[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 19 (Monday, February 6, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H503-H510]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS: VOTER PROTECTION
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 5, 2011, the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs.
Christensen) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the
minority leader.
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
This evening, the Congressional Black Caucus is pleased to have a few
minutes of Special Order time to again come back to the issue of voter
protection.
As we know, many States have either passed laws restricting voter
participation in elections or are in the process of doing so. These
attacks, as we said last week, have taken many forms. They've been
expanding the ban that prevents felons from voting, cutting election
administration budgets, curtailing early voting, and eliminating same-
day registration.
Just in November, two members of the Congressional Black Caucus,
Keith Ellison and Gwen Moore, introduced a bill, the Voter Access
Protection Act, which would protect those rights and restore same-day
voter registration. The bill would reverse both the laws that curtail
early voting and that eliminate same-day registration. Some of these
laws allow for the intimidation of voter registration groups. Some
States are imposing strict ID requirements, creating barriers in
getting the required ID and also putting up barriers to students who
vote where they attend school.
Tonight, I am going to be joined by several Members, beginning with
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee from Texas, to again begin to raise
the country's awareness of some of the voting restrictions that are
being put in place across this country and to let the public know that
the Congressional Black Caucus, just as we did last year, will go
across the country to raise awareness of the need for jobs. We will
have job fairs from which we have actually put people to work in
several cities across this country. We've matched people who were out
of work with jobs. We're still waiting for this Congress to pass jobs
legislation, the American Jobs Act, and many of the other pieces of
legislation that the CBC and other Members have put forth, but this
time we're going to go across the country and focus on protecting the
right of Americans to vote.
At this time, I would yield such time as she might consume to
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas.
Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Let me thank Congresswoman Christensen for
her leadership as well as thank our chairman, Emanuel Cleaver. We had
the opportunity to host him in Houston this past weekend, and he raised
the issue of the challenges of voter protection.
I see that we are joined by our colleague from Ohio. Marcy Kaptur has
been a champion on these issues as well, and, frankly, has seen her
State be in the crosshairs of trying to protect all citizens' right to
vote.
I just want to follow up and say the Voting Rights Act is an act that
dignifies all voters because its premise is one person, one vote. The
tenets and the premise of the Voting Rights Act as passed: No matter
what your background in this Nation, you have an opportunity to vote.
If we keep with the integrity of the Voting Rights Act, the gist of its
message is don't block individuals from voting. That's simply what its
message is.
This is more than appropriate for which to rise to the floor today
because this is the month of the birth of Barbara Jordan, February 21.
Last year was her 75th year, and we're still commemorating it in
Houston. She was, again, part mother of the Voting Rights Act by adding
language minorities. By doing that, she spread the coverage of the
Voting Rights Act beyond the Deep South, which was the original core
group of States that was signed into law in 1965.
So I say thank you to the Honorable Barbara Jordan, one of our
colleagues and a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. I stand here
today to reject any undermining of the legislative
[[Page H504]]
intent and the coming together of Republicans and Democrats who voted
for that extension at the time she was in the United States Congress.
{time} 2020
Now we've come more than 30-some years later. When we reauthorized
the Voting Rights Act in 2007, there were a lot of rumors and thought
that we were extinguishing the Voting Rights Act. In fact, I want to
put all of our colleagues on notice that the Voting Rights Act is
always, in essence, in the crosshairs or in jeopardy for people who
believe wrongly about the Voting Rights Act.
The Voting Rights Act and protecting voters' rights, again, is to
make sure that seniors, to make sure that the disabled, to make sure
that those who face hardships--as we recall, there were enormous
hardships during Hurricane Katrina, when the citizens of New Orleans
were literally blocked from voting just because of the infrastructure
collapse; and there were terrible conditions in Alabama and Missouri
with tornadoes.
I recall the infrastructure of the 2004 election in Ohio when our
dear, late colleague Stephanie Tubbs Jones, worked so hard, along with
Marcy Kaptur, to thwart the breakdown of machines. I remember it well.
We came to the floor. We took issue with the election because how is it
that, all of a sudden, you have a breakdown of voting machines,
interestingly enough, in the minority community?
So this issue of voter protection is far-reaching. It is not
necessarily as clear-cut as some would like to say, ``It's for those
people.'' It's not for ``those people.'' In fact, it is for all
Americans.
And right now, we have a dilemma. The dilemma is that we have an
epidemic. Some 40 States have passed what we call voter ID. Texas
happens to be one of those States. Ohio was one of those States--and
I'm not going to give Ms. Kaptur's comments, but I do want to
congratulate Ohio for the work that they did. And she will tell you, it
was in the crosshairs. Again, I use that frequently. It was conflicted,
but it has been resolved; and she will, I'm sure, address that.
But there are other States who now are subjected to the oppressive,
depressive voter ID law. In the instance of the State of Texas, might I
say, that State allows you to use your gun license to vote; but a
student State-issued ID cannot be used. Elderly people now have to
travel miles, many of whom were born with midwives and missing birth
certificates, as was my mother who held onto her voting card that she
legitimately got until the end of her life. But she could not vote
today because, try as we may, for Ivalita Jackson to find her birth
certificate--we went halfway around the world and still were not able
to secure a certified copy of her birth certificate. I knew she was
born because she lived. And then I have had seniors in my own district
in wheelchairs, where they went with their family members to the site
where they are to get their voter ID, waiting long hours.
Right now in the State of Texas, we don't have an election date. We
don't even know what to tell our constituents about getting a voter ID
because--thank goodness, if I might say--we're now presently being
reviewed by the Department of Justice whether to preclear or not to
preclear this voter ID law. I hope that truth will prevail that it is
depressive and oppressive.
So I am very grateful that the Congressional Black Caucus will be
traveling to cities in a variety of regions of this Nation, including
our Southwest region, to argue vigorously for voter protections and for
ensuring the protection of all people's right to vote. I hope, as we
experienced in 2010, that the King Street Patriots who plagued our
inner city precincts--many of whom I saw--will not intimidate our
voters. I hope that when this election comes--for poll watchers and
others that come into our voting areas, minority and poor areas, people
who have the right to vote--that we will be there protecting everyone's
right to vote.
Let me be very clear: Poor is not a respective color. It impacts all.
And poor people who have difficulty in going somewhere to get a voter
ID, or in some States paying $40, a new poll tax, or can't get off from
work, that's voter protection. You can imagine there are people who
work who are afraid to ask their bosses for the allotted time off for
them to be able to vote.
