Providing for Consideration of Senate Amendments to H.R. 22, Hire More Heroes Act of 2015; Providing for Proceedings During the Period from November 6, 2015, Through November 13, 2015; and Providing for Consideration of Motions to Suspend the Rules
Floor Speech
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Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of voting rights for all Americans. I was proud to stand alongside my fellow colleagues this morning to launch the Restore the Vote legislative strategy.
This national effort will help mobilize support for H.R. 2867, the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2015, a bill that I sponsored with Representatives Judy Chu and Linda Sánchez in order to restore critical Federal oversight to jurisdictions which have a recent history of voter discrimination.
Since elections are held on Tuesdays, every Tuesday that Congress is in session, we will declare it to be ``Restoration Tuesday.'' Members of Congress will wear a ``Restore the Vