[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.

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