The efforts of the Congressional Black Caucus, joining with our
colleagues, will stand up for each and every American. I am glad that
President Lyndon Baines Johnson, a Texan--I was just marveling at him
today; and his daughter, Luci Baines Johnson, joined us when we honored
Barbara Jordan's 75th birthday just a few months ago. We will continue
that with additional commemoration.
But the key is loving the right to vote, protecting the right to
vote; and supporting the Voting Rights Act is not solely with respect
to color. We welcome everyone who will accept the fact that it is our
birthright, as citizens, to be able to not be thwarted and stopped and
blocked from going to a poll and expressing our right to democracy.
Finally, let me say, I had the privilege of working for the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference; and I might say, it wasn't that long
ago. It was some years ago, but it wasn't that long ago. And my
friends, let me tell you, I traveled throughout Georgia, South
Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, the core States, among
others, that started out with Dr. King's great march and great efforts
to push the Congress and the President toward recognizing how many
people were left out of the right to vote. As a worker for the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference in the 1970s and beyond, I would go
into places where people of African American descent were frightened to
vote, were not registered to vote, were sharecroppers on plantations--
and I venture to say that there are crises in communities like that
even today. For us to go into those places was almost as if we were
creating an overthrow of the government.
I remember very distinctly--and I will say it on this floor--going up
to a leaning shanty building which was the place where these
sharecroppers and others who lived in the area were supposed to be
voting. The voting booth was, if you will, a ragged cloth covering an
area that you allegedly were going to vote in. Sitting on the front
porch of this tattered general store was a gentleman sitting with a
rifle across his lap to suggest no one is welcome here. When I went up
with my then rather young self, starry-eyed and trying to ask if this
was the voting site, all I could hear my colleagues say is ``Run; he
has a gun.'' And the next thing I heard as we were bending down behind
cars--something I had never heard that close to me--was shots ringing
out. This is not a joke. This is not something we don't take seriously.
I'll never forget that day for as long as I live, that someone would
block anyone from coming to a sacred and somber place to cast a vote
for a person of their choosing.
I want to thank the gentlelady for allowing me to participate,
recognizing that this fight is a fight that we should never give up,
and we should never categorize that voting rights is something about
those minorities. Voting rights are American rights, and they're rights
vested in the Declaration of Independence, which starts out by saying,
We all are created equal, with certain unalienable rights of life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
With that, I yield back to the gentlewoman, closing and saying, the
right to vote is part of the pursuit of happiness.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today joined by my fellow Congressional Black
Caucus Members to speak about a challenge facing millions of Americans.
This challenge skews the Constitutional fabric of our American society.
This fabric, woven together by liberty, justice, and equal rights, has
endured tremendous odds throughout the history of this great nation.
During Black History Month, we celebrate the vast contributions of
African Americans to our nation's history and identity. Throughout
America's history, African American men and women have persevered
through much hardship and prejudice to enrich our national life in
innumerable ways.
There are new landmarks to celebrate as time marches forward. In
November 2008, Americans elected the first African American to be
President. In October 2011, the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on
the National Mall was dedicated. On February 22, there will be
groundbreaking ceremony, on the National Mall near the Washington
Monument, for the National Museum of African American
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History and Culture, which Congress authorized in December 2003. It is
expected to open in 2015.
The theme of Black History Month this year is ``Black Women in
American Culture and History.'' This gives all Americans the
opportunity to pay tribute to the role African American women have
played in shaping our nation--with African American women often serving
as champions of social and political reforms.
Many African American families are still bearing the brunt of the
worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. In September,
President Obama sent to Congress the American Jobs Act, which would
strengthen the economy and is estimated to create 1.9 million jobs.
Over the last several months, Republican obstruction has been blocking
this bill from moving forward.
``Jobs and the economy are the number-one issue for African American
families, just as they are for all American families,'' commented
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. ``That is why my immediate focus is
on fighting for a payroll tax cut for 20 million African American
workers and to extend the lifeline of unemployment insurance for those
who have lost a job through no fault of their own.
I will also continue to work for the enactment of other provisions of
the President's American Jobs Act, that create jobs by helping small
businesses hire and grow, putting construction workers back on the job
rebuilding America, and preventing the layoff of teachers, firefighters
and police officers. These steps are critical to helping improve the
lives of African American families all across the country.''
As we celebrate Black History Month let us pay tribute to the
extraordinary contributions of past generations of African Americans
and work to reignite the American Dream today and for the next
generation. We must continue to work for an America that fully lives up
to its ideals and allows all Americans to reach their full potential.
Today, Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak to this Body about the need to
protect democracy, to protect the voice of the American people, and to
ensure the right to vote continues to be treated as a right under the
Constitution.
As we enter into Black History Month, it is important to recognize
the legacy that the right to vote has placed upon our nation. Black
History Month is a celebration of people who have gone before us and on
whose shoulders we stand, of people who stand among us today transfixed
on a goal to achieve even more. It is a time to pause and renew our
commitment to realize the progress and achievements of our people and
to go much further as we write our own chapter; a time to continue the
legacy of African American History. Today, African Americans, as other
minorities, know that we have not yet overcome the weight of not being
treated as full citizens of this great nation.
During Black History Month, we recognize and celebrate the countless
contributions of African American pioneers. These honorable men and
women faced unimaginable hardships and refused to allow the racial
inequalities and injustices of our past to inhibit their destiny. While
we recognize these celebrated American heroes, it is important to
understand that Black History Month was also designed to highlight the
extraordinary lives of ordinary people who have helped build our great
nation. Let us celebrate the African Americans who made amazing
sacrifices in the name of justice and equality in the past and let us
recommit ourselves to continuing to work for an America that fully
lives up to its ideals and ensures that every American has the tools
and opportunity to pursue the American Dream. In the present era, our
African American elected officials and the presidents of the various
civil rights, fraternal, business and religious organizations continue
to encourage our nation to keep its commitment to freedom and equality.
VOTING RIGHTS
Mr. Speaker, I am joined by my colleagues here today to call on all
Americans to reject and denounce tactics and measures that have
absolutely no place in this nation in 2012. We cannot turn the clock
back on the progress made by African Americans, and other minorities,
throughout the past century. We have made tremendous strides. Recent
voter ID legislation in states has attempted to turn back the clock to
disenfranchise millions of minorities in today's America.
