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U.S. NEWS Saturday 13 July 2019

This March 27, 2008, file photo, shows the Pentagon in Washington.
The Democratic-controlled House is moving to put a liberalized
stamp on Pentagon policy with a $725 billion defense policy
measure that pares back the Trump administration s defense
request and authority to make war against Iran.
Associated Press
House Democrats

lead push to restrict

Trump on Iran strikes In this Thursday, June 13, 2019 photo, ExpressVote XL voting machines are displayed during a
demonstration at the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia.
Associated Press
By ANDREW TAYLOR has promised to veto the Who’s behind voting-machine
Associated Press House measure.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The The Senate passed its own makers? Money of unclear origins
Democratic-controlled bill last month.
House voted Friday to put Lawmakers will try to recon- By EMERY P. DALESIO And they asked the board known or readily ascertain-
a liberalized stamp on Pen- cile the competing versions AP Business Writer not to share what they did able and makes reason-
tagon policy, including a in what could be lengthy RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The disclose with the public. able efforts to maintain
bipartisan proposal to limit negotiations given the dif- voting-machine makers The elections board re- the secrecy of this informa-
President Donald Trump’s ferences. that aim to sell their systems leased the companies’ re- tion.”
authority to make war The House measure, which in North Carolina are large- sponses — as required by Election Systems & Software
against Iran. cuts Trump’s request for the ly owned by private equity law — under a public re- did disclose that it is con-
The measure passed along military by $17 billion, is still firms that don’t disclose cords request from The AP. trolled through an interme-
party lines after a series of too rich for some progres- their investors. Election security watch- diary company by McCar-
votes that pushed it further sives. They also balk at its The companies didn’t want dogs remain frustrated. thy Group, a private equity
to the left. Among them continued funding of over- the public to know even “The answer that we all re- firm also based in Omaha.
was a 251-170 tally to re- seas military operations. that much. ally want is, is there foreign The CEO and chief finan-
quire Trump get authoriza- But the measure includes North Carolina’s statewide influence over the compa- cial officer of ES&S own
tion from Congress to con- Democratic priorities such elections board demand- nies that make equipment smaller stakes.
duct military strikes against as a ban on transferring ed the machine-makers’ that’s used in our elec- Hart InterCivic said nearly
Iran, along with a repeal of new detainees to the ownership information last tions? We didn’t get that 80 percent of its ownership
a 2002 law authorizing the Guantanamo Bay prison month after special coun- answer, because the actu- is held through an interme-
war in Iraq. and a denial of Trump’s re- sel Robert Mueller’s April al influence is obfuscated diary company by H.I.G.
More than two dozen Re- quest for $88 million to build report into Russian efforts behind the private equity Capital, a Miami, Florida-
publicans joined with Dem- a new prison at the base. to sway the 2016 presiden- firms,” said Maurice Turner, based private equity firm.
ocrats on the Iran vote. It removes a ban against tial election. Their concerns who focuses on election Gregg L. Burt, Hart’s board
Trump last month came transferring detainees from about potential foreign security at the Center for chairman and former CEO
within minutes of launch- Guantanamo Bay to the interference have grown Democracy & Technology and the founder of his own
ing a missile strike against United States that was en- since Maryland officials in Washington, D.C. Austin-based private equity
Iran in retaliation for Iran’s acted when Democrats learned last year that a The three companies — firm, owns another 10.5%,
downing of a U.S. drone. controlled Congress in the company maintaining that Omaha, Nebraska-based the company disclosed.
The broader measure early years of the Obama state’s election infrastruc- Election Systems & Soft- Clear Ballot founders Larry
passed by a 220-197 vote administration. ture did not disclose its fi- ware; Boston-based Clear Moore and Tim Halvorsen,
after several other provi- It would ban the deploy- nancing by a venture fund Ballot; and Austin, Texas- later investor Steven Papa
sions were tacked on by ment of a new submarine- whose largest investor is a based Hart InterCivic — and Raging Capital Op-
the Democratic Party’s launched low-yield nuclear Russian oligarch. were told to disclose any- portunity Fund V LLC all
progressive wing, which missile and block the ad- The private-equity backers one holding a 5 percent or own more than 5 percent
had been upset by leader- ministration from shifting of the three voting systems greater stake, or in a par- stakes, the election systems
ship’s handling of a border military money to a U.S.- vendors seeking approval ent company or any sub- maker said, without detail-
bill last month. Mexico border wall. to sell to county elections sidiaries. ing each owner’s share.
“On the floor, the bill has “It’s a bill that I think Dem- boards in North Carolina All three private compa- The company said that nei-
taken a radical left turn,” ocrats should be happy told The Associated Press nies responded by listing ther the fund nor any indi-
said Texas Rep. Mac Thorn- with,” said the chairman of they’re controlled by U.S. their executives and equity vidual invested in the fund
berry, the top Republican the House Armed Services citizens. They claimed they funds as chief owners. And controlled by Rocky Hill,
on the House Armed Ser- Committee, Rep. Adam have no ties to foreign oli- all three asked that even New Jersey-based Rag-
vices Committee. “There’s Smith, D-Wash. “It’s not ev- garchs or other nefarious these responses be kept ing Capital Management
good and bad in this bill ... erything they want but we persons facing financial confidential. owns a controlling interest
but it’s moving in a direc- need to pass it to say, ‘This sanctions by Washington. Hart InterCivic said that it in Clear Ballot Group.
tion that does make Ameri- is our position,’ to move But they didn’t provide in- “derives independent ac- The board hasn’t sched-
ca less safe.” the ball in the direction we formation about the sourc- tual value from this infor- uled a hearing to review
The Trump administration want.”q es of the money they invest. mation not being generally the responses. q