[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Page 3326]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF BLOODY SUNDAY

  Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, this past weekend, Americans gathered in 
Selma, Alabama. They did that to mark the 50th anniversary of Bloody 
Sunday. Many of us are old enough to remember that day when hundreds of 
brave men and women marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. There, 
they were savagely beaten because they dared to stand up for their 
right to vote--a right that we in Vermont take as inalienable. Their 
blood, their sweat, and their tears helped pave the way for the Voting 
Rights Act. They ultimately helped move our Nation toward what is 
supposed to be a ``more perfect Union.''
  In commemorating the bravery of these foot soldiers for justice, we 
are reminded of what we can accomplish if we stand on principle and we 
come together, Republicans and Democrats, to do what is right. At a 
time when lawmakers seem far too polarized on the most important issues 
facing our Nation, I was encouraged to see leaders from both political 
parties join President Obama and Congressman Lewis, and so many others 
this weekend in Selma. President George W. Bush shared the stage with 
President Obama to honor the brave men and women who inspired the 
Nation and helped bring about historic change.
  I was proud to work with President Bush on the reauthorization of the 
Voting Rights Act, along with the Republican Chairmen of the House and 
Senate Judiciary Committees, Congressman Sensenbrenner and Senator 
Specter. We can see them on each side of President Bush in this picture 
of the bill signing. We can see Congressman Sensenbrenner standing 
there and the late Senator Specter standing there. I was standing over 
here with my camera as one of the people who helped move the bill 
through. President Bush had invited me to attend and I took this 
photograph at the signing ceremony. I am going to give this photograph 
to President Bush because it is the only photograph where we can 
actually see his hand and his signature going down. That is because I 
was the only person with a camera, standing behind the President. I 
don't say that to praise my photographic ability; I say that to praise 
President Bush for signing the bill.
  In response to the Supreme Court's Shelby County decision--a decision 
where five members of the Supreme Court decided they had a far better 
idea than virtually all House Members and Senators--I have been working 
with Congressman Sensenbrenner on bipartisan legislation that would 
restore the Voting Rights Act. This is so that President Obama can sign 
a bill as President Bush did. Unfortunately, no Republican Senator has 
yet stepped forward to join me in introducing this legislation in the 
Senate.
  The Republican Party of 2006, along with their President, reached 
across the aisle to advance the cause of voting rights, saying they 
were not there for any particular party, they were there for all 
Americans. I am still hopeful the Republican Senate of 2015 will 
continue the bipartisan tradition that President Bush and Republican 
leaders did in 2006.
  The civil rights milestones we celebrate this month can't be just 
historical discussions to be talked about in a history class somewhere. 
The plain reality is that racial discrimination in voting still exists 
in this country. Chief Justice Roberts acknowledged that very fact in 
his opinion in Shelby, and he asked Congress to update the Voting 
Rights Act. I wish we had not had the Shelby decision--I think it was 
wrong on many counts--but the majority in the Supreme Court voted that 
way. I agree with the Chief Justice that it is time for us in the 
Congress--Republicans and Democrats alike--to act.
  In his inspirational speech in Selma on Saturday, President Obama 
noted that 100 Members of Congress had come to Selma to honor people 
who died for the right to vote. He then laid out a challenge by saying, 
``If we want to honor this day, let that hundred go back to Washington 
and gather 400 more, and together, pledge to make it their mission to 
restore the Voting Rights Act this year. That's how we honor those 
people on this bridge.''
  I agree with him. We should come together, as this body has done so 
many times before, to restore the Voting Rights Act and to reaffirm our 
steadfast commitment to equal protection under the law.

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