During this Black History Month, we recognize the value that voting
has placed upon our society. In 1869, Americans voted to elect the
first African American to the U.S. Senate--Hiram Revels. Also in 1870,
the right to vote allowed Joseph H. Rainey to become the first black
member of the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1962, Americans elected
Augustus Hawkins, the first African American from California, to this
great Body.
American citizens cast their ballots in 1968 to elect Shirley
Chisholm as the first African American woman in Congress. In 1972,
American citizens exercised their right to vote and elected the
distinguished Barbara Jordan, who represented the 18th Congressional
District of Texas that I am now privileged to serve. In 2008, Americans
cast their ballots for Barack Obama, and elected him to become the
first African American President of the United States. President
Obama's historical election has given hope to millions of African
Americans across the country. In the face of great odds, the right to
vote has given Americans the power to stand fast for justice and
fairness, and yield to no one in the matter of defending the
Constitution and upholding the most sacred principles of a democratic
government.
As a Member of this body, I firmly believe that we must protect the
rights of all eligible citizens to vote. Over the past decades,
minorities in this country have witnessed a pattern of efforts to
intimidate and harass minority voters through so-called ``Voter ID''
requirements. I am sad to report that as we are beginning 2012, these
efforts continue.
African Americans have always believed in the principles set forth in
the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. I call on
all Americans to band together to fight for these principles and
against efforts to limit the right to vote for our elderly, African-
Americans, Hispanic and Latino Americans, as well as Asian-American
voters. Let us stand together for the voting rights that are granted to
citizens of our nation by our laws and our Constitution.
I call on Americans to stand against any measures that would have the
effect of preventing every eligible citizen from being able to vote.
Voting ensures active participation in democracy. The most effective
way to curb tactics of intimidation and harassment is to vote.
VOTING RIGHTS ACT
Never in the history of our nation, has the effect of one person, one
vote, been more important. Our history has taught us that denying the
right to vote based on race, gender or class is a blemish on the
democratic principles that we all value. The Voting Rights Act (VRA)
was a reaction to the actions of our past and a way to pave the road to
a new future.
The VRA was adopted in 1965 and was extended in 1970, 1975, and 1982.
This legislation is considered the most successful piece of civil
rights legislation ever adopted by the United States Congress. The Act
was due for reauthorization in the 2nd session of the 108th Congress.
The 108th voted to continue to protect voting rights for all Americans
in the future.
Under the VRA, states with a long history of voting discrimination
must obtain the approval of the Justice Department or the D.C. District
Court to change their voting practices. In 2006, Congress passed
legislation that continued to grant all Americans the right to vote.
Four states with new voter identification mandates, including my home
state of Texas, South Carolina, Mississippi, and Alabama, are required
under the Voting Rights Act to have these voting changes pre-cleared by
either the Department of Justice (DOJ) or a panel of federal judges.
Before they may be implemented, DOJ must certify that these laws do not
have the purpose or effect of restricting voting by racial or language
minority groups.
No right is more fundamental than the right to vote. It is protected
by more constitutional amendments than any other right we enjoy as
Americans. Broad political participation ensures the preservation of
all our other rights and freedoms. State laws that impose new
restrictions on voting, however, undermine our democracy by impeding
access to the polls and reducing the number of Americans who vote and
whose votes are counted.
CURRENT PRACTICES OF DISENFRANCHISEMENT
There have been several restrictive voting bills considered and
approved by states in the past several years. The most commonly
advanced initiatives are laws that require voters to present photo
identification when voting in person. Additionally, states have
proposed or passed laws to require proof of citizenship when
registering to vote; to eliminate the right to register to vote and to
submit a change of address within the same state on Election Day; to
shorten the time allowed for early voting; to make it more difficult
for third-party organizations to conduct voter registration; and even
to eliminate a mandate on poll workers to direct voters who go to the
wrong precinct.
A new crop of GOP governors and state legislators has passed a series
of seemingly disconnected measures that could prevent millions of
students, minorities, immigrants, ex-convicts and the elderly from
casting ballots. Republicans have long tried to drive Democratic voters
away from the polls. In a systematic campaign 38 states introduced
legislation this year designed to impede voters at every step of the
electoral process.
A dozen states have approved new obstacles to voting. Kansas and
Alabama now require would-be voters to provide proof of citizenship
before registering. Florida and Texas made it harder for groups like
the League of Women Voters to register new voters. Maine repealed
Election Day voter registration, which had been on the books since
1973. Florida,
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Georgia, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia--cut short their early
voting periods. Florida and Iowa barred all ex-felons from the polls,
disenfranchising thousands of previously eligible voters. And 6 states
controlled by Republican governors and legislatures--Alabama, Kansas,
South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin--will require voters to
produce a government-issued ID before casting ballots.
Furthermore, 6 states have introduced legislation to impose new
restrictions on voter registration drives run by groups like Rock the
Vote and the League of Women Voters. The Republican-controlled
legislature in Florida passed a law requiring anyone who signs up new
voters to hand in registration forms to the state board of elections
within 48 hours of collecting them, and to comply with a bombardment of
burdensome, bureaucratic requirements. Those found to have submitted
late forms would face a $1,000 fine, as well as possible felony
prosecution. As a result, the law threatens to turn civic-minded
volunteers into unintentional criminals.
Florida and Ohio--which now have conservative Republican governors--
have shortened the time for early voting for 2012. Early voting will be
cut from 14 to 8 days in Florida and from 35 to 11 days in Ohio, with
limited hours on weekends. In addition, both states banned voting on
the Sunday before the election--a day when black churches historically
mobilize their constituents.
The biggest change in election rules for 2012 is the number of states
requiring a government-issued photo ID, the most important tactic in
the Republican war on voting. In Texas, under ``emergency'' legislation
passed by the GOP-dominated legislature and signed by Gov. Rick Perry,
a concealed-weapon permit is considered an acceptable ID but a student
ID is not. Republicans in Wisconsin mandated that students can only
vote if their IDs include a current address, birth date, signature and
two-year expiration date--requirements that no college or university ID
in the state currently meets. As a result, 242,000 students in
Wisconsin may lack the documentation required to vote next year.
In South Carolina, the 178,000 South Carolinians who do not have a
state-issued ID must pay for a passport or a birth certificate to
obtain the free state-issued ID now required to vote. Under the new
law, many elderly black residents--who were born at home in the
segregated South and never had a birth certificate--must now go to
family court to prove their identity.
