[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 96 (Thursday, June 19, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H5505-H5506]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215
                      VOTING RIGHTS AMENDMENT ACT

  (Ms. CHU asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. CHU. Mr. Speaker, one of the most precious rights we have as 
Americans is the right to vote. But every day it is becoming more 
difficult to do it.
  Today is nearly 1 year after the Supreme Court's Shelby decision, 
which gutted provisions of the Voting Rights Act. States quickly moved 
to restrict voting rights. In fact, hours after Shelby, Texas announced 
its voter ID law would be implemented immediately. Thank goodness the 
Federal court blocked it.
  Without these protections, minority communities will be 
disproportionately affected. The Voting Rights Act ensured equal access 
to the ballot box, and it protected voters like Rose

[[Page H5506]]

Thompson. Rose is 79 years old and has voted all her life, but this 
November she will likely be turned away. Rose was born at home in 
Jackson, Mississippi, and never received a birth certificate, so she 
can't obtain a voter ID as her State requires. Without an ID, Rose 
loses a fundamental right that was guaranteed to all Americans.
  Now is the time for action. I urge my colleagues to support the 
bipartisan Voting Rights Amendment Act and restore our ability to have 
a voice in this democracy.

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