[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 28 (Wednesday, February 27, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E197-E198]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               SHELBY V. HOLDER AND THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 27, 2013

  Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, today the Supreme Court heard 
arguments in Shelby County, Alabama vs. Holder. This case presents a 
direct threat to Section Five of the Voting Rights Acts of 1965--the 
most effective civil rights legislation ever enacted by Congress.
   The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed just one year after I 
graduated high school.
   I was born and raised in El Paso, Texas, and I vividly remember the 
days of Jim Crow, segregation, and the poll tax.

[[Page E198]]

   Even now, in 2012, discrimination is still haunting us.
   It's not in the form of a poll tax, but it's in the cost of waiting 
in line for 7,8, 9 hours just to vote.
   We should be making it easier for everyone to participate in the 
democratic process, not harder.
   We still need the Voting Rights Act.
   We still need to be vigilant about protecting our full democratic 
right to vote.
   That right is the heart and soul of our democracy, and we must 
defend it.
   We will not go back.
   Should the Supreme Court rule against the Justice Department and 
overturn this important legislation, minority communities will lose 
these vital voting protections.
   Today, I attended a rally with my colleagues in the Congressional 
Black, Hispanic, and Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucuses 
outside the Supreme Court as oral arguments are delivered.
   Many of us were part of the 390-33 majority--along with 98 
Senators--who voted to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act in 2006.
   After an exhaustive review that lasted almost a year, including 21 
hearings, testimony from over 90 witnesses, and over 15,000 pages of 
evidence, Congress came to a nearly unanimous decision that protections 
are still needed to preserve the voting rights of ALL Americans.
   After all, it is this right that lies at the very heart of our 
democracy.
   The Voting Rights Act is routinely used to protect voters against 
efforts to dilute or suppress their vote. Section five is a critical 
tool to protect Americans whose voting rights continue to be threatened 
to this day. I am certain that the Supreme Court will uphold the will 
of Congress, and respect the overwhelming evidence and comprehensive 
review that led to President George W. Bush reauthorizing the Voting 
Rights Act in 2006.
   Voting is at the heart of our democracy and we must constantly fight 
to protect it when it is threatened.
   We have come a long way because of the work and sacrifice of 
millions who came before.
   We encourage and support democratic movements around the world, yet 
here in our country these rights are being eroded each and every day.
   Far too many have shed their blood and shed their tears.
   So we must protect the most valuable right, the most central right, 
the right that makes America the nation that it is: the right to vote.
   I call on every American to stand up and join us in the call to 
protect the right of every American to cast their vote.
   As our great Drum Major for Justice, Dr. King once said: ``Voting is 
the foundation stone for political action.'' Truly, our votes are the 
bedrock of democracy. We will not bow to voter suppression. These are 
our rights. We will not budge.
   As we pursue the Founding Father's vision of a more perfect union, I 
am proud to stand with my Congressional Black Caucus colleagues in 
defense of this critical tool for our democratic republic.

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