Washington, DC – Committee on House Administration Ranking Member Rodney Davis (IL-13) today issued the following statement after being named a conferee for the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Conference Committee. Davis worked to include a provision in the House-passed NDAA that would help protect our servicemembers' right to vote.

"I'm honored to serve as a conferee for one of the most important bills Congress has the responsibility of passing every year," said Davis. "As we saw just two weeks ago, mail-in voting is complicated and it can be even more complicated for some of our military members serving at our consulates and embassies overseas. My provision, which was included in the House-passed NDAA, will guarantee Express Mail Labels for all overseas, military ballots so the voices of our servicemembers are being heard in our nation's elections. I'm hopeful we can keep this important provision in the final bill and get it signed into law by President Trump."

The amendment, offered by U.S. Reps. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) and Jason Crow (D-Colo.) during markup in the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), mirrors Davis bill, the Counting All Military Votes Act, which ensures the ballots of all active duty military are shipped by Express Mail to expedite and track absentee ballots for successful, on-time delivery. Currently, Express Mail Labels are accessible on traditional military bases, but not to the 10,143 deployed active duty military members serving in?our embassies, consulates, and/or in diplomatic posts.

Background:
In February, Davis introduced the Counting All Military Votes Act, which provides the necessary fix for lawful access to the Express Mail Label for the military absentee to all deployed active duty military personnel that are serving overseas by instructing the Secretary of Defense as the Presidential Designee to take such action necessary to administer the Express Mail Label for military absentee voting to the active duty military stationed at our embassies and consulates. CLICK HERE for more information.