[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 94 (Thursday, June 27, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H4135]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           VOTING RIGHTS ACT

  (Mr. CUMMINGS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that I stand here 
today to remark on the Supreme Court's terrible decision to roll back 
one of the most effective safeguards to Americans' fundamental right to 
vote. The Court's decision ignores the current reality that voter 
suppression is alive and well in the United States. We saw indisputable 
evidence of its presence just last year. We saw attempts to implement 
discriminatory and unnecessary voter ID laws. We saw attempts to 
shorten early vote periods that have had a significant impact on 
minority voters.
  The ball is now in Congress' court. The Senate Judiciary Committee is 
already taking action to restore essential protections for minority 
voters, and I call on Speaker Boehner to exercise true leadership in 
the House.
  Ladies and gentlemen, this is our watch, and we must guard our rights 
for ourselves and for generations yet unborn. We must act swiftly and 
decisively in a bipartisan manner as we did in 2006 to create a new 
formula to ensure that the Voting Rights Act can continue to be a 
powerful tool to protect voters from discrimination.

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