[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 52 (Thursday, May 4, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4044-S4045]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            VOTE EXPLANATION

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, due to the untimely loss of my beloved 
sister, Marilyn ``Nubs'' Hatch Kuch, I have been necessarily absent for 
a portion of the debate and votes on Wednesday, May 3 and Thursday, May 
4, 2006.
  Concerning the votes I missed, if I were present I would have voted 
as follows: nay for amendment No. 3616, striking funding to States 
based on their production of certain types of crops, livestock and/or 
dairy products; nay for amendment No. 3673, providing funds for 
assessments of critical reservoirs and dams in the State of Hawaii; nay 
for amendment No. 3601, allocating $1,000,000 for the monitoring of 
waters off the coast of the State of Hawaii; yea for amendment No. 
3704, allocating $20,000,000 from the AmeriCorps program to the 
Veterans Health Administration for medical facilities; yea for final 
passage of H.R. 4939, the Fiscal Year 2006 Emergency Supplemental 
Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Hurricane 
Recovery; yea for Executive Calendar No. 617, the nomination of Brian 
M. Cogan of New York to be the U.S. District Judge for the Eastern 
District of New York; and yea for Executive Calendar No. 618, the 
nomination of Thomas M. Golden of Pennsylvania to be the U.S. District 
Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. None of these votes 
would have changed the final outcome.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, yesterday I was pleased to introduce,

[[Page S4045]]

along with 21 of my Senate colleagues from diverse political, 
geographic, and ethnic backgrounds, a bipartisan and bicameral bill to 
reauthorize the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
  The Senate Judiciary Committee has had a very busy year. Last Fall, 
while the House was beginning its hearings on the Voting Rights Act, we 
were just finishing our hearings and final vote on the nomination of 
John G. Roberts, Jr. to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Soon 
after that, we began preparing for hearings on the nomination of 
Harriet Miers to replace Justice O'Connor on the Supreme Court. When 
that nomination was withdrawn, we had to start over with a new nominee, 
Samuel Alito. We held hearings for Justice Alito in January, and since 
then, we've had a very full schedule which has included several 
hearings on the legality of the President's domestic spying program 
and, of course, countless hours marking up comprehensive immigration 
legislation.
  So, we are just now beginning our work on the Voting Rights Act. But 
our relatively late start here in the Senate should not be interpreted 
to suggest that the Voting Rights Act is not a priority compared to the 
other matters we have had to address. To the contrary, the actions we 
take with respect to the Voting Rights Act--like the actions we took 
during the Supreme Court confirmation hearings--will dramatically 
impact the rights and lives of American citizens for generations to 
come.
  The Voting Rights Act has been hailed as the single most effective 
piece of civil rights legislation that we have ever passed. The Act 
does not simply guarantee the right to vote, but it ensures the 
effective exercise of that fundamental right. In 1965, when President 
Johnson signed the bill into law, there were only 300 minorities 
elected to State, local, or federal office. Today, just 4 decades 
later, there are some 10,000 minorities serving as elected public 
officials.
  Leaders from both parties, including President Bush and Attorney 
General Gonzales, have said they support reauthorization. Today, 
leaders from both parties of both houses of Congress have come together 
to introduce this reauthorization bill.
  The magic of the Voting Rights Act is apparent in my own hometown, 
New York City. New York City is one of the most diverse cities in the 
country, and the Voting Rights Act has been extremely effective in 
ensuring that all of our citizens are able to participate equally in 
the political process. But many of the Act's successes in New York have 
come only since the last time we renewed its major provisions.
  For example, the first African American mayor of New York City wasn't 
elected until 1989, and the first African American wasn't elected to 
statewide office until 1994. In 2002, the first Asian American was 
elected to the New York City Council. And finally, just last year, a 
mayoral candidate became the first Latino to win his party's 
nomination.
  These strides are important, but they are too few and too recent to 
say for certain that the goals of the Voting Rights Act have been met. 
There is still a lot of work to do, and as a member of the Judiciary 
Committee, I look forward to reviewing the evidence and testimony that 
is going to be presented at our hearings in the weeks to come, and to 
working with my colleagues from both Houses and on both sides of the 
aisle to ensure that this bill is passed well before the deadline.

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