[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 48 (Monday, March 23, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E375]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 THE BATTLE WAGES ON: SECURING EQUAL VOTING RIGHTS IN THE UNITED STATES

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                               speech of

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 16, 2015

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, first, let me thank Congresswoman Robin Kelly 
for hosting this important Special Order. I appreciate your leadership 
in organizing today's important discussion.
  Last weekend, I had the honor of joining more than one hundred 
members of Congress, faith leaders and activists, to honor Bloody 
Sunday and the march from Selma to Montgomery.
  We gathered in Selma to celebrate and honor the courage of ordinary 
Americans willing to face tear gas, billy clubs, and risk their lives 
to ensure equal treatment under the law.
  The march from Selma to Montgomery helped change the course of 
history. They faced extreme opposition and their actions that day on 
Edmund Pettus bridge proved that non-violent change is possible.
  Ten days after the march from Selma to Montgomery, President Lyndon 
Johnson sent to Congress the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a cornerstone 
of our democracy.
  In the 50 years since Bloody Sunday, our nation has made significant 
progress. To deny this progress, as the President mentioned in his 
speech in Selma, is to rob us of our own agency, our own capacity, and 
what we can do to make America better.
  As we pause to mark this important anniversary and reflect on its 
effect on history, we know that the battle for full voting rights wages 
on.
  When the Supreme Court struck down the pre-clearance formula, states 
can change their election laws without prior federal approval--the 
ruling gutted the heart of the Voting Rights Act.
  The Voting Rights Act pre-clearance requirement afforded millions of 
voters confidence that roadblocks will not be thrown in their way as 
they try to exercise their fundamental right to vote.
  It provided voters with the knowledge that the federal government can 
be a backstop against oppressive laws and prevent voter discrimination 
before it happened.
  Now voter suppression is once again rearing its ugly head in the form 
of registration restrictions, voter ID laws, decreased access to early 
voting and racially-motivated redistricting that is stopping people 
from their right to vote.
  Now, I was born and raised in Texas and I vividly remember the days 
of Jim Crow, segregation, and poll taxes.
  The tactics being used today may be more subtle; but they serve the 
same purpose: to prevent Americans from exercising their fundamental 
right to vote.
  Mr. Speaker--Enough is enough.
  As the heirs of the civil rights movement, we cannot allow these 
assaults to stand.
  We must be defiant.
  We must stand up to those that want to turn back the clock and 
restrict our right to vote. We have come too far to go back now.
  Sadly, voting rights is not the only place that inequality exists.
  More than 45 million Americans are still living in poverty. African 
Americans have a poverty rate that is nearly three times the poverty 
rate of white Americans.
  The 10.4 percent unemployment rate among African Americans is nearly 
twice the national average.
  Discrimination and racial bias remains endemic in our justice system.
  We can start to address these issues this year--by working to restore 
the Voting Rights Act. One hundred members of Congress visited Selma to 
commemorate Bloody Sunday and as President Obama eloquently stated, we 
must go back to Washington and gather four hundred more.
  We can restore this law by passing a bipartisan bill, H.R. 855, The 
Voting Rights Amendment Act, which I am a proud cosponsor.
  This bill will help undo some of the damage done by the Supreme 
Court's decision.
  Just as Congress acted 50 years ago after the stirring events in 
Selma, Congress must act today to address the issues facing our nation.
  Mr. Speaker--We cannot afford to backslide on the progress we have 
made.
  We cannot afford to lose the prize that our forefathers and mothers 
fought, bled and died to obtain and preserve.
  We must stand together--stronger than ever--to raise our voices, 
march in the streets, and cast our ballots to demand change.
  I am reminded of Dr. King's ``Two Americas'' speech on April 14th, 
1967 at Stanford University, when he said:

       We must come to see that social progress never rolls in on 
     the wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless 
     efforts and the persistent work of dedicated individuals.

  We must rededicate ourselves to persistently working for progress, 
equality and justice.
  The American dream of equality, freedom, liberty, justice and life 
for all can and should be more than just words.
  It should be a promise to all Americans, regardless of the color of 
their skin or where they were born.

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