[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 2 (Thursday, January 5, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E45]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


           THE VOTING RIGHTS OF HOMELESS CITIZENS ACT OF 1995

                                 ______


                            HON. JOHN LEWIS

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 4, 1995
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, as the 104th Congress convenes 
today, I am pleased to introduce the Voting Rights of Homeless Citizens 
Act of 1995. The purpose of this legislation is to enable the homeless, 
who are citizens of this country, to vote. This bill would remove the 
legal and administrative barriers that inhibit them from exercising 
that right. No one should be excluded from registering to vote simply 
because they don't have a home. But in many States, the homeless are 
left out. That is not right. That is not fair. That is not the way of 
this country.
  During this century, we have removed major obstacles that prevented 
many of our citizens from voting. Not too long ago, people had to pay a 
poll tax or own property to vote. Women and minorities were prohibited 
from casting the ballot.
  Before the civil rights movement, there were areas in the South where 
50 to 80 percent of the population was black. Yet, there was not a 
single registered black voter. In 1964, three young men in rural 
Mississippi gave their lives while working to register people to vote. 
Many people shedded blood and many died to secure voting rights 
protection for all Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, I think it is very fitting to introduce this bill today 
because 30 years ago today, on January 4, 1965, President Lyndon 
Johnson proposed that we ``eliminate every remaining obstacle to the 
right and opportunity to vote.'' Eight months later, the Voting Rights 
Act of 1965 was signed into law, making it possible for millions of 
Americans to enter the political process.
  Our Nation has made progress. But we still have a long way to go to 
make sure that every citizen is properly represented on Capitol Hill, 
in the State house, on the city council and on the county commission. I 
have dedicated my life to ensuring that every American is treated 
equally and that everyone has the right to register and vote. I ask my 
colleagues to join me in opening the political process to every 
American, even those without a home. I urge my colleagues in the House 
to join with me in cosponsoring and supporting passage of the Voting 
Rights of Homeless Citizens Act of 1995.


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