[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 19184-19185]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT

  Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to a piece of a 
landmark civil rights legislation on the occasion of its 40th 
Anniversary: the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
  Before the passage of the Voting Rights Act, African Americans, 
Hispanics, Native Americans, and others were routinely prevented from 
voting. The various tactics used to impede and discourage people from 
registering to vote or turning out on election day ranged from literacy 
tests, poll taxes, and language barriers, to overt voter intimidation 
and harassment.
  On August 6, 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting 
Rights Act of 1965, America took a critical step forward in its quest 
for inclusiveness. Just a year earlier, President Johnson had signed 
the Civil Rights Act of 1964, proclaiming that in America,

       We believe that all men are created equal, yet many are 
     denied equal treatment. We believe that all men have certain 
     unalienable rights, yet many Americans do not enjoy those 
     rights. We believe that all men are entitled to the blessings 
     of liberty, yet millions are being deprived of those 
     blessings, not because of their own failures, but because of 
     color of the skin.

  President Johnson knew then what we still recognize today. The 
enactment of both of these critical pieces of legislation was only one 
step in our country's journey to become an inclusive America where all 
its citizens enjoy the rights and protections guaranteed by the U.S. 
Constitution.
  When he recalled this day, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wisely pointed 
out that ``the bill that lay on the polished mahogany desk was born in 
violence in Selma, AL, where a stubborn sheriff had stumbled against 
the future.'' Dr. King was, of course, referring to ``Bloody Sunday,'' 
the March 7, 1965, incident where more than 500 non-violent civil 
rights marchers attempting a 54-mile march to the state capital to call 
for voting rights were confronted by an aggressive assault by 
authorities.
  In our country's history, we have stumbled, but great leaders such as 
Dr. King, and countless others who toiled and gave their lives, made 
certain that we got back up and continued on our path toward progress.
  On the dawn of its 40th anniversary, Congress is preparing for the 
reauthorization of key provisions in the Voting Rights Act that will 
expire in 2007. I hope that the Senate can rise above the partisanship 
that often plagues this body to renew the promise of inclusiveness that 
the Voting Rights Act has sought to achieve since its inception. In the 
past, we have been able to accomplish this and the results have been 
truly extraordinary.
  Since the passage of the Voting Rights Act, the doors to opportunity 
for political participation by previously disenfranchised groups have 
swung open. Their voices have been heard and counted. The result has 
been an America where the number of black elected officials nationwide 
has risen from 300 in 1964 to more than 9,000 today. In addition, there 
are over 5,000 Latinos who now hold public office, and there are still 
hundreds more Asian Americans and Native Americans serving as elected 
officials.

[[Page 19185]]

  However, in order to continue to make progress, Congress will need to 
reauthorize and maintain its enforcement of the Voting Rights Act. 
Today, as we work to promote democracy in Iraq and other regions of the 
world, I wish to honor the legacy of this milestone in our own Nation's 
democracy and to thank all those who have been a part of the civil 
rights movements.
  I thank the President and yield the floor.

                          ____________________