[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 11873-11874]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           VOTING RIGHTS ACT

  (Ms. WATSON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)

[[Page 11874]]


  Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow the House is scheduled to vote on 
H.R. 9, the Voting Rights Reauthorization Act.
  In a Nation where children are taught at the earliest age that every 
citizen has a right to vote, it would be comforting to know that the 
last vestiges of voter discrimination had been swept away by the Voting 
Rights Act.
  But the facts paint a much different and unsettling picture. Sadly, 
African Americans and other minorities continue to face calculated and 
determined efforts to prevent them from exercising their fundamental 
democratic rights. That is why extension of key expiring provisions of 
the Voting Rights Act is critical.
  Mr. Speaker, the right to vote is a foundation of democracy, and the 
Voting Rights Act provides the legal basis to protect the rights of all 
Americans. It is my hope that this body will do the right thing and not 
allow weakening amendments that would undermine the effectiveness of 
this historical voter act to be passed.

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