[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 177 (Tuesday, December 8, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H9031]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               60TH ANNIVERSARY OF MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Alabama (Ms. Sewell) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in recognition and 
acknowledgement of Restoration Tuesday and to recognize the 60th 
anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. There has been, Mr. Speaker, 
a renewed and relentless assault on our sacred right to vote in the 
aftermath of the Supreme Court's ruling in Shelby County v. Holder.
  Since elections are held on Tuesdays, my colleagues in the Democratic 
House caucus and I have declared that every Tuesday that the House is 
in session shall be declared as Restoration Tuesday. So I stand before 
you and this august body today in hopes of giving a voice to those who 
have been excluded from our political process. My hope is that all the 
Members, Members from both sides of the aisle, will join me and over 
140 Members of this august body in supporting the Voting Rights 
Advancement Act.
  This Voting Rights Advancement Act not only restores the Voting 
Rights Act of 1965, but it advances it. It gives more protection to 
more people in more States and is, indeed, what our Founding Fathers 
would have wanted when they declared that our electoral process would 
be fair.
  I think that the events of last week--we celebrated the 60th 
anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott in my district, in 
Montgomery, Alabama, last week. The Montgomery Bus Boycott--the 381 
days when people refused to sit and use the buses in Montgomery, 
breaking desegregation of the bus systems in Montgomery--it stands 
forever as a powerful testimony of the will of disenfranchised people 
to work collectively to achieve extraordinary social change.
  Sixty years ago, Mr. Speaker, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat 
on a segregated bus, and her bold stand against racial discrimination 
sparked a city-wide boycott. I was in Montgomery to commemorate that 
occasion, along with several Members of this House. I want to thank 
Congressman Butterfield and Congresswoman Corrine Brown for joining me 
last week in that celebration, along with Congressman John Lewis, who 
forever stands as a beacon, a reminder of what it takes to show 
strength in the face of discrimination.
  Mr. Speaker, I say to all of my colleagues, what will we do to 
progress this wonderful legacy of social change and democracy? So many 
average, ordinary Americans have stood up for that proposition in the 
face of tremendous adversity.
  So it is my hope that on this Restoration Tuesday, we will remember 
their legacy, the legacy of Americans who stand up for social change, 
and we will do what we know is right to restore the Voting Rights Act 
of 1965. We can do that today, Mr. Speaker, by joining with all of the 
140 or so Members of Congress who have already signed on to the Voting 
Rights Advancement Act; by remembering that on Tuesdays across this 
country, people go to vote, and they should do so without barriers, 
knowing that their polling stations will not be changed, knowing that 
if they are disabled, they will still be able to get into the ballot 
box in order to vote. It is so important that we all recognize that 
modern day barriers still exists to voting, Mr. Speaker.
  Mere words are not enough to restore the vote to millions of 
Americans who have wrongly been shut out of the Democratic process. The 
voice of those excluded cannot be unheard. The Voting Rights 
Advancement Act that I introduced alongside Representatives Judy Chu 
and Linda Sanchez contains a modern-day formula that will determine 
jurisdictions which should have Federal protections, Federal pre-
clearance requirements.
  I stand here before you to call on Congress to pass this bill to 
restore the Voting Rights Act of 1965. We cannot return to the days 
where only some votes matter. Indeed, Mr. Speaker, all voices, all 
votes matter. Our vote is our voice, and our voices must be heard.

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