the smaller the body constituted is , the less legitimacy it will have . 
unless the house constitutes members from all 50 states and through a full , fair , and transparent process , this body will lack qualities that make it truly `` representative. '' forty-nine days is simply not enough time for a state to hold the most free and fair elections . 
special elections on average , take four months . 
in the event of a catastrophic disaster , elections should be held on an expedited time schedule . 
the pillars of what makes american democracy unique , however , should not be toppled in the pursuit to do so . 
true democracy dictates that every eligible woman or man has the right to run for office and to vote freely and under fair circumstances . 
under the guidelines of this language , this would not be possible . 
many states would have to forgo party primaries and the system would lend itself to the wealthiest and most well-known candidates ' ability to run virtually unopposed . 
all debate of the candidates ' platforms or characters would be nearly muted , and in effect , americans would vote `` in the blind. '' significant disenfranchisement will likely occur in the unrealistic time frame that the language of h.r. 841 offers in this appropriations measure . 
there would be no way to mail out and receive absentee ballots in time . 
overseas americans , including those in the military , would not have a realistic chance to vote . 
yes , the legislation ostensibly offers military and overseas voters an opportunity to be heard , but 15 days simply are not enough . 
there is something unseemly about denying our men and women of the military the right to vote in the most consequential elections imaginable , when we would be replacing perhaps the entire house . 
logistically , many states would not have sufficient time for voter registration . 
it would be difficult to even print the ballots in the time allotted under this act . 
there are the language of h.r. 841 in this bill proposes to make the issue of state elections a `` federal question. '' however , just because this issue would become federalized does not mean that we should frustrate the essential elements of democracy.the processes of establishing the eligibility of state candidates , voter registration , voter freedom of choice , and equal access to voting under the civil rights act must be preserved -- even in the face of a catastrophe . 
democracy should not be abandoned simply because our leadership may have to suddenly change . 
clearly , this language does not belong in this appropriations bill , nor does it serve the best interest of the american people . 
i urge all my colleagues to support the baird amendment and remove this improper language from the legislative appropriations bill . 
