[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2330]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      UPHOLDING VOTING RIGHTS ACT

  (Mr. HIGGINS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, this weekend I joined a trip led by 
Congressman John Lewis to some of the landmark sites of the civil 
rights struggle, culminating in a walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge 
on the 48th anniversary of that historic march. The trip underscored 
the importance of the Voting Rights Act, which is responsible for much 
of the progress we have made toward eliminating voter discrimination, 
and the need for the Supreme Court to uphold section 5 of the law in 
the case pending before it.
  Meanwhile, in Congress, we should be working to eliminate the 
inexcusably long lines at polling places across the country and ensure 
that every American who wants to cast a ballot is able to do so.
  Decades ago, Congressman Lewis helped lead the fight for the idea 
that all Americans should be able to participate in our democratic 
process. It is my hope that the Supreme Court and this Congress will 
honor that struggle in the years ahead.

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