Hearing. Shana broussard, sean cooksey and Alan Dickerson are the presidts nominees to be members of the federal electio commission, as our witnesses are joining us remotely, i also understand that their families and friends are watching today and so i welcome them as well. This is a big responsibility, is significant president ial nomination and significant to the work of this committee and i know youre proud, your Family Member as they have moved forward to this opportunity. Let me say a little bit aut the nominees and then ill turn to another Committee Member senator cruz to talk about the thd nominee, Alan Dickerson is not th nomin to be a member of the federal Election Commission for a term expiring on april the 30th 2025 and he has been practicing law for 20 years primarily in the areas of First Amendment and campaignfinance sin 2011 mr. Dickerson has been the lal director of the institute for free speech, a nonprofit organizati that litigates First Amendment and campaignfinance cases in state and federal courts. He is also a captain in the jue advocate generals court for the United States army serve he and his wife racl have one child in expecting a second child. Shana broussard is theominee to be a member of the fedal Election Commission for a term exping on april 30, 2023. Shana broussard was born at vandenrg air port based in california but she truly hails from louisiana as is clear with my visit wh her this week. She graduatedrom Dillard University in 1991 and southn University Law schoo in 1995, she has had a 25 year legal career and for the past 12 of which shes worked at the fec as an enforcement attorneyn the office of the general counsel until 2015 and then executive assistant for mr. Walker since 2015. Shana broussard also worked with the Internal Revenue service and in louisiana as a prosecutor for the attorney general and new orlean paris District Attorney an the clerk at the Second Circuit cour of appeals. I would like to recognize senator cruz to introduce our third nominee mr. Cooksey. Thank you mr. Chairman i am very proud to introduce sean cooksey to the federal election committee. As the chairman knows, he is from missouri and works for the junior senator from missouri. But im going to go ahead and claim him anyway as an honorary texan. Not only did he clerk for one of the most respected appellate judges in the country, jerry smith in my hometown of houston buddy also worked on my staff as deputy chief counsel serving the 29 Million People in the great state of texas. Seans impeccable educational credentials include graduating silicone lottie from Truman State University and receiving his jd from the university of Chicago Law School where he graduated with high honors in order of the choir. From there he clerked for judge smith on the u. S. Court of appeals, before joining one of the nations most respected law firms in d. C. As a litigation associate focusing on appeals and constitutional law, most notably as the youngest associate he worked on the Supreme Court matter in which his client ultimately prevailed 8 1, then in 2018 sean joined my staff as deputy chief counsel working on a wide array of an important complex issues including election law, he did a fantastic job and we were sad that we were excited for him when he left in 2019 to serve as senator hawleys chief counsel and senator hawley joined us on the judiciary committee, he serves in that role doing an excellent job for senator hawley on judicial nominations and election law, federal critical law ethics, compliance and a whole lot more. My experience with sean has demonstrated that is not only in exceptional talented lawyer but someone deeply committed to the rule of law. He will be prepared to hit the day ground running on day one as a commissioner and i have complete confidence that he will faithfully apply the law fairly and neutrally. I will also note that sean and his wife ellen are expecting a baby this winter and so these are propitious times in the cooksey household and im proud to introduce my friend sean. Thank you, senator cruz, ree nominees, two babies on the way into her the families. Earlier this year our committee gathered to confirm a nominee t restore a quorum at the fec, since that confirmation of tray ainer the fec lost a quorum with the resignati of commissioner hunter in july of this year, the confirmation of thesehree nominees before the committee today will restore a quorum at the fec but more importantly the confirmation of these three nominees would restore a full slate of commissioners to the f for the First Time Since february 2017. While the ftc has authorized to have six commissioners it currently only has three and only one commissioner trainer serves on unexpired term, the other o commissioners holdover status, their terms have expired years ago, commissioner walters in 2009 and commissioner weintraub in 2007. And while the quorum, a simple quorum allows fec to hd hearings, make new rules, advise through advisory opions, conduct investigations or improv Enforcement Actions paints full slate of commissioners at the d. C. Is not hobbled and able to connue its work when a single commissioner departs the ancy for some time when one commissioner left for whatever reason the commissior was not able to function, hopefully our action through these hearings and later for the fit time again will restore six members to the commission, the commission plays a vital role that the federal campaign committees, i mentioned in my last hearing for the last nominee and former secretary of stati worked with the commission on a regular basis then, since i been a candidate in nine federal elections which is about average for this mmittee and the members of this committee and the senate should kw the importance of a fully functioning fec to federal candidates who need to avail themselves of th fec guidelines d advisory opinions, we also know all the impornt stability that thegency brings to the community that is regulated by the ftc. I look forward to hearing testimony from our nominees today, i also again, i look forward to having a full ste of commissionersthe fec and helper able to get that done before the Congress Adjourns this year, id like to turn to senator klobuchar for her Opening Statement. