[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 232 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 232

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the enactment of the Voting Rights 
 Act of 1965 and reaffirming the commitment of the Senate to ensuring 
the continued effectiveness of the Act in protecting the voting rights 
                 of all citizens of the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 29, 2005

   Mr. Kennedy (for himself, Mr. Reid, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Feingold, Mr. 
 Durbin, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Biden, Mr. Levin, 
Ms. Mikulski, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Obama, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Kerry, and Mr. 
Specter) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the enactment of the Voting Rights 
 Act of 1965 and reaffirming the commitment of the Senate to ensuring 
the continued effectiveness of the Act in protecting the voting rights 
                 of all citizens of the United States.

Whereas brave people in the United States, known and unknown, of different 
        races, ethnicities, and religions, risked their lives to stand for 
        political equality and against racial discrimination in a quest 
        culminating in the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965;
Whereas numerous individuals paid the ultimate price in pursuit of political 
        equality, while demanding that the United States enforce the guarantees 
        enshrined in the 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution;
Whereas, on March 7, 1965, a day that would come to be known as ``Bloody 
        Sunday'', the historic struggle for equal voting rights led nonviolent 
        civil rights marchers to gather on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, 
        Alabama where the bravery of such individuals was tested by a brutal 
        response from State and local authorities, which in turn sent a clarion 
        call to the people of the United States that the fulfillment of 
        democratic ideals could no longer be denied;
Whereas 8 days after Bloody Sunday, President Lyndon B. Johnson called for a 
        comprehensive and effective voting rights bill as a necessary response 
        by Congress and the President to the interference and violence, in 
        violation of the 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution, 
        encountered by African-American citizens when attempting to protect and 
        exercise the right to vote;
Whereas a bipartisan Congress approved the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and, on 
        August 6, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed this landmark 
        legislation into law;
Whereas the Voting Rights Act of 1965 stands as a tribute to the heroism of 
        countless individuals and enactment of the Act was one of the most 
        important civil rights victories in the history of the United States, 
        enabling political empowerment and voter enfranchisement for all 
        citizens of the United States;
Whereas the Voting Rights Act of 1965 effectuates the permanent guarantee of the 
        15th amendment that ``the right of citizens of the United States to vote 
        shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on 
        account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude'';
Whereas the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was amended in 1975 to facilitate equal 
        political opportunity for language-minority citizens and was amended in 
        1982 to protect the rights of voters with disabilities;
Whereas the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has helped advance the true spirit of 
        democracy in the United States by encouraging political participation by 
        all citizens and ensuring for voters the ability to elect 
        representatives in Federal, State, and local governments;
Whereas the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has increased voter registration among 
        racial, ethnic, and language minorities, as well as enhanced the ability 
        of citizens in those minority groups to participate in the political 
        process and to elect minority representatives to public office, 
        resulting in 81 African-American, Latino, Asian, and Native American 
        Members of Congress and thousands of minority State and local officials 
        across the United States;
Whereas despite the noteworthy progress from 40 years of enforcement of the 
        Voting Rights Act of 1965, voter inequities, disparities, and obstacles 
        still remain for far too many minority voters and serve to demonstrate 
        the ongoing importance of the Voting Rights Act of 1965;
Whereas the Voting Rights Act of 1965 provides extensive voter protections, such 
        as equipping voters with the means to challenge election laws that 
        result in a denial or abridgement of voting rights on account of race, 
        color, or language minority status (in section 2 of such Act), 
        eliminating literacy tests nationwide (in section 201 of such Act), 
        requiring Federal approval before jurisdictions with a history of 
        practices that restrict minority voting rights may implement changes in 
        voting practices and procedures (in section 5 of such Act), providing 
        the Department of Justice with the authority to appoint Federal election 
        monitors and observers to ensure that elections are conducted free from 
        discrimination and intimidation (in sections 6 through 9 of such Act), 
        and mandating language assistance and translated voting materials in 
        jurisdictions with substantial concentrations of language minorities (in 
        section 203 of such Act);
Whereas several of these provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 will expire 
        in August 2007 unless Congress acts to preserve and reauthorize them;
Whereas it is vital to democracy in the United States, and to the efforts of the 
        United States to promote democracy abroad, that the provisions of the 
        Voting Rights Act of 1965 are fully effective to prevent discrimination 
        and dilution of the equal rights of minority voters;
Whereas, in 2005, the year marking the 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act 
        of 1965, people in the United States must applaud the substantial 
        progress that has been made in protecting the right to vote, but also 
        continue efforts to ensure fairness and equal access to the political 
        process in order to protect the rights of every citizen of the United 
        States; and
Whereas the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has been widely hailed as the single most 
        important civil rights law passed in the history of the United States: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) observes and celebrates the 40th anniversary of the 
        enactment of the Voting Rights Act of 1965;
            (2) reaffirms its commitment to advancing the legacy of the 
        Voting Rights Act of 1965 to ensure the continued effectiveness 
        of the Act in protecting the voting rights of all citizens of 
        the United States; and
            (3) encourages the people of the United States to celebrate 
        the 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
                                 <all>