[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 184 (Wednesday, October 20, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7093-S7094]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FREEDOM TO VOTE ACT
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, for over 240 years, the story of American
democracy has been an inexorable march toward universal suffrage--
toward the realization of that sacred principle that all citizens
should have a voice in selecting their leaders.
The grand ideal had humble beginnings. At the time of the
Constitution's ratification, hardly 1 in 10 Americans would have been
even eligible to vote.
If you were not White, not a landowner, not a male, and not a
Protestant, chances were that the democracy did not apply to you;
chances were that you were cut out of the political process.
It took over two centuries of Americans marching, fighting, and dying
for the promise of freedom to expand to our citizens, regardless of
race or gender or creed, the right to vote.
But for every two steps forward, sometimes there are those who try to
pull us one step back. Unfortunately, we find ourselves today in the
midst of such a struggle.
Across the country, the Big Lie--the Big Lie--has spread like a
cancer, as many States across the Nation have passed the most draconian
restrictions against voting that we have seen in decades. If nothing is
done, these laws will make it harder for millions of Americans to
participate in their government.
[[Page S7094]]
If there is anything worthy of the Senate's attention, if there is
any issue that merits debate on this floor, it is protecting our
democracy from the forces that are trying to unravel it from the inside
out.
That is why this afternoon, the U.S. Senate will vote to begin debate
on the Freedom to Vote Act.
The Freedom to Vote Act is a balanced, effective, and commonsense
proposal that will fortify our democracy and protect Americans' right
to vote. It sets basic standards for all Americans to vote safely and
securely, no matter what ZIP Code they live in. It adopts proven
reforms that will protect voters from both parties, whether they live
in blue States or red States or purple States. It fights back against
the power of dark money in politics and ends the toxic practice of
partisan gerrymandering. And, all the while, it respects the rightful
authority of States to carry out their elections.
At its core, the Freedom to Vote Act rests on a simple principle:
Americans must be able to freely choose their leaders, and those
leaders must be accountable to the people, not to well-heeled donors.
These are policies all Americans can get behind. When was the last
time we heard Americans cheer about dark money in our elections or the
pervasiveness of partisan gerrymandering? What sort of voter would
willingly choose to make voting harder--arbitrarily harder--when it
should be easy, safe, and secure? The Freedom to Vote Act would provide
long-overdue remedies for all these concerns.
Now, crafting this bill, as you know, Mr. President, was no easy
feat. It took months of hard work, compromise, and gathering feedback
from experts on sensible policies that have been proven to work. I want
to thank all of my colleagues who dedicated their energies to making
this moment possible, and I want to especially thank Senator Manchin
for his hard work over the past few weeks. He has reached across the
aisle to try and find a way for the Senate to do its work in a
bipartisan fashion. I thank him for his commitment to finding
bipartisanship on a subject that, by all accounts, should be bipartisan
to its core and has been for much of our history.
Now, today's vote is a cloture vote simply on a motion to proceed. It
presents Senators with a simple question: Should the Senate even
debate--debate--voting rights? That is what this is about, simply a
debate and an important one to be sure.
No Republican is being asked to sign their name to this or that
policy today, but they are being asked to come to the table and have a
discussion and allow amendments. I want to be clear. If Republicans
join us in proceeding to this bill, I am prepared to hold a full-
fledged debate worthy of the U.S. Senate. The minority will have the
chance to have their voices heard.
The Senate has already voted on more amendments than in any year
under former-President Trump, and on this legislation, again Republican
Senators would be able to offer amendments. But for that to happen, we
have to get on the bill today.
What we can't accept is a situation where one side is calling for
bipartisan debate and bipartisan cooperation while the other refuses to
even engage in a dialogue. If our Republican colleagues don't like our
ideas, they have a responsibility to present their own. It is ludicrous
for any Republican to assert that the Federal Government has no role to
play in safeguarding elections when State laws disenfranchise American
citizens.
I invite them to read the Constitution of the United States of
America, which precisely empowers Congress to regulate the ``times,
places, and manners'' of holding elections. I invite them to look at
modern American history, when the Senate stepped into the breach
numerous times when Jim Crow States sought to restrict the right to
vote.
There is a long and hallowed tradition of the Senate, often in a
bipartisan coalition, working to protect access to the franchise, and
today our colleagues should vote to begin debate for how we can add to
that legacy. But what Republicans should not do--they must not do--is
squelch any chance--any chance--for the Senate to debate something as
critical, as sacrosanct, as American as the right to vote. The clock is
ticking on our chance to take meaningful action.
Our experiment in democracy has been the greatest feat of self-rule
in all of modern history. We cannot allow it to backslide here in the
21st century. Today, we have a chance to begin debate on how we can
prevent that from happening, but Republicans must join us in the debate
and vote to allow debate to proceed. I urge my colleagues to vote yes.
____________________