I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1994 
To terminate the Election Assistance Commission. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 15, 2013 
Mr. HARPER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on House Administration 
A BILL 
To terminate the Election Assistance Commission. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Election Assistance Commission Termination Act’’. 
(b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) The Help America Vote Act of 2002 
(HAVA) authorized annual appropriations of not 
more than $10,000,000 for the Election Assistance 
Commission (EAC) for fiscal years 2003, 2004, and 
2005. Funding for additional years has not been au-
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thorized, and in fiscal year 2011 the EAC’s budget 
grew to nearly $18,000,000. 
(2) Between 2007 and 2011, the number of 
staff at the EAC grew from 26 to 48 without an in-
crease in statutory responsibility. 
(3) 55 percent of the EAC’s fiscal year 2014 
budget request is devoted to management costs, the 
third consecutive year for which management costs 
have exceeded one-half of the EAC’s budget. 
(4) The EAC has distributed more than $3.2 
billion in election reform grants to the States. The 
most recent year for which appropriations for these 
grants were enacted or were requested in the Presi-
dent’s annual budget was fiscal year 2010. 
(5) The EAC last issued voluntary voting sys-
tem guidelines in 2005. A total of 11 voting systems 
currently hold a certification from the EAC. 
(6) The research division of the EAC has sub-
stantially completed the reports required by HAVA. 
(7) The National Association of Secretaries of 
State adopted resolutions calling for the dissolution 
of the EAC in 2005 and 2010. 
(8) The EAC has not had a quorum of commis-
sioners since December 2010, and has not had any 
commissioners since December 2011. The EAC has 
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not had an Executive Director since December 2011, 
and has not had a General Counsel since May 2012. 
(9) The existence of the EAC is not necessary 
to the conduct of Federal elections and is an unnec-
essary expenditure of taxpayer funds. Any functions 
of the EAC worth continuing can be performed by 
other government entities, consortia of government 
entities, or private associations. 
SEC. 2. TERMINATION OF ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMIS-
SION. 
(a) TERMINATION.—The Help America Vote Act of 
2002 (42 U.S.C. 15301 et seq.) is amended by adding at 
the end the following new title: 
‘‘TITLE X—TERMINATION OF 
COMMISSION 
‘‘SEC. 1001. TERMINATION. 
‘‘Effective on the Commission termination date, the 
Commission (including the Election Assistance Commis-
sion Standards Board and the Election Assistance Com-
mission Board of Advisors under part 2 of subtitle A of 
title II) is terminated and may not carry out any programs 
or activities. 
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‘‘SEC. 1002. OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET TO 
PERFORM TRANSITION FUNCTIONS. 
‘‘Except as provided in section 1004, the Director of 
the Office of Management and Budget shall, effective 
upon the Commission termination date— 
‘‘(1) perform the functions of the Commission 
with respect to contracts and agreements described 
in subsection 1003(a) until the expiration of such 
contracts and agreements, but shall not renew any 
such contract or agreement; and 
‘‘(2) take the necessary steps to wind up the af-
fairs of the Commission. 
‘‘SEC. 1003. SAVINGS PROVISIONS. 
‘‘(a) PRIOR CONTRACTS.—The termination of the 
Commission under this title shall not affect any contract 
that has been entered into by the Commission before the 
Commission termination date. All such contracts shall 
continue in effect until modified, superseded, terminated, 
set aside, or revoked in accordance with law by an author-
ized Federal official, a court of competent jurisdiction, or 
operation of law. 
‘‘(b) OBLIGATIONS OF RECIPIENTS OF PAYMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The termination of the 
Commission under this title shall not affect the au-
thority of any recipient of a payment made by the 
Commission under this Act prior to the Commission 
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termination date to use any portion of the payment 
that remains unobligated as of the Commission ter-
mination date, and the terms and conditions that 
applied to the use of the payment at the time the 
payment was made shall continue to apply. 
‘‘(2) SPECIAL
RULE
FOR
STATES
RECEIVING 
REQUIREMENTS PAYMENTS.—In the case of a re-
quirements payment made to a State under part 1 
of subtitle D of title II, the terms and conditions ap-
plicable to the use of the payment for purposes of 
the State’s obligations under this subsection (as well 
as any obligations in effect prior to the termination 
of the Commission under this subtitle), and for pur-
poses of any applicable requirements imposed by 
regulations promulgated by the Director of the Of-
fice of Management and Budget, shall be the general 
terms and conditions applicable under Federal law, 
rules, and regulations to payments made by the Fed-
eral Government to a State, except that to the ex-
tent that such general terms and conditions are in-
consistent with the terms and conditions that are 
specified under part 1 of subtitle D of title II or sec-
tion 902, the terms and conditions specified under 
such part and such section shall apply. 
