Congressional Record/Volume 167/Issue 4/House/Counting Electoral Votes/Pennsylvania Objection Debate/Lofgren Speech
Ms. Lofgren. Madam Speaker, our duty today is significant but straightforward. We must count the votes of the electors as cast in the electoral college and announce the results.
As discussed, our roles and responsibilities are established by the Constitution and Federal law, and they are clear. The facts before us are also clear. Pennsylvania submitted one slate of electors, as chosen by the voters of the State. The slate was certified according to State law. Now those lawful results must be counted and announced.
Despite disinformation and any number of false claims that you may have heard, including here today, as former Attorney General Barr said: “We have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election.”
This is not simply a conclusory statement. The results of the election have been litigated. The record is clear: The lawsuits challenging the election results failed. They failed because there is simply no evidence to support these baseless claims.
Now, it is one thing to tweet a belief, quite another to provide actual evidence. These cases failed because there is no evidence. Judges ruled in the lawsuits that the 2020 election was sound.
It should come as no surprise that Republican officeholders have recognized the election results as legitimate and accurately determined in an election that was conducted safely, securely, and with integrity.
We all take an oath to support and defend the Constitution. As we near the end of the task before us, let’s remember the beginning of the Constitution. Before Article II and the 12th Amendment, which spell out the electoral college, and before Article I, which creates Congress, the Constitution begins with the preamble. The preamble is short and bold: “We the people.”
The people spoke in historic numbers. Their votes have been counted. Their choice is clear. It is time, as the law requires, to announce the state of the people’s vote.
The violence and disorder inflicted on our democracy by seditious rioters today is an indication of why adherence to our Constitution is so vital.
I urge all of us to stand up for law, for democracy, for our Constitution, and to stand up for America and reject this objection.