[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 29 (Wednesday, March 7, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H708-H709]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1930
                    THE RIGHT TO VOTE IS FUNDAMENTAL

  (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, there is not a place that I 
have traveled either to my home State or elsewhere that the American 
people

[[Page H709]]

are not talking about the election of 2000. I believe that that is an 
issue that should be a priority for America, as well as it is for us to 
appreciate and commemorate and celebrate our Constitution. The right to 
vote is fundamental, and so I intend tonight and tomorrow to offer two 
pieces of legislation, one to establish a national holiday for 
Americans to vote during a Presidential year and, secondarily, an act 
that will study the issue of how do we design a system that counts 
every vote and allows every American to vote, the Secure Democracy Act.
  Those legislative initiatives will substitute for H.R. 60 and H.R. 
62. We will establish a generic national holiday every 4 years so 
Americans who work every day will have the privilege and opportunity 
for expressing their choices and their rights to express the decision 
of who will be President and who will be elected to this body in the 
coming years.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in support of this legislation.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the importance for ensuring 
the right to vote is a fundamental right guaranteed to every citizen of 
the United States. Many people were denied this fundamental right in 
the past presidential election partly because they were unable to vote 
due to work commitments.
  The bill I am introducing tonight will substantially resolve this 
serious issue raised by last year's presidential election, the lack of 
time for people to vote or participate in the very important federal 
election process, due to employment commitments that keep many 
Americans from voting or acting as election day officials.
  I firmly believe that the United States Constitution is not just 
there to protect me or people who agree with me, but it is there to 
also ensure that those who do not share my view also have equal access 
to the tools of democracy. My legislation would establish a National 
Election Day on the 2nd Tuesday of November, in presidential election 
years as a legal public holiday. I am now lending my full support to 
this new bill instead of H.R. 62, which I previously filed. I am now 
also removing my complete support from H.R. 62.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill will forge a strong commitment to Democracy at 
home and abroad by making substantive changes to how future 
presidential elections must work in order to avoid the problems of the 
last presidential election.
  It is my opinion that the larger threat to our national identity as a 
democracy and the sense of well being that Americans once had about the 
election process is the acceptance of a belief that citizens of this 
country do not have a voice in its governance. This is the greatest 
Achilles Heel that this nation has ever faced. Throughout history many 
nations and governments have ceased to exist because they failed to 
fulfill the true mission of government, which is to be responsive to 
the needs of citizens.
  For this reason, I am introducing legislation to establish a National 
Election Day as a legal public holiday to ensure that the fundamental 
right to vote that is granted to every citizen of the United States is 
adhered to. I am asking my colleagues in Congress for their support in 
meeting the voting challenges that have been presented to our growing 
and diverse nation.

                          ____________________