[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 82 (Wednesday, May 12, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H2248-H2249]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             VOTING RIGHTS

  (Mr. VEASEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. VEASEY. Mr. Speaker, the sacred right to vote is under attack for 
Black and Hispanic people in the State of Texas.
  Dangerous Jim Crow 2.0 voter suppression laws are rapidly advancing 
across the country and in the Lone Star State right now.
  During the 2020 elections, we saw 17 million Texans go out there and 
risk their lives, especially during the primary when there was still a 
lot of uncertainty about COVID to go out there so they could cast their 
ballot. Now only mere months later, Texas leaders in the State 
legislature are silencing the voices of these very voters by pushing 
some of the most restrictive voting measures in the entire country. 
This legislation will do everything from prohibiting local officials 
from sending out mail-in ballot applications to empowering poll 
watchers to actually be able to harass people with cell phones and 
video.
  It is crazy, Mr. Speaker, what is going on. It is completely 
backwards, it is embarrassing, and for me as a Black American, it is 
embarrassing, because the big lie is being perpetuated by historic 
racist tropes that Black people are cheating and stealing at the polls.
  It is uncalled for, it is unnecessary, it is racist, and it must end. 
I implore Texas leaders to stop this nonsense and get back to the 
business of helping

[[Page H2249]]

families deal with the pandemic and help our State to keep growing.

                          ____________________