(The Center Square) – Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wisc., has subpoenaed fifteen federal agencies to uncover their plans and actions taken to implement President Biden’s Promoting Access to Voting Executive Order.
Steil, chairman of the House Administration Committee, said that the order could use funding for the initiatives that Congress has not appropriated. The Promoting Access to Voting order, was signed by President Biden in 2021. Biden claims the order will make voting more accessible and to eliminate practices and barriers that hinder voter participation
“The Committee has concerns about the implementation of E.O. 14019, particularly regarding its compatibility with provisions of the National Voter Registration Act (NRA) of 1993,” Steil wrote in the letter to the agencies.
He mentions that the authority of the executive branch “does not include using funds and resources to provide Americans with voter registration materials.”
This could lead to conflicts over the use of federal funds and adherence to the Anti-Deficiency Act, Steil said.
Further, the executive order requires that each agency develop a plan to ensure voter participation. Access to the plans would allow congress to determine their legitimacy, Steil said.
Steil wonders if those requirements were the impetus for a Michigan voter registration agreement with the Small Business Administration, as well as a Department of Education federal work study program.
“Both of those actions and the actions of other agencies raise substantial questions and concerns, some of which may be answered by access to the strategic plans drafted by the agencies,” Steil wrote.
The executive order involves several key federal departments and agencies, including the Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Department of Education, Department of Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Department of the Interior, Justice Department, Department of Labor, Office of Management and Budget, Department of State, Department of Transportation, and the Treasury Department.
