Senate Proceeding on Jul 23rd, 2009 :: 3:39:35 to 3:45:20
Total video length: 13 hours 40 minutes Stream Tools: Stream Overview | Edit Time

Note: MetaVid video transcripts may contain inaccuracies, help us build a more perfect archive

Views:43 Duration: 0:05:45 Discussion

Previous speech:

Next speech:

3:39:31 to 3:39:51( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: tester be recognized in ten minutes to talk about his amendment but without the intent to offer it at thi time. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. chambliss: mr. president, reserving the right to object. i'm sorry, i missed was theren agreem the presiding officer: the senator from georgia is recognized. mr. chambliss: was there a time agreement on the schumer

3:39:35 to 3:45:20( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Charles Schumer

3:39:52 to 3:40:12( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: mr. levin: 15 minut i specified. mr. chambliss: thank you. i do not object. the presiding officer: is there any further objection? without objection, so mr. schumer: mr. president? the presiding senator from new york. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent to set aside the pending amendment so we can call up amendment 1764. the presiding officer: without

3:40:13 to 3:40:35( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: objection, so the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: the new york, mr. schumer, proposes an amendment numberedk? 1764. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent further reading be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. schumer: mr. ask that i be yielded 5 minutes of the 15 minutes, senator bennett, the ranking member of

3:40:36 to 3:40:58( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: the rules committee, be given 5 minutes and senat given 5 minutes. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. schumer: i rise about 1764, the move act of 2009. i want to thank my colleague, senator bennett, for his hard work on this. indispensable in getting this done were senator chambliss and

3:40:59 to 3:41:19( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: senator nelson, ben nelson of nebr who hadrevious legislation that was similar. i also want to thankou, mr. president, senator levin, as well as senator mccain for helping us. the "move" act is a bipartisan solution to a serious yet all-too-familiar problem. the bottom

3:41:20 to 3:41:41( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: overseas have a very difficult time in voting. with the "move" act, with 58 cosponsors we can problem head on and make voting overseas for our military men and women easier. we chaired a hearing in rules committee. the bottom line is very simple, mr. president.

3:41:42 to 3:42:03( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: if you're in the military, it's very difficult to comply with state registration laws. you have to go through two post offices, military mail, and then the regular post office. there is no availability of notaries. many states require notaries. there is also a problem, of course, that you have to everything by many sta laws by

3:42:04 to 3:42:24( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: mail, and the mail takes forever when you're overseas. couple that with the fact that for absentee voting, which by definition, these voters have to use, there are serious deadlines. all too often our soldiers get their absentee ballo deadline is passed to send them in.

3:42:25 to 3:42:45( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: all too often even more frequently, the voting ballot doesn't arrive by the deadline that the state has so these are serious problems, and the bottom line is with technology, they could all be overcome. we have faxes. we have

3:42:46 to 3:43:06( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: we have computers. and we don't use them for our soiers overseas. now, lives for us, we can at least allow them to vote. they take orders from the mmander in chief. they are the first people who ought to be allowed to elect and vote for a commander in chief. and

3:43:07 to 3:43:27( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: high-tech equipment and food to the front lines, we can figure out a our troops so they can be returned and counted. and that, mr. president, is what the "move" act does, correcting the many flaws that riddle the absentee ballot for overseas voting. the numbers are very, very troubling.

3:43:28 to 3:43:49( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: more than a quarter of ballots either come in too late or are not counted, and that is a serious, serious problem. when our soldiers who have much elsen their minds go out of their way to get the absentee ballot, cast the absentee ballot, and then it is counted, that's frustrating. that's wrong. that's not

3:43:50 to 3:44:11( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: and so our bill and the details are available in the record, deals with that issue. one letter one soldier sent to the overseas vote foundation a letter which said -- quote -- "i hate that because of service from overseas i was precluded from voting." that soldier continued, "of all

3:44:12 to 3:44:32( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: people, deployed service members should have a guaranteed ability to vote." that sums it up. that sums it up. and the "move" act will ensure+? this. the "move" act will ensure it by allowing ballots t electron time gaps and all problems we face.

3:44:33 to 3:44:54( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: it is bipartisan. both senator bennett and i on the rules committee support it. senator ben nel good george w. bush are cosponsors of this legislation. we can finally solve this problem which is unacceptable by moving this legislation.

3:44:55 to 3:45:19( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: i ask my colleagues, how can a marine in fallujah find a notary? why are we making things so hard? how can anyone who goes out of his way to cast a ballot have that ballot not counted? this legislation problem in a fair way that is

3:45:20 to 3:45:22( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: cocognizant of the rights of the