Statement of House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte Markup of H.R. 2832, “A Bill to Make Technical Amendments to Update Statutory References To Certain Provisions Classified to Title 52, U.S. Code”

Chairman Goodlatte: H.R. 2832 is yet another bill addressing a reclassification of the United States Code by the Office of Law Revision Counsel, and I am pleased to be joined in sponsoring this notable bill by Ranking Member Conyers (D-Mich.). It is only fitting that he cosponsor the bill recognizing the creation of a new title of the United States Code dedicated exclusively to voting and election laws. In 1926, when the organizational structure of the United States Code was established, no separate title for voting and elections was created. At that time, only two federal statutory provisions relating to voting and elections existed. Since 1960, an extensive body of federal statutory law relating to voting and elections has been enacted, including title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act, the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, theNational Voter Registration Act of 1993, and the Help America Vote Act of 2002. Upon enactment, each of these laws was incorporated into the existing structure of the Code in the most logical manner possible. However, as this body of law grew and evolved, it became increasingly apparent to the Office of Law Revision Counsel that a separate title was needed. On September, 1, 2014, “Title 52, Voting and Elections,” was established. This new title provides a well-organized, coherent structure for this important body of law. H.R. 2832 will update the citations in our public laws that refer to provisions altered by the reclassification. These updates are necessary to conform the citations to the current codification of the text. In addition, to eliminate any confusion, the Office of Law Revision Counsel provides a comprehensive guide to the old and new code citations for these provisions on its website: uscode.house.gov. As is the case with reclassification projects, no statutory text was altered in this reorganization. The provisions were merely transferred from one place to another in the United States Code. Again, the decision to transfer provisions in the United States Code is taken very seriously. After careful study, the Office of the Law Revision Counsel concluded that certain organizational deficiencies in the Code needed to be corrected. The Office advises us that the benefit of making much needed long-term improvements in the organizational structure of the Code will greatly outweigh the short-term inconvenience of adjusting to new Code citations. H.R. 2832 is an important bill because it helps ensure that our laws are up-to-date and accurately reflect the location of statutory text in the United States Code. For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to support this important bill. Click here to learn more about today’s markup.