PROPONENTS
The proponents of voter identification legislation suggest that there
is extensive voter fraud when Americans go to the polls. Mr. Speaker, I
am here to lay that claim to rest. Laws requiring photo identification
to vote are a ``solution'' in search of a problem. The fact is voter
fraud in this United States is rare. There is no credible evidence that
in-person impersonation voter fraud--the only type of fraud that photo
IDs could prevent--is even a minor problem. Multiple studies have found
that almost all cases of alleged in-person impersonation voter
``fraud'' are actually the result of a voter making an inadvertent
mistake about their eligibility to vote, and that even these mistakes
are extremely infrequent.
A major probe by the Justice Department between 2002 and 2007 failed
to prosecute a single person for going to the polls and impersonating
an eligible voter, which the anti-fraud laws are supposedly designed to
stop. Out of the 300 million votes cast in that period, federal
prosecutors convicted only 86 people for voter fraud--and many of the
cases involved immigrants and former felons who were simply unaware of
their ineligibility.
According to Barnard political scientist Lorraine Minnite, most
instances of improper voting involve registration and eligibility, such
as voters filling out registration forms incorrectly or a person with
felony convictions attempting to register. Neither of those issues
would be prevented by a state photo ID requirement. According to George
Washington University law professor Spencer Overton, a former member of
the Commission on Federal Election Reform, ``a photo ID requirement
would prevent over 1,000 legitimate votes (perhaps over 10,000
legitimate votes) for every single improper vote prevented.''
There are people who believe that voter ID is required because
perpetrators of voting fraud do not face serious legal consequences.
Both federal and state laws include stiff fines and imprisonment for
voter fraud. Under federal law, perpetrators face up to five years in
prison and a fine of $10,000 for each act of fraud. In Alabama, voter
fraud is punishable by up to two years in prison and a $2,000 fine. In
Wisconsin, the punishment is up to 3\1/2\ years in prison and a $10,000
fine. Missouri imposes a penalty of up to five years in prison and a
$10,000 fine. And in Texas, the maximum prison sentence is 10 years.
Mr. Speaker, proponents further suggest that requiring ID at the
polls impact all voters equally. Well, Mr. Speaker, the truth is State
photo ID restrictions disproportionately impact African Americans,
Latinos, young voters, people over 65 and people with disabilities. The
Advancement Project showed that 11 percent of eligible voters, or about
21 million people, don't have updated, state-issued photo IDs: 25
percent of which are African Americans, 15 percent of those earning
less than $35,000, 18 percent of citizens age 65 or older and 20
percent of voters age 18 to 29.
Mr. Speaker, those who wish to restrict the right of Americans to
vote believe that new voter ID laws are cheap and easy for states and
citizens. Voter ID laws deny the right to vote to thousands of
registered voters who do not have, and, in many instances, cannot
obtain the limited identification states accept for voting. Many of
these Americans cannot afford to pay for the required documents needed
to secure a government issued photo ID. As such, these laws impede
access to the polls and are contrary to the fundamental right to vote.
The Advancement Project's report ``What's Wrong With This Picture?''
shows that taxpayers will bear the costs of these measures--more than
$20 million in North Carolina, for example, to educate voters and
provide free IDs to those without them, as the state's law requires.
For voters, even if an ID is free, getting the documents to obtain it
can be expensive and difficult.
Many states require at least four original forms of identification to
obtain a photo ID--documents such as a certified birth certificate,
marriage or divorce record, adoption record, a Social Security card, or
naturalization papers. A birth certificate in Texas costs $22, a U.S.
passport costs as much as $145 and naturalization papers can run up to
$200. People born out of state who lack transportation, work multiple
jobs, have disabilities, or are home-bound or poor cannot access or
afford these documents.
Now that many states have reduced hours and locations of motor
vehicle departments and other agencies because of budget cutbacks,
getting an ID can be a battle. In Wisconsin, 25 percent of DMV offices
are open one day a month or less, and fewer than half are open at least
20 hours a week. What can prospective voters who have to work or care
for their children during these limited hours do but go without?
Mr. Speaker, current voter ID laws are based on partisan politics.
The push for photo ID laws and other restrictions is largely championed
by Republicans and conservative groups. Record rates of voter
registration and turnout among young and minority voters in 2008
affected federal races across the nation, as about two-thirds of new
voters registered as Democrats in the 29 states that record party
affiliation. The 2010 midterms put more conservatives in office who
want to combat this trend. The right-wing American Legislative Exchange
Council, for example, drafted and promoted photo ID legislation that
was introduced in more than 30 states.
IMPACT OF REQUIRING VOTER ID
These recent changes are on top of the disfranchisement laws in
states that deprive minorities of their political voice. In total, more
than 21 million Americans of voting age lack documentation that would
satisfy photo ID laws and a disproportionate number of these Americans
are low-income, racial and ethnic minorities, and the elderly. Minority
citizens are less likely to possess government-issued photo
identification. African-American citizens also disproportionately lack
photo identification. Nearly 25% of African-American voting-age
citizens have no current government-issued photo ID, compared to 8% of
white voting-age citizens. Using 2000 census figures, this amounts to
more than 5.5 million adult African-American citizens without photo
identification. Further, about 16% of Hispanic voting-age citizens have
no current government-issued photo ID.
It is important to focus on both expanding the franchise and ending
practices which actually threaten the integrity of the elections, such
as improper purges of voters, voter harassment, and distribution of
false information about when and where to vote. None of these issues,
however, are addressed or can be resolved with a photo ID requirement.
Furthermore, requiring voters to pay for an ID, as well as the
background documents necessary to obtain an ID in order to vote is
tantamount to a poll tax. Although some states issue IDs for free, the
birth certificates, passports, or other documents that are required to
secure a government-issued ID cost money, and many Americans simply
cannot afford to pay for them. In addition, obtaining a government-
issued photo ID is not an easy task for all members of the electorate.
According to the Brennan Center for Justice, citizens with
comparatively low incomes are less likely to possess photo
identification. Citizens earning less than $35,000 per year are more
than twice as likely to lack current government-issued photo
identification as those earning more than $35,000. At least 15 percent
of voting-age American citizens earning
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less than $35,000 per year do not have a valid government-issued photo
ID. Low-income individuals who lack the funds to pay for documentation,
people with disabilities with limited access to transportation, and
elderly citizens are less likely to possess government-issued photo
identification. Nearly 18% of American citizens age 65 and above do not
have current government-issued photo ID. Using 2005 census estimates,
this amounts to more than 6 million senior citizens.
