[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 11210]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          IN SUPPORT OF VOTING RIGHTS AND THE VOTER RIGHTS ACT

                                  _____
                                 

                            HON. GENE GREEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 26, 2014

  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the right 
of all Americans to vote without fear of discrimination, no matter 
their race, color, or political beliefs.
  In 1965, Congress passed and President Lyndon Johnson signed into law 
the Voting Rights Act. The enactment of VRA fulfilled a century of work 
towards guaranteeing that our most fundamental right--the right to 
vote--would be protected for all Americans, including in states and 
local jurisdictions that had historically denied or disempowered 
minority voters.
  The protections provided in VRA ensure that historically 
disenfranchised communities in our country are now able to freely vote. 
The very chamber we stand in today is a reflection of the success of 
VRA, seen in the election of dozens of Members of Congress who come 
from these very communities.
  A year ago today, however, the successes of VRA became endangered 
when the Supreme Court ruled in a controversial 5-4 decision that the 
coverage formula in Section 4(b) of the Act, which had been used to 
determine the states and political subdivisions subject to Section 5 
preclearance, was unconstitutional.
  As a result of the Court's opinion in Shelby, the right to vote for 
millions of Americans, including my constituents in Houston and Harris 
County, are now endangered. Immediately after the high court's ruling, 
the State of Texas announced that it would put into immediate effect a 
voter ID law that had been previously blocked by a federal court 
because the state law's restrictions target the very communities that 
are meant to be protected under Section 5.
  Congress must act. The right to vote for all is at the very heart of 
our democracy.
  Bipartisan legislation, the Voting Rights Amendment Act, has been 
introduced in this Congress that would provide a new coverage formula 
based on current problems in voting and directly respond to the high 
court's concerns.
  This is not perfect legislation, but it would go a long way towards 
restoring the protections that my constituents had before the Court's 
decision.
  I urge my colleagues to bring the Voting Rights Amendment Act to a 
floor vote and ensure that our most sacred right--the right to vote--is 
protected for all Americans.

                          ____________________