[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Pages 11131-11132]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         JUNETEENTH REMEMBRANCE

  Mr. COONS. Mr. President, last Friday was Juneteenth, which marks 
four of the most important days in our Nation's long and continuing 
march toward racial justice and civil rights in this country.
  First, on June 19, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation 
Proclamation abolished slavery in all U.S. territories. Then 3 years 
later, a month after the end of our Civil War, Union soldiers arrived 
in Galveston, TX, to free the last of our Nation's slaves. Nearly a 
century later on June 19, 1963, with Jim Crow laws still a stain on the 
moral fabric of our country, President John F. Kennedy sent his Civil 
Rights Act of 1963 to Congress. And the following year, as the Nation 
mourned JFK's loss, President Johnson shepherded the Civil Rights Act 
of 1964 to final passage.
  As we mark these days in our Nation's history, from the end of our 
darkest period to some of the most important pieces of civil rights 
legislation passed, we know we still have farther to go.
  It is appropriate that we do so this year especially, that we mark 
June 19 and these five moments across our Nation's history, because as 
a result of the Supreme Court's decision last year, the Shelby County 
case, a key piece of President Johnson's Voting Rights Act of 1965 
stands in bad need of repair and revision; and, in fact, the Voting 
Rights Act itself is at risk of becoming a dead letter in the future of 
voting in our country.
  Two years ago I had the opportunity to join many of my colleagues in 
the House and the Senate, Republicans and Democrats, in returning to 
Selma to the site of Bloody Sunday, to the march across the Edmund 
Pettus Bridge. Many Members of Congress got a chance to hear again from 
Congressman Lewis about the events of that day, that day that was 
etched into the consciousness of this country and mobilized millions to 
speak out to their representatives and Senators and move this Congress 
finally to enact legislation that would unlock the key to the ballot 
box across the country.
  I was so proud earlier this year to join with Chairman Leahy of the 
Senate Judiciary Committee and with Senator Dick Durbin, Congressman 
Lewis, icon of the Civil Rights movement, Congressman John Conyers, and 
Republican Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner, to introduce a bill that 
would restore the core protections made possible in the original Voting 
Rights Act.
  The bill we introduced doesn't look at discrimination through the 
lens of the past. It focuses on modern-day violations, not the things 
that happened 50 years ago. It takes up the challenge laid down by the 
Supreme Court and comes up with a new formula and a new approach that 
makes voting rights and elections more transparent and has been 
carefully crafted to be both effective and to pass this Congress. It is 
a voting rights bill that is modern, to confront modern voting rights 
challenges.
  As a country we have come a long way since 1965, but we are not where 
we need to be yet. As much as we don't want to admit it or confront it, 
racial discrimination in voting is not a relic of the past, but a 
tragic reality of today. Just yesterday the Senate Judiciary Committee 
held a hearing on what to do to address the loss of a key part of the 
Voting Rights Act that is known as preclearance.
  In 2013 the Supreme Court struck down the heart of the Voting Rights 
Act, a bill that each and every Senate Republican voted for in 2006. 
Let me be clear about that. Again, in 2006 this body unanimously 
reauthorized the Voting Rights Act. Yet in 2013 the Supreme Court 
struck down an essential provision of that very act.
  The Voting Rights Act and leadership to address the challenges of 
civil rights in this country have long been bipartisan in nature. My 
own family and friends who are Republicans are justifiably proud of 
their party's leadership role in addressing the darkest days and the 
biggest challenges in civil rights in the last century in this country. 
But today we are struggling in this body to find a single Republican 
cosponsor for this important and necessary bill. I ask my friends: Is 
this because there is nothing that remains to be done? Is that 2006 
act, unanimously passed by this body, so obsolete that there is no 
legislative response necessary to Shelby?
  I think a response is necessary. A month after the Supreme Court's 
decision, North Carolina passed a restrictive, a deeply restrictive, 
voting law that in addition to a strict photo ID requirement reduces 
early voting and forbids local jurisdictions flexibility in setting 
hours for early voting, among other restrictions. After the Shelby 
County decision, in Pasadena, TX, that city's voters adopted a plan to 
reduce the number of single-member districts from eight to six, adding 
two at-large representatives, a change nearly certain to reduce Latino 
representation on their city council. Hours after the decision, the 
State of Texas announced plans to implement its photo ID law that had 
long been blocked under section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Again and 
again, shortly following the Shelby County decision, jurisdictions 
moved to implement discriminatory voting changes that had previously 
been blocked under section 5. Something needs to be done. I would 
suggest to my

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colleagues, if you don't like this proposal, please come forward with 
something you can support, with something that looks forward, not back; 
that has a formula that protects voting as the most sacred and 
foundational right of our Republic and allows us to come together. 
History will not look kindly on our inaction.
  Two days ago we honored the memory of Dr. King and Coretta Scott King 
with a Congressional Gold Medal. What better way to honor their legacy 
than to come together and strengthen the rights they fought so hard to 
secure for every American?
  Voting is fundamental, and ensuring that every American has the right 
to vote is at the core of what makes our democracy vibrant.
  I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to come together and 
to find a way forward for us to put voting rights first and to restore 
the important legacy of June 19 from across so many incidents in so 
many years and to move us forward on a positive path.
  Thank you.
  Mr. President, could I ask my colleague's indulgence for one last 2-
minute speech?
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I was to be recognized before, but I 
will be glad to, but would like the 15 minutes or so I was allowed to 
have even though it may back up after me.
  So, Mr. President, I would ask unanimous consent that Senator Coons 
be allowed an additional 2 minutes and I be allowed 15 minutes 
thereafter.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. COONS. I object, and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The objection is heard.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. COONS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that order for the 
quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Markey). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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