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman, today as you know we are here to consider three nominees to the federal Election Commission which is the independent Agency Responsible for enforcing a federal Campaign Finance laws. First i want to bring up the fact that this committee has oversight over federal elections, its important to acknowledge that nearly 160 million americans voted this year, more people than ever before in the United States history and even though we are in the midst of a Global Pandemic elections were administered successfully do to the hard work of state and local officials, both democratic and republican and independent state and local officials, last week officials in charge of Election Security and the Trump Administration including dhs, people there secretary of state and the Election Assistance Commission put on a joint statement that said the novembet secure in america history, again this is testament to local officials and also to chris crabs who unfortunately was fired yesterday by the president via tweet but i know that he has respect in many statements from republican senators today of many in the u. S. Senate, regardless of that unfortunate incident i would say we all on debt of gratitude to these hardworking Election Officials. Turning to the topic of todays hearing with the exception as the chairman noted as a brief. The fec has been without a forum for 15 months over that time i have urged my colleagues to work with us to get the agency up and running, the nominees are confirmed in bipartisan pairs, this brings to push forward a controversial nominee without a democratic nominee. This approach open the door to the fec losing his quorum 46 days after it was restored. This lack of quorum is a major problem and we know why and we must have an fec that can enforce the law. The truth is we need it more than ever the center for responsive politics estimates spending for the 2020 election cycle was approximately 14 billion, that is more than double the 2016 election cycle and it includes 2. 6 billion and outside spending by Political Parties and dark many groups, and our democracy to work for the people we need strong roles for Campaign Spending and Strong Agency to enforce the rules, congress created that very purpose after the watergate scandal to help restore the publics faith in the electoral policy. Since taking over the Ranking Member of this committee i worked with several of my colleagues to propose solutions to get the agency back on track including a bill at the very least we should Work Together to select strong experience nominees from both parties to understand that their job is to enforce the law and protect our election system. I am concerned about the abuse of some of these nominees and i will briefly go through the, i did have a discussion with all three of them, i appreciate that i had the opportunity to discuss views such as social media political ads and the need for the fec to move forward with the rules regarding those ads which have billions of dollars of political spending. First mr. Dickerson has extensive experience in campaignfinance, unfortunately he has been focusing on less not more transparency for political spending, he is supposed restriction on individual donations, attempts to bring transparency to corporate dark money spending after the Citizens United decision and effort to stop foreign money from ar influence in our electi. If we are gonna break out of the gridlock in the fec we need commissioners to Work Together to find areas where they agree, its my sincere hope that mr. Dickerson views on the role of money in transparency and politics do not make it harder to find consensus with the other commissioners. Mr. Cooksey, already discussed senator cruz, he does not have an extensive record on campaignfinance or election issues in his testimony for this hearing does not provide enough information regarding his qualification, the view of the commission and how he plans his approach the role, again i appreciated the fact that he talked to me and we discussed some really important issues and i appreciated the words that we heard that they were willing to work on issues like the political ads and the fact that we dont have any set rules in place for social media ads. Finally we have Shana Broussard and i so appreciated mr. Chairman, your introduction of her, i have been urging the white house to nominate her for more than a year, our hope was months ago she wouldve confirmed to fill the vacancy, i will not go into all of that but lets talk about her because she is great. She served as a lawyer at the fec for 12 years both as a staff