Americans, who never had a birth certificate and cannot obtain
alternate proof of their birth in the U.S., are among those who face
significant or insurmountable obstacles to getting the photo ID needed
to exercise their right to vote.
In addition, women who have changed their names due to marriage or
divorce often experience difficulties with identity documentation, as
did Andrea, who recently moved from Massachusetts to South Carolina and
who, in the span of a month, spent more than 17 hours online and in
person trying without success to get a South Carolina driver's license.
Instances of voter intimidation are not long ago and far away. Just
last year I sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to draw
his attention to several disturbing instances of voter intimidation
that had taken place in Houston. In a single week there were at least
15 reports of abuse of voter rights throughout the city of Houston.
As a Senior Member of the House Judiciary Committee, I called for an
immediate investigation of these instances. Many of these incidents of
voter intimidation were occurring in predominately minority
neighborhoods and have been directed at African-Americans and Latinos.
It is unconscionable to think that anyone would deliberately employ the
use of such forceful and intimidating tactics to undermine the
fundamental, Constitutional right to vote. However, such conduct has
regrettably occurred in Houston, and I urge you to take appropriate
action to ensure that it does not recur.
A long, bitter, and bloody struggle was fought for the Voting Rights
Act of 1965 so that all Americans could enjoy the right to vote,
regardless of race, ethnicity, or national origin. Americans died in
that fight so that others could achieve what they had been forcefully
deprived of for centuries--the ability to walk freely and without fear
into the polling place and cast a voting ballot.
VOTER ID
An election with integrity is one that is open to every eligible
voter. Restrictive voter ID requirements degrade the integrity of our
elections by systematically excluding large numbers of eligible
Americans.
I do not argue with the notion that we must prevent individuals from
voting who are not allowed to vote. Yet a hidden argument in this bill
is that immigrants may ``infiltrate'' our voting system. Legal
immigrants who have successfully navigated the citizenship maze are
unlikely to draw the attention of the authorities by attempting to
register incorrectly. Similarly, undocumented immigrants are even less
likely to risk deportation just to influence an election.
If for no other reason than after a major disaster be it earth
quakes, fires, floods or hurricanes, we must all understand how
vulnerable our system is. Families fleeing the hurricanes and fires
suffered loss of property that included lost documents. Compounding
this was the devastation of the region, which virtually shut down civil
services in the area. For example, New Orleans residents after
Hurricane Katrina were scattered across 44 states. These uprooted
citizens had difficulty registering and voting both with absentee
ballots and at satellite voting stations. As a result, those elections
took place fully 8 months after the disaster, and it required the
efforts of non-profits, such as the NAACP, to ensure that voters had
the access they are constitutionally guaranteed.
We need to address the election fraud that we know is occurring, such
as voting machine integrity and poll volunteer training and competence.
After every election that occurs in this country, we have solid
documented evidence of voting inconsistencies and errors. In 2004, in
New Mexico, malfunctioning machines mysteriously failed to properly
register a presidential vote on more than 20,000 ballots. 1 million
ballots nationwide were flawed by faulty voting equipment--roughly one
for every 100 cast.
Those who face the most significant barriers are not only the poor,
minorities, and rural populations. 1.5 million college students, whose
addresses often change, will also have difficulty providing
documentation.
In fact, newly married individuals face significant barriers to
completing a change in surname. For instance, it can take 6- 8 weeks to
receive the marriage certificate in the mail, another two weeks (and a
full day waiting in line) to get the new Social Security card, and
finally three-four weeks to get the new driver's license. There is a
significant possibility that this bill will also prohibit newlyweds
from voting if they are married within three months of Election Day.
The right to vote is a critical and sacred constitutionally protected
civil right. To challenge this is to erode our democracy, challenge
justice, and mock our moral standing. I urge my colleagues to join me
in dismissing this crippling legislation, and pursue effective
solutions to the real problems of election fraud and error. We cannot
let the rhetoric of an election year destroy a fundamental right upon
which we have established liberty and freedom.
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. I thank you for coming and for making that very
strong presentation and for sharing that story with us which lets us
know that, not so very long ago, people were really blocked from voting
and took their lives in their hands just trying to exercise that simple
right, the right to vote.
I would like to now yield to our colleague from Ohio, Congresswoman
Marcy Kaptur.
{time} 2030
Ms. KAPTUR. I want to thank Dr. Christensen for holding this very,
very important Special Order as we begin Black History Month here in
the United States and say how proud I am to serve with her, her path-
breaking work in health care, leading us to coverage for all, to
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. I had not heard that story, what she
personally has lived and helped push America forward to a new day. It
is my distinct pleasure and honor to be here with them tonight.
I wanted to participate in this Special Order because of what we are
going through in Texas and Ohio and Florida, and around this country
with redistricting. It is true that Ohio, because the population hasn't
grown, has to lose two seats. But we have seen a redistricting like
none other. I wanted to put some of this on the record because I think
scholars around the country and young people studying could really take
a look at what has happened in this recent redistricting that I think
has a subtle and very insidious agenda that isn't immediately apparent
to the eye.
I had a woman come up to me yesterday in a church in Ohio. She
happened to be an African American woman. She said: I want to ask you a
question, Congresswoman. Why is my voting location changed all of the
time? Why is my precinct flipped all the time?
I said: You know, ma'am, I know something is going on here that isn't
good. Ohio was never technically a voting rights State, but there's
something strange. And I thought I would put on the record some of
what's strange about what's happening in Ohio.
Individuals like herself constantly have to go to a different
precinct. She never moved her house. She lives in the same place. A lot
of people maybe don't realize that their precinct has been changed, and
some percent of people will not go to the other precinct. It may be a
small percent. It may be 0.02 percent; but you add that up around a
State that votes 50/50, and you begin to see a fall off in voting.
I can tell you this, and I wish to place this on the Nation's record
tonight: for every Republican Congress Member from Ohio who sits here,
and they have the majority, 13 out of 18, their home county was kept
whole. Every single one. But for every Democrat--there are only five of
us out of 18--their home county was crashed and broken up into parts.
Every urban county, if you look around at the five of us who are
here: Cuyahoga has been split into four parts in a very strange way;
Lucas County is missing its western half now; you go down to Akron, you
look at that county, cities like Parma, Parma, Ohio, one of the largest
cities in Ohio, sliced in half. What do those places all have in
common? They all happen to be urban areas. They have mixed populations.
They have diversity. They like people who aren't like themselves. They
like the diversity of life. Those communities have been hacked apart in
Ohio.
