Hearing on: “Election Assistance Commission Operations and 2012 Budget Request”

<p align="center">Committee on House Administration</p><p align="center">Statement by Ranking Minority Member Robert A. Brady</p><p align="center">Thursday, March 17^th 2011</p><h1>&ldquo;Election Assistance Commission Operations and 2012 Budget Request&rdquo;</h1><p>&quot;I want to thank the Chairman for calling this very important hearing on the Election Assistance Commission and their 2012 budget request.&nbsp; It is our hope that we can learn from our witnesses what steps the agency will take to maximize its use of valuable taxpayer resources and to ensure that the EAC is able to fully carry out its important mission.</p><p>The EAC was created in 2002 when Congress enacted the Help America Vote Act, the bipartisan legislation which developed mandatory minimum standards for states to apply in election administration.&nbsp; Under the provisions of that law, the EAC is charged with assisting states with the implementation and enforcement of these standards.&nbsp;</p><p>While I acknowledge that the commission has seen its share of administrative challenges, these issues are fixable.&nbsp; The EAC is the only federal agency created exclusively for the purpose of aiding state and local election officials with their responsibility to administer federal elections.&nbsp; At first that help came in the form of money, later in standards as well as machine certifications, and now in information sharing and best practices, as well as monitoring the money and the standards.</p><p>It is my understanding that the Chairman is planning to hold a number of hearings in the future related to voting reform.&nbsp; Last year we were able to work in a bipartisan manner on military voting and ballot tracking. I hope that will continue, and I look forward to hearing from our witnesses.&quot;</p><p><a href="/sites/democrats.cha.house.gov/files/styles/detail_main_image/public/RAB%20Statement%20for%20RECORD%20EAC%20Hearing%2003172011%20%283%29.pdf">Submitted Statement</a></p>