attorney and as a commissioner counsel to a commissioner. She is immensely qualified and well respected by her peers, her experience as a staffer would bring an important perspective to the commission, she would also be the first person of color to serve on the fec and i hope my colleagues that are here remotely listen to that, its incredible but has not been in the past i cant think of anyone to be the first. The pandemic has shown us how resilient our democracy can be when dedicated professionals work to respond to a crisis. As i said state and local officials rose to the challenge and now its time for the fec to rise to the challenge of the issues ahead of them, of course individual cases that come before them but then the key is modernizing our rules and the like to make them more responsive to the challenges of our elections over time. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman. Thank you senator klobuchar, im going to go try testimony from the witnesses, we of course have your written statements in the record but we would gladly use you up to five minutes and what other you would like to talk about, your background, the fec and what this committee should be considering, lets first go to Shana Broussard. Im not sure if youre able to hear me. We can hear. Thank you, good morning, everyone, thank you chairman, Ranking Member klobuchar and members of the committee. It is an honor to appear before you today as a nominee for the federal Election Commission, i would like to take the opportunity to say a few things if i may, i want to thank my brothers, i cannot thin asked fr greater cheering team than these two and i wanted take an opportunity to think my nephew tristian in albuquerque new mexico he is working on an essay that for a person that he admires her agenda myers he told me it was a tight race between myself and my brother, his father but apparently the process bumped me up, i want to say hello to tristan. Like my brothers i would also like to think my friends and my cohorts for their support and their encouragement throughout the process. Under traditional times i wouldve loved to be in a room filled but we are not in traditional times. Still your support has been unwavering in lets take a moment to think the most instrumental people in my life, my parents there is a little town, my father retired from the United States air force after 25 years of service to this country and my mother is a retired middle School Teacher having taught the very same school that she attended as a child, together they instilled the Public Service and a commitment to community that has guide us in my professional career and personal life, first professionally as a consistent District Attorney and then as the council and now with fec. , for more than a decade i have worked every day to advance the fec commission, although congress created the fec in 1975 the agencys mission to protect the integrity of the federal campaignfinance process has never been more urgent. Now more than ever is the time to Work Together towards repairing americans Peoples Trust in the agency. Now its never been more urgent for the commission to have individual bill lee c2 are measured impartial and focused on building consensus. As an sec attorney, carefully consider each enforcement matter before me making sure my recommended disposition for the supporting facts and the law, my recommendations were fair yet firm and always made towards transparency. As counsel for commissioner over the last six years i have worked with Commission Offices to build consensus and everything from Enforcement Matters to Commission Budget and management issues, im grateful for commissioner walter for the opportunity. He is an example of how to reach across the aisle to get work done. I also take this opportunity to thank commissioner ellen weintraub, she has been supportive in her dedication to the agency is unsurpassed. When i started working for the American People at the fec 12 years ago i never envisioned that i would be testifying before Congress Today about my qualifications as a commissioner. The opportunity to lead the commission rarely comes to those already working within the agency but its is very experience working day today sidebyside with fec staff and the mission to make it uniquely prepared to say or enter through the murky people of confirmed i will approach my board as a commissioner as they have done throughout my career the Public Service with diligence impartiality and integrity but equally important i will serve with the utmost appreciation and respect for the hard work. Having served with them i bring a new perspective to agency leadership, furthermore if confirmed i will be the first africanamerican to serve on the commission, this historic time cannot be ignored. 45 years of the establishment of this agency it is time the agency decides the integrity of our election for the American People with a little more like the American People, mr. Chairman, Ranking Member klobuchar and members of the committee tha you for the opportunity to appear today, i welcome any questions that you may have. Thank you Shana Broussard were glad to have you with us today. Lets go to mr. Ooksey next, sean cooksey. Good morning chairman, Ranking Memberlobuchar and members of the committee it is honored to appear before you. I would like to think the chaian and the Ranking Member for convening this heang to consider my nomination to the deral Election Comm