The recent Senate Omnibus Spending Bill pulled last night by Harry Reid intended to permanently dissolve the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) and terminate all Requirements payments to States.  This move reflects the growing disenchantment of the agency in the Congress and with the National Association of Secretaries of States (NASS).  In July of 2010, NASS, the organization of chief election officials across the country, openly encouraged the Congress not to give the EAC rule-making authority and lobbied not to reauthorize or fund the EAC.   While this defunding and termination of the EAC was found in the latest Senate Omnibus Spending Bill, the U.S. House of Representatives is also considering ending, at a minimum, their requirements payments authority.  In the past number of years, the Committee on House Administration has also had a multitude of oversight issues with the dysfunctional federal agency and may quickly join the chorus of critics to defund the agency.  The EAC was hit with and settled charges of political discrimination in the hiring of a senior employee and the recent sudden resignation of Commissioner Gracia Hillman left the EAC with just two commissioners and lack of a quorum for official actions.  Meanwhile, the other potential commissioners remain bottled up in the Senate.

One must ask – has the agency finally hit bottom?  Probably not.  There a number of reasons that this site will explore in the months ahead.  And as the new Congress takes control, the new Republican majority in the House will likely demand answers from the agency on their many legitimate and unanswered questions. 

The bigger question today is how did the EAC ever reach such a low in the hearts and minds of chief election officials and the Congress that they now face extinction?