[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 90 (Wednesday, July 12, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H5055]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           VOTING RIGHTS ACT

  (Mr. HONDA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. HONDA. Mr. Speaker, I would like to associate myself with all the 
comments that have been shared with this country on this floor this 
morning.
  My mother is a U.S. citizen. She was born in 1916. My father was born 
in 1914. Both U.S. citizens. My father was a linguist, so English, 
Japanese, Cantonese, Filipino were not a difficult thing for him.
  My mother was born in a family of farmers who believed that women 
should stay home and raise families, did not have the opportunity for 
the education that my father had. Her experiences are not much 
different from those who come to this country and choose to be U.S. 
citizens and would like to use their primary language as a way to 
understand and comprehend fully that which is before them.
  Prior to 1964, poll taxes, intelligence, literacy and property tests 
were used to sabotage the rights of voting citizens and circumvent the 
Constitution. Voting franchise came haltingly and very, very piecemeal 
to Asian Americans.
  Reauthorizing the Voting Rights Act will continue the franchise and 
the guarantee of votes for all people and all citizens of this country.

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