[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 106 (Friday, July 29, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1705-E1706]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




IN SUPPORT OF THE RESOLUTION COMMEMORATING THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 
                       VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 28, 2005

  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, on August 6, 2005, our Nation will 
commemorate a major milestone in our Nation's democracy: the signing of 
the 1965 Voting Rights Act. This bill, signed into law by President 
Lyndon Baines Johnson, ended an iniquitous era in our country that we 
should never revisit.
  Mr. Speaker, we celebrate this bill because its mandate speaks to the 
most essential exercise of American citizenship--the right to vote.
  If it were not for the Voting Rights Act, millions of Americans, 
particularly African Americans and other people of color, would not 
have access to this precious right.
  I remember well the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as he and so 
many others sacrificed their lives for the creation of this bill: ``The 
most revolutionary action our people can undertake is to assert the 
full measure of our citizenship.''
  His words ring with the same truth today.
  As a result of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, States with a history of 
racial discrimination were forbidden from using illegal and biased 
tactics to determine an individual's eligibility to vote.
  The 1965 Voting Rights Act also required these States to obtain 
Federal approval before enacting any election laws and assigned Federal 
officials to monitor the registration process in certain localities.
  In the 40 years since the passage of this bill, the number of African 
American registered voters has increased dramatically.
  Nationwide, the number of African American elected officials has 
grown from just a handful in the early 1960s to more than 9,000 today.
  In addition, Americans of all ethnic backgrounds have found strength 
in the promise of the Voting Rights Act.
  However, despite these accomplishments, it remains clear that America 
still has much work to do before the mandate of the 1965 Voting Rights 
Act is fully realized.
  As we saw in the 2000 presidential election and as reported by the 
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, there is a new brand of voter 
discrimination and intimidation.
  As a result of inconsistent State voter registration laws, 
inefficient voter equipment and in many instances, subjective oversight 
at the polls, millions of Americans were denied their right to vote in 
2000.
  As recently as July 2004, it was revealed that Florida State 
officials were preparing to use an erroneous voter registration list 
for the November 2004 elections.
  Although this voter list was abandoned, it reveals the gross 
inefficiency that continues to burden our elections process.

[[Page E1706]]

  Today, we must not only celebrate the passage of the 1965 Voting 
Rights Act, we must breathe new life into this bill.
  As several provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 expire in 
2007, namely the preclearance and bilingual provisions, I urge the 
President and this Congress to make certain reauthorization does not 
become a back burner issue.
  Lastly, I applaud my colleagues of this body who are the stalwarts on 
the issues of civil rights and voting rights, particularly 
Representatives John Lewis, John Conyers and Charlie Rangel. I also 
applaud Reverend Jesse Jackson and many other faith leaders who 
continue to stand up for civil rights and human rights.
  Again, I say to my colleagues that we should use every resource in 
Congress, especially those resources encapsulated in the Help America 
Vote Act, to ensure that every vote that is cast is counted.

                          ____________________