[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 112 (Tuesday, July 12, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1087]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  THE IMMORALITY OF INACTION: CONGRESS CANNOT REMAIN SILENT ON VOTING 
                                 RIGHTS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. TERRI A. SEWELL

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 12, 2016

  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on Restoration 
Tuesday to highlight and recognize the positive strides made by elected 
officials in support of equal voting rights.
   Several states, including California, Connecticut, Illinois, Oregon 
and Vermont have passed laws establishing automatic voter registration. 
In these states across the country, when a citizen comes in contact 
with the DMV they are automatically registered to vote unless they 
actively decline. In April of this year, Gov. Terry McAuliffe of 
Virginia ordered voting rights restored to 206,000 ex-convicts in 
Virginia. This year, Virginia joined over 20 states that have helped 
diminish the stigma of disenfranchisement from citizens who have served 
their sentences and paid their debts to society.
   These leaders faced harsh public criticism and were targeted by the 
media. These were not popular efforts.
   Mr. Speaker, may I remind my fellow colleagues that we are not here 
for a popularity contest. We are here to serve the people of America. 
We are here to support democracy, justice, fairness and equality for 
all. We cannot and must not continue to sit idly by and do nothing. 
Last year, I introduced a bill, the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 
2015 to answer the call the Supreme Court gave Congress in 2013 after 
the Shelby v. Holder ruling that called for for a modern day formula to 
determine federal enforcement. It has been three years since the 
Supreme Court ruling. It has been over a full year since I introduced 
the Voting Rights Advancement Act. Inaction on the cause of voting 
rights has now become ``business as usual'' and this cannot continue. 
We can no longer be afraid to lead and stand for what is right.
   Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said it best when he stated ``history 
will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social 
transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the 
appalling silence of the good people.''
   The silence of Congress on the fundamental right to vote is no less 
than appalling. Political equality is good for everyone. What are we 
afraid of? Why do we continue to do nothing?
   The flood of suppressive voting laws continue to flow from every 
corner of our country and the tide is only getting higher. Our silence 
only silences the voices and vote of the American people. We can and 
must do better.

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