[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 7, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E37-E38]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 PROTECT VOTING RIGHTS FOR THE HOMELESS; THE VOTING RIGHTS OF HOMELESS 
                          CITIZENS ACT OF 1997

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOHN LEWIS

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 7, 1997

  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, as the 105th Congress convenes 
today, I am pleased to reintroduce the Voting Rights of Homeless 
Citizens Act of 1997. The purpose of this legislation is to enable the 
homeless, who are citizens of this country, to vote. The bill would 
remove the legal and administrative barriers that inhibit them from 
exercising this right. No one should be excluded from registering to 
vote simply because they do not have a home. But in many States, the 
homeless are left out and left behind. That is not right. It is not 
fair. It 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

[[Page E38]]

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 some even died to secure voting rights 
protection for all Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, over 30 years ago, 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. The time is long overdue to ensure that 
every American has the opportunity to exercise this fundamental right.
  Our Nation has made progress. The 19th amendment finally gave women 
the right to vote. The motor voter law made voter registration more 
accessible to working people. Yet, despite tremendous progress, we 
still have work to do. 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 to join me by cosponsoring and supporting passage of the 
Voting Rights of Homeless Citizens Act of 1997.

                          ____________________