Our colleague, Congresswoman Betty Sutton, 42 percent of the
precincts in her new district are broken. That means booth workers can
make mistakes. More than one Member of Congress is running in that
precinct. Sometimes as many as three are running in the same precinct.
When that goes on the ballot, do you realize how much confusion, even
if everybody has an IQ of a gazillion, somebody is going to go in the
booth and put the wrong
[[Page H508]]
vote on the ballot because of the confusion with so many Members
running in the same precinct.
Booth workers will make mistakes. And just like the woman I mentioned
at the beginning whose precinct keeps changing although she hasn't
moved, there is a certain percentage of error involved in that. And
it's happening in the Democratic areas, not the Republican.
So I would say this: I would ask those who are listening tonight to
think about really peeling apart the layers of this redistricting in
places like Texas and Ohio and look at the subtle nature of the type of
gerrymandering that's being done around the country. Communities are
being hacked apart. Communities of interest are being hacked apart.
Doesn't Parma, Ohio, have the right to be its own city? It's hard
enough to get things done across communities where needs are great. We
have so many people losing their homes. There's all kinds of problems
in this country with the unemployment, but we make it harder for
communities to hold together. There seems to be something un-American
about that. There seems to be something really ugly, something very
insidious when it pulls people apart rather than holds them together.
We have one Congressman, actually a Republican from the other side of
the aisle. Ohio has 88 counties. Do you know how many counties they put
in his district, 20; 20 out of 88. That means 60 county commissioners.
Can you imagine how many mayors? Unbelievable. This makes no sense. But
it's what happened. And I am very concerned, as my colleagues are,
about what happens to people who are elderly, who can't travel far, who
sometimes have trouble seeing.
And as you start switching things around and you make it more
difficult, even I notice the way they print the absentee ballots in
Ohio--I'm glad to have them early--but you need a magnifying glass to
see the letters when we know that the population in many of these urban
areas are a high percentage of senior citizens.
There's something very un-American, something very unfriendly about
what is going on here. It makes me think about the Voting Rights Act
and maybe strengthening it and taking a particular look at urban areas
that are being broken up in very, very strange ways. You can't even
explain, the lines don't even make any sense where they are putting
them in urban areas. It's like they are shattering communities of
interest. There's something really wrong about that.
I wanted to say also to Congresswoman Christensen, in Ohio we've had
a lot of great African Americans. I've had the opportunity to serve
with some of them here, and I would like to place in the Record tonight
the names of some of them in honor of Black History Month.
One of the individuals I would like to talk about is a great writer,
Toni Morrison, a woman who was born in Lorain, Ohio, now part of the
Ninth Congressional District. We know how important Black History Month
is because it's the time of the year to reflect and be thankful for the
countless contributions of African Americans like Ms. Morrison who have
made enduring contributions to American life and to world history.
This year's Black History Month theme is ``Black Women in American
Culture and History.'' And I would say this Caucasian woman is very
proud to join my colleagues of color and say that I'm glad it's all
women down here tonight for the moment because, really, our voices need
to be magnified, and certainly Ms. Morrison did that. In honoring
women, we honor her. She is exactly the type of person we should be
recognizing, given this Black History Month's theme, for her work in
American literature.
She is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and became the first black
woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature, making her the 90th Nobel
Laureate in literature. She came from Lorain, Ohio. She didn't come
from the places that are known as the cultural meccas. She came from a
tough place where people work hard for a living. She was born during
the Great Depression in that working-class city. Ms. Morrison showed an
interest in literature at an early age. Through hard work, she received
degrees from Howard University here and Cornell. She subsequently
taught at Texas Southern University, Howard University, Yale, and
Princeton. Her contributions to American history come from her six
novels. During her Nobel Prize ceremony, the Permanent Secretary of the
Academy said: ``In her depictions of the world of the black people, in
life as in legend, Toni Morrison has given the Afro-American people
their history back, piece by piece.''
Mr. Speaker let us take time to fully recognize the contributions of
Toni Morrison and the many others during this year's Black History
Month. While the United States is facing many challenges today, it is
incumbent upon us to ensure that the work of leaders such as Tony
Morrison do not go unnoticed.
I just wanted to mention, also, she penned a story about a girl from
her childhood who prayed for blue eyes. I happen to have blue eyes. I
never thought about that. She said this was the basis for her first
novel, ``The Bluest Eye,'' published in 1970. I have to say I admire
the African American people because I always wanted curly hair, and I
never really had it. So you see, we learn from one another and
appreciate from one another.
In concluding tonight, let me say that I wish to place in the Record
from the Cleveland Plain Dealer a wonderful story honoring the
achievements of great African Americans who have come from our part of
America. There are a few whose names I would like to read into the
Record: Langston Hughes, playwright, poet and writer; our dear beloved
colleague, Stephanie Tubbs Jones, the first black woman to be elected
to Congress from Ohio. I miss her to this day. I have her picture in my
office. Halle Berry, the first black woman to win an Academy Award as
best actress. Think about that.
{time} 2040
Carl B. Stokes was the first black mayor--first black mayor--of a
major American city, and it was Cleveland, Ohio--Cleveland, Ohio. We
are so proud of that. And I was proud to serve with his bother, Louis
Stokes, who was here for so many years, who preceded me on the
Appropriations Committee.
I could go on, Mr. Speaker. There are others who wish to speak
tonight. But I have to say, I'm proud to be an Ohioan, one of the
States that was always a free State, home of the Underground Railroad
as it came through, and people disembarked and escaped for their lives
to places like Canada through northern Ohio, through the communities
that I am privileged to represent now.
I am very proud to stand with my colleague, Dr. Christensen, here
tonight, in honoring all Americans, certainly in this Black History
Month, and what they have taught us over our centuries about full
representation and the decent and fair treatment of people. What a
legacy they have given and continue to create for our country. I want
to thank the gentlelady for yielding to me this evening.
[From Cleveland.com--The Plain Dealer, Feb. 2, 2012]
Toni Morrison, Author, Won Pulitzer, Nobel Prizes: Black History Month
(By Ellen Kleinerman)
As part of Black History Month, we recognize Toni Morrison,
a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and the first black woman
to win a Nobel Prize in literature.
Morrison, born Chloe Anthony Wofford in 1931, grew up
during the Great Depression in a working-class neighborhood
in Lorain, where European immigrants, Mexicans and Southern
blacks lived. As a child, Morrison listened intently to the
stories her parents, Ramah and George Wofford, told of the
traditions and struggles of blacks in the South.
