Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty Joins Colleagues in Demanding Biden Release Records on Federalized Voter Initiatives

U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) joined 22 of his colleagues this week in penning a letter to President Joe Biden demanding his administration come clean on his executive order instructing federal agencies to roll out voter mobilization plans.

The White House has refused to respond to the senators’ previous demands for transparency on Executive Order 14019, which appears to violate federal law prohibiting agencies from expending federal funds without congressional authorization.

Hagerty and fellow Republican senators have been waiting for answers for nearly seven months.

In the letter, they note the Biden administration’s Promoting Access to Voting order merits congressional oversight, as a general matter and under the federal Antideficiency Act. The act bars federal agencies from obligating or spending federal funds in advance or in excess of a congressional appropriation.

The White House’s suspect quest of federalizing get-out-the-vote efforts has raised election integrity alarm bells.

“Federal agencies should be focused on their defined missions in a nonpartisan manner, not using taxpayer funds for voter mobilization efforts with potentially partisan impacts,” Hagerty and his colleagues wrote. “In other words, it’s not the job of the federal government to drive voter turnout.”

But that appears to be exactly what Biden’s executive order intends to do.

Yes, Every Kid

As The Star News Network reported earlier this year, federal agencies could publicize information on mail-in ballots, solicit and assist in the registration of voters through third-party organizations and state officials, or serve as a voter registration entity under the National Voter Registration Act — if requested by a state.

That’s not the business of the federal government, the senators asserted.

“This is especially true if such federally funded efforts involve partnering with nongovernmental organizations with unclear and potentially partisan motives and tactics,” the senators wrote in their May 10 letter to Biden.

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg handed out hundreds of millions of dollars to the far-left Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL). Chicago-based CTCL, led by former big shots tied to former President Barack Obama, then gave out the “Zuckerbucks” in the form of “safe election” grants during the COVID-filled 2020 presidential election. The lion’s share of the money went to the largest Democrat-heavy cities in battleground states for election-related purposes, including GOTV efforts targeting traditional Democratic Party voters.

Biden signed the order in March 2021.

The White House has cited “presidential communications and deliberative process privilege” in blocking the release of information on agency plans. Biden administration agencies have ignored requests from more than 50 members of Congress and media outlets for basic information about the implementation of Biden’s order,

But a Small Business Administration press release last year said that SBA was the “first federal agency to request designation as a voter agency.” SBA said its district offices would provide “small business owners and others” with “the services they need to ensure their voices are heard at the ballot box and fair representation for their communities.”

“Violating this statute carries administrative and potential criminal penalties, highlighting the need for transparency,” the senators’ latest letter said. “Unfortunately, the White House has kept these plans hidden despite numerous requests from Congress.”

Hagerty and his colleagues demand the administration provide:

  • Copies of all federal agency “strategic plans” required under the Order and a list of which agencies have not yet submitted a strategic plan.
  • The strategic plan required by the General Services Administration under the Order.
  • The recommendations provided by the Office of Personnel Management under the Order.
  • All procedures established by the Attorney General under the Order.

“Executive Order 14019 directs more than 600 federal agencies to engage in voter-related activities without congressional approval, and it is doubtful that Congress approved the use of appropriated agency funds for voter mobilization,” the senators wrote.

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M.D. Kittle is the National Political Editor for The Star News Network.
Photo “People Registering to Vote” by Fibonacci Blue. CC BY 2.0.

 

 

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One Thought to “Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty Joins Colleagues in Demanding Biden Release Records on Federalized Voter Initiatives”

  1. A Thankful Tennessean

    THANK YOU SENATOR HAGGERTY. THESE EVIL HATERS ARE GOING TO PULL EVERY TRICK IN THE BOOK TO SREAL THE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

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