‘‘(c) PENDING PROCEEDINGS.— 
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‘‘(1) NO EFFECT ON PENDING PROCEEDINGS.— 
The termination of the Commission under this title 
shall not affect any proceeding to which the Com-
mission is a party that is pending on the Commis-
sion termination date, including any suit to which 
the Commission is a party that is commenced prior 
to such date, and the Director of the Office of Man-
agement and Budget shall be substituted or added 
as a party to the proceeding. 
‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF ORDERS.—In the case of 
a proceeding described in paragraph (1), an order 
may be issued, an appeal may be taken, judgments 
may be rendered, and payments may be made as if 
the Commission had not been terminated. Any such 
order shall continue in effect until modified, termi-
nated, superseded, or revoked by an authorized Fed-
eral official, a court of competent jurisdiction, or op-
eration of law. 
‘‘(3) 
CONSTRUCTION
RELATING
TO
DIS-
CONTINUANCE OR MODIFICATION.—Nothing in this 
subsection shall be deemed to prohibit the dis-
continuance or modification of any proceeding de-
scribed in paragraph (1) under the same terms and 
conditions and to the same extent that such pro-
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ceeding could have been discontinued or modified if 
the Commission had not been terminated. 
‘‘(4) REGULATIONS
FOR
TRANSFER
OF
PRO-
CEEDINGS.—The Director of the Office of Manage-
ment and Budget may issue regulations providing 
for the orderly transfer of proceedings described in 
paragraph (1). 
‘‘(d) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Orders and actions of the 
Director of the Office of Management and Budget in the 
exercise of functions of the Commission under section 
1002 shall be subject to judicial review to the same extent 
and in the same manner as if such orders and actions had 
been issued or taken by the Commission. Any require-
ments relating to notice, hearings, action upon the record, 
or administrative review that apply to any function of the 
Commission shall apply to the exercise of such function 
by the Director. 
‘‘SEC. 1004. RETURN TO FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION 
OF AUTHORITY TO CARRY OUT CERTAIN 
FUNCTIONS UNDER NATIONAL VOTER REG-
ISTRATION ACT OF 1993. 
‘‘Effective on the Commission termination date, there 
are transferred to the Federal Election Commission any 
functions transferred to the Election Assistance Commis-
sion under section 802 (relating to functions described in 
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section 9(a) of the National Voter Registration Act of 
1993). 
‘‘SEC. 1005. COMMISSION TERMINATION DATE. 
‘‘The ‘Commission termination date’ is the first date 
following the expiration of the 60-day period that begins 
on the date of the enactment of this title.’’. 
(b) TERMINATION OF TECHNICAL GUIDELINES DE-
VELOPMENT COMMITTEE.—Section 221 of such Act (42 
U.S.C. 15361) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(g) TERMINATION.—Effective on the Commission 
termination date described in section 1005, the Develop-
ment Committee is terminated.’’. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
of such Act is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘TITLE X—TERMINATION OF COMMISSION 
‘‘Sec. 1001. Termination. 
‘‘Sec. 1002. Office of Management and Budget to perform transition functions. 
‘‘Sec. 1003. Savings provisions. 
‘‘Sec. 1004. Return to Federal Election Commission of authority to carry out 
certain functions under National Voter Registration Act of 
1993. 
‘‘Sec. 1005. Commission termination date.’’. 
SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO RETURN 
OF CERTAIN AUTHORITY TO FEDERAL ELEC-
TION COMMISSION. 
(a) FEDERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN ACT OF 1971.— 
Section 311(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 
1971 (2 U.S.C. 438(a)) is amended— 
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(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(8); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (9) and inserting a semicolon; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(10) carry out the duties described in section 
9(a) of the National Voter Registration Act of 
1993.’’. 
(b) NATIONAL
VOTER
REGISTRATION
ACT
OF 
1993.—Section 9(a) of the National Voter Registration 
Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–7(a)) is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘Election Assistance Commission’’ and inserting 
‘‘Federal Election Commission’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall take effect on the Commission termi-
nation date described in section 1005 of the Help America 
Vote Act of 2002 (as added by section 2(a)). 
Æ 
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