January 6, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E13 memorable for the participants and their fami- of the voters and, ultimately, respected and ‘‘I just don’t think we want to endorse the lies. Students compete for more than $1,000 accepted by the losing candidate and their principle that January 6 is a legitimate forum in scholarship prizes and have the opportunity supporters. for Congress to overturn the will of the States to see for the first time their own artwork in a The other side can indulge in all the con- and the people . . . if you’ve endorsed that professional gallery setting. spiracy theories they want, but when you in- principle, then you’ve already destroyed the Sharon has also coordinated countless town volve the integrity of our elections in my home idea of American government. At least you’ve halls, roundtables, fairs and festivals outreach State of , well then I have a prob- destroyed the conservative idea of American booths, and numerous other community en- lem. government.’’ gagements. The events often grapple with se- In our federal system of government, the What these Republican leaders understand rious topics such as gun control, the opioid administration of elections are controlled by is this— epidemic, health care, and she has always our States—not Congress. If Congressional Members vote to reject striven to ensure that they are meaningful ex- What happens in Wisconsin is up to Wis- valid Presidential electors for invalid reasons, changes of information and viewpoints for consin—not Washington. There is nothing anyone can do about it. attendees. Our job in Congress is to count the electoral The ugly truth is that, despite a nationwide One particular area into which Sharon has college votes, not overturn them. vote, fenced in with legal and technical safe- thrown herself and her considerable energy is Wisconsin has a long history of open, fair, guards, after 244 years of history, the U.S. the Military Service Academy nomination proc- and accurate elections because of the laws President is elected on the honor system of ess for VA–11. She organizes and coordinates that our State has established and executed 535 Members of Congress, each sworn to pre- the advisory boards from each service acad- by 2,000 state and local officials, and count- serve, protect, and defend our Constitution emy, sets the interview calendar, supports the less volunteers, all who take their responsi- and our representative democracy enshrined deliberations, and in the end helps nominate bility seriously with the highest form of hon- in it. the future military leaders of our nation. Under esty, integrity, fairness, and accuracy. It’s not an oath to any individual or to any Sharon’s leadership, our district is routinely in What is being attempted here tonight is an party. the top three nationally for having the most attempt to invalidate 3.3 million valid Wis- Now it’s easy to play war when you think students accepted into one of the prestigious consin votes merely because their preferred that you’re firing blanks, but these are not U.S. Military Academies. For Sharon, it is a candidate didn’t win. blanks being fired at our Constitution. labor of love and service to both our country But if they succeed, democracy dies and This is dangerous today because of the col- and the promising young students who seek to dictatorship reigns. lateral damage that is being done to the sanc- serve their nation in uniform. The Trump campaign has filed state and tity of the ballot box. This past year as we endured the COVID– federal court cases challenging the outcome of It is also dangerous because it now pro- 19 pandemic, Sharon once again stepped into the vote in Wisconsin—all of which have been vides a blueprint for next time. the breach, deferring her retirement by work- dismissed due to lack of any evidence of President Trump will not be successful this ing tirelessly to help constituents who have fraud. time, but next time when some authoritarian faced personal tragedies and financial hard- Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Brian wannabe takes a run at our Constitution, all ships. During the pandemic, Sharon has Hagedorn, who was former Republican Gov- bets are off. helped small businesses secure desperately ernor Scott Walker’s chief legal counsel, wrote We have a tendency in this Country to kick needed grants and loans, helped families re- in dismissing one of these challenges: our Democracy around like it’s a football—it’s solve issues with economic impact payments, ‘‘We are invited to invalidate the entire pres- more like an egg, very fragile. You break it, and made every effort to ensure that our con- idential election in Wisconsin by declaring it good luck putting it back together again. Please, do not put ahead of stituents who were stuck abroad were able to ‘‘null’’—yes, the whole thing . . . this is a dan- our Constitution, ahead of the rule of law, make it back to the United States safely. In gerous path we are being asked to tread. The ahead of the sanctity of the ballot box. 2020 alone, Sharon and our staff were able to loss of public trust in our constitutional order Vote no on this attempt to overturn a valid help more than 1,800 individuals overcome resulting from the exercise of this kind of judi- cial power would be incalculable.’’ election. personal crises directly related to the global Vote no on this objection. pandemic. And he is not alone in that assessment. Madam Speaker, Sharon Stark is a model The former Republican Speaker of the f public servant and I ask my colleagues to join House from Wisconsin, , said in a ELECTION IRREGULARITIES me in wishing Sharon Stark health and happi- statement: ness as she concludes a distinguished career ‘‘Efforts to reject the votes of the electoral HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH college and sow doubt about Joe Biden’s vic- in service to her country and community. OF NEW JERSEY tory strike at the foundation of our republic. There are people who have their health, a roof IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES over their head, or food on the table thanks to It is difficult to conceive of a more anti- Sharon. I am proud to have had her lead my democratic and anti-conservative act than a Wednesday, January 6, 2021 district offices for the past 13 years and rep- federal intervention to overturn the results of Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, resent me in our community. Our office, con- state-certified elections and disenfranchise mil- after rigorous analysis and much reflection, I stituents, and district will miss her immensely; lions of Americans. will not oppose the counting of certified elec- as will I, and I wish her nothing but the best The fact that this effort will fail does not toral votes from any state. in retirement in which she will be able to mean it will not do significant damage to I share some of the concerns about election spend more time with her husband Seth, her American democracy.’’ irregularities. Today’s proceedings give Con- daughter Christine, and her granddaughter He concluded by stating: gress the opportunity to raise concerns about Jacqueline. Job well done Sharon Stark. ‘‘The Trump campaign had ample oppor- alleged election wrongdoing in several states f tunity to challenge election results, and those which I hope will ultimately lead to bipartisan efforts failed from lack of evidence . . . Joe state investigations and reform to ensure fair OPPOSITION TO THE ELECTORAL Biden’s victory is entirely legitimate.’’ and free elections. COLLEGE OBJECTION Or consider the third ranking Republican Today, however, Congress is tasked with leader in this House, Rep. who counting the electoral votes sent by each HON. RON KIND described this attempt as ‘‘deeply troubling’’. state. Nullifying the electors of any state re- OF WISCONSIN She went on to state: quires proof that electors were not ‘‘lawfully IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ‘‘This is directly at odds with the Constitu- certified’’ according to state laws. tion’s clear text and our core beliefs as Re- In early December, Attorney General Wil- Wednesday, January 6, 2021 publicans.’’ liam Barr told the that ‘‘U.S. Mr. KIND. Madam Speaker, today is sup- ‘‘Doing so’’ she said ‘‘Would be establishing attorneys and FBI agents have been working posed to be a celebration of our democracy— a tyranny of Congress and stealing power to follow up specific complaints and informa- the peaceful transfer of power in our Country. from the States and the people in those tion they’ve received, but ‘‘to date, we have Instead we saw mob rule descend on our Na- States.’’ not seen fraud on a scale that could have ef- tion’s Capitol. That’s why I rise today in de- Finally consider what my friend and Repub- fected a different outcome in the election.’’ fense of a pillar of our democracy—the right lican colleague from Wisconsin, MIKE GALLA- All elections in the United States must be for a free and fair election decided by the will GHER, had to say about this: free and fair—any action to subvert, cheat,

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