Morrison earned a B.A. at Howard University in 1953 and an
M.A. at Cornell University in 1955 in humanities. At Howard,
she met Jamaican architect Harold Morrison. They married in
1958, had two sons and divorced six years later. For a
temporary escape from her unhappy marriage, Morrision joined
a small writer's group, where she penned a story about a girl
from her childhood who prayed for blue eyes. This was the
basis for her first novel ``The Bluest Eye,'' published in
1970.
Morrison worked for Random House publishing and taught at
several universities including Yale and Princeton.
Her novel ``Beloved,'' about a captured slave woman who
tried to kill her children rather than see them live as
slaves, won the Pulitzer in 1988. She won the Nobel Prize in
1993
[[Page H509]]
____
[From Cleveland.com--[The Plain Dealer, Feb. 2, 2012]
Honoring achievements
As part of Black History Month, The Plain Dealer will
recognize accomplishments of the region's black community.
The newspaper will profile important people, places and
events daily through February.
This is the second year that the paper has published a
monthlong series of profiles for Black History Month. Go to
cleveland.com/specialreports to see profiles from last year.
Last year's list included:
Langston Hughes, playwright, poet and writer
Larry Doby, the first black player in the American League
Garrett A. Morgan, inventor of the gas mask and traffic
signal
St. John's Episcopal Church, one of the stops on the
Underground Railroad
Stephanie Tubbs Jones, first black woman elected to
Congress in Ohio
Charlie Sifford, first black golfer on the PGA Tour
Frank Robinson, first black manager of a major-league
baseball team
Jesse Owens, track gold medalist
The Rev. Otis Moss, Jr., civil rights leader
Cleveland Buckeyes, Negro League Baseball team
Thomas Fleming, first black Cleveland councilman
Jim Brown, Cleveland Browns fullback and NFL Hall of Famer
Bertha Josephine Blue, taught Italian immigrants English
John Patterson Green, first black state senator from the
North
Halle Berry, first black woman to win an Academy Award as
best actress
Harry Edward Davis, second black in the Ohio Senate
John O. Holly, Jr., civil rights leader
Mary B. Martin, the first black woman elected to the
Cleveland Board of Education
Eliza Bryant, created first facility for aging blacks
League Park, supported the Negro League during segregation
Carl B. Stokes, first black mayor of a major American city
Arsenio Hall, comedian, actor and late-night talk show host
Jane Edna Hunter, nurse, lawyer and social worker who
founded the Phillis Wheatley Association
Harrison Dillard, Olympic gold medalist
President Barack Obama's 2008 rally
Phillis Wheatley Association, helped black women who
migrated from the South
Central High School, allowed black students to enroll
before the Civil War
Karamu House, the longest-running black arts and theater
center in the country
Chester Himes, first black mystery writer
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Well, thank you. We appreciate your joining us and
pointing out some of the inconsistencies that are occurring in Ohio and
also paying tribute to Toni Morrison.
We do have one of the gentlemen of the Congressional Black Caucus
joining us tonight, and that is Congressman Al Green of Texas, a leader
in his area in the NAACP for many years, and now a leader in the
Congress and all the time a leader of our country.
Thank you for joining us, Congressman Al Green.
Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Thank you very much for yielding to me. I
greatly appreciate it. And, of course, I want to thank all of the
members of the CBC for the stellar work that has been done in this area
of publishing the history of Africans in the Americas, known as African
Americans.
I'd like to, tonight, just address a very simple topic that has a lot
of meaning, the whole notion that great people will always rise to the
occasion. However, it also takes great people to make the occasion; and
on occasions such as this, we often mention the great ones: the great
Thurgood Marshall, the great litigator that he was, winning more than
29 cases, I believe, before the Supreme Court of the United States of
America.
But in talking about the cases that he won, approximately 29 is what
I recall, we also should remember that there were other persons who
helped to make the occasion for the great Thurgood Marshall who went on
to become a Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States of
America. One such person would be Charles Hamilton Houston.
A great story about Charles Hamilton Houston, he was the person who
produced the strategy that the Honorable Thurgood Marshall followed to
help the NAACP litigate the cases that went before the Supreme Court,
more specifically, the case of Brown v. Board of Education, which
helped us to integrate society by way of desegregation.
There's a story about Thurgood that many people are not aware of. He
applied to the University of Maryland Law School and he was denied
access because of his color. And I'm not angry with the University of
Maryland. As a matter of fact, it was because they rejected him that he
went to Howard University, where he met the Honorable Charles Hamilton
Houston. And it was there that their friendship blossomed such that
Thurgood acquired this intelligence about the strategy to use the
Constitution and litigation to bring about a more perfect Union.
The interesting story, however, is not complete unless we go on to
talk about how Thurgood, who graduated at the top of his class, went on
to practice law, and one of his first cases involved a person who was
denied access to the University of Maryland. He won that lawsuit. So
history has a way of causing persons who have been rejected to have the
opportunity to make a difference in the lives of other persons who may
be similarly situated.
I am so honored that Thurgood Marshall finished at Howard University
and went to become chief litigator for the NAACP; but all of this was
predicated upon his having a great relationship with another person who
made headway, did not necessarily make the same kind of headlines, the
honorable Charles Hamilton Houston.
We talk about the Honorable Rosa Parks and how she took a seat and
ignited a spark that started the civil rights movement, but there was
another person who took a seat before Rosa who was arrested,
handcuffed, and taken to jail. She was a 15-year-old girl. Her name was
Claudette Colvin. She, too, suffered the same fate as the Honorable
Rosa Parks, but she didn't make the headlines. She did make headway
such that when the Honorable Rosa Parks was arrested, it become more of
a story. Of course, Rosa Parks had status in the community, and that
was, in no small way, a contribution to her receiving the attention
that she did.
And, by the way, Rosa Parks wasn't just tired. She was tired in the
sense that she was tired of injustice, and she took a stand against
injustice because she was tired of injustice.
The interesting thing about this story is that the bus boycott that
took place didn't end because of the boycott alone. I think that had
something to do with it because it probably helped to shape public
opinion. But there were three other females who filed a lawsuit that
made its way to the Supreme Court of the United States of America:
Browder, McDonald, and Smith. It was that lawsuit that they won, they
made headway. They didn't make the lasting headlines, but they made the
difference in the Montgomery bus boycott.
And, of course, we always talk about Dr. King, and we should, because
he paid the ultimate price. He made the ultimate sacrifice. But we
should not forget that before Dr. King marched from Selma to
Montgomery, there were others who set out to march from Selma to
Montgomery, and they did not make it across. Well, they made it across
the Edmund Pettus Bridge, but that was where they met strong resistance
from officers who had billy clubs, and they resisted the marchers. They
didn't resist them; they actually took them on, and they beat them all
the way back to the church where they started.
I enjoy hearing John Lewis tell the story not because of the
suffering, but because he tells it in such a way as to cause me to have
some degree of appreciation for what they went through on Bloody Sunday
and how they paid a price. There were many people there on Bloody
Sunday. The Honorable John Lewis was among them. They made headway and
they made headlines, but their names have not been mentioned. And these
are the people who made the occasion such that the Honorable Dr. Martin
Luther King would come to Selma and proceed with the march that
eventually took them from Selma to Montgomery. They made headway. They
didn't always make headlines, but they made a great contribution.
And, of course, we know of the Honorable Barack Obama, the first
African American President of the United States of America, who did not
get there because of his color. He is President because he is capable,
competent, and qualified. But before he ran, there was a woman who ran,
the Honorable Shirley Chisholm. She was the first African American to
run for President from a major political party. She didn't get the
nomination of the party, but she did run from a major political party.
[[Page H510]]
So we should remember that for every James Chaney, there were persons
who were in the shadows who made a difference. John Lewis was one of
them. For every Thurgood Marshall, there's a Charles Hamilton Houston
who mentored, who made a difference in the life of a Thurgood Marshall
such that he could go on to do the great things that he did. For every
Rosa Parks, there is a person who is in the shadows, who made a
difference, who helped to make the occasion such that Rosa Parks could
rise to the occasion by taking a seat and igniting a spark that started
the civil rights movement.
Let us remember not only the persons who made the great headlines
that we continually recognize, but let's remember that there were other
persons who made great headway who don't get the recognition today that
they merit, but they were a part of this great movement for liberty and
justice for African Americans across the length and breadth of this
country.
{time} 2050
At some point, I shall talk about persons who were of many hues who
also participated in this great movement, because we didn't get here by
ourselves. There were many persons of many colors who marched and
protested. Many of them gave their lives to this movement as well--John
Shillady comes to mind, who was beaten in Austin, Texas, and as a
result of that beating lost his life. He was an NAACPer, he was Anglo.
Of course we know about Goodman and Chaney and Schwerner. And two of
them, of course, were not African Americans, Schwerner and Goodman.
So I think that on occasions like this we should always celebrate the
great and noble African Americans who made great sacrifices, remember
those who were in the shadows, and also remember that there were others
of many hues, of many ethnicities and many religions who were right
there with us to help us arrive at this point in our history.
And I thank you so much for this time to mention some of the great
ones, and some of those who were great but did not receive the acclaim
that they richly deserve. And I thank you again. God bless you, and God
bless America.
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Thank you, Congressman Green. And thank you for
reminding us of the many, many unsung heroes and heroines on whose
shoulders we also stand here today.
This is Black History Month, and on many occasions throughout
February the Congressional Black Caucus will be here on the floor to
talk about the ones that we know and those that we don't hear much
about. There is a lot of our history that of course we're very proud
of--the Long March to Freedom, the march for the right to vote, and
today, where we now have 43 members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
But we also have history that we're not going back to; and Sheila
Jackson Lee, when she was speaking earlier, reminded us of some of that
history.
Going back to the other topic of our Special Order, the right to vote
and protecting that right to vote, tomorrow the Congressional Black
Caucus, led by our chairman, Reverend Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, will
be submitting a House resolution condemning the passage of legislation
that would unduly burden an American citizen's ability to vote, and
opposing any State election law or proposed legislation that would have
a disproportionate impact on vulnerable communities across this
country.
When we introduce this, I think this is clearly a resolution that
would signify the sense of Congress. It should be a resolution that
every Member, Republican and Democrat, should support, supporting the
right of every American citizen to vote freely and to have that vote
counted. And we would invite all of the Members of the House to join us
in that resolution, to become cosponsors, and we would ask the
leadership to bring it to the floor for a vote.
Again, it condemns the passage of legislation that would unduly
burden an American citizen's ability to vote and opposes any of those
State election laws or proposed laws that would have a disproportionate
impact, because historically we know that people of color have been
barred from voting.
The passage of these restrictive voting laws, the resolution reminds
us, is reminiscent of the Jim Crow-era poll taxes and literacy tests
that disenfranchised thousands of African Americans. It also reminds us
that these laws do more to suppress the right to vote than to protect
our electoral system. There's a lot of talk about these laws being
passed and proposed because of fraud in the election system, but
there's no proof that there is any fraud. So these laws are really
about suppressing the right to vote.
General Leave
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of this Special
Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands?
There was no objection.
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to
speak about the significance of February as Black History Month. Black
History Month was first observed in 1976, and has become a successful
effort to bring a greater understanding of African American history to
all people in the U.S. Since the first observance of Black History
Month, this country has seen increased recognition of the numerous
contributions and sacrifices that African Americans have made
throughout the United States.
From the pioneering inventions of Garrett A. Morgan, to the famous
writings of Maya Angelou, African Americans have been responsible for
many of the successes and innovations that have defined our Nation.
Since Black History Month was first conceived, we recognized these
ground-breaking accomplishments and celebrated them together as a
country.
However, every great triumph is not without tribulation. Much of what
Black History Month is about is the recognition of the suffering that
African Americans have had to endure. After slavery was abolished,
Black Americans still faced racial intolerance and inequality. We need
only to look to history to reflect on a period when African Americans
were denied the right to vote.
Even with passage of the Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution, many still chose to circumvent the law and disenfranchise
voters. From literacy tests to poll taxes, these tactics were designed
to keep U.S. citizens from exercising their right to vote, and to have
a voice in a diverse democratic system. It was not until the Voting
Rights Act of 1965 was ultimately enacted that these menacing policies
were outlawed.
Mr. Speaker, Black History Month goes further than just the
recognition of African Americans and their distinct role in shaping
U.S. history. Black History Month is very much about our struggle as a
Nation to uphold our democratic principles of fairness and equality for
all. The struggle and triumph that is honored during this important
time has come to benefit every American--regardless of their gender,
race, or creed--by furthering a culture of equality, fairness, and
justice. These important lessons from our past are ones that we must
never forget as we move triumphantly into the future.
____________________