Rep. Andy Harris Votes to Eliminate Obsolete Federal Agency

Contact:

Ryan Nawrocki

(202) 441-7940

For Immediate Release:

June 22, 2011

Rep. Andy Harris Votes to Eliminate Obsolete Federal Agency

Saves taxpayers $33 million over the next five years

Washington, D.C. – Rep. Andy Harris voted today in support of H.R. 672, which would eliminate the Election Assistance Commission (EAC). Eliminating the EAC would save taxpayers $33 million over the next five years, according to the Committee on House Administration.

“In a time of deep fiscal crisis, we have to eliminate out-of-date and inefficient government agencies,” said Rep. Andy Harris. “The Election Assistance Commission is no longer necessary, and we cannot afford to waste another dime of taxpayer money on an obsolete federal agency.”

Background:

• The EAC has allocated all of its remaining election grants, originally created to provide funding to states for upgraded voting machines.
• The remaining valuable service of the EAC, the voting system testing and certification program, will be transferred to the Federal Election Commission which is better able to efficiently perform these functions.
• Since 2005, the year Congress originally intended to sunset the EAC, the agency has more than doubled in size.
• The agency, recently the subject of two hiring discrimination lawsuits, currently spends over 50% of its budget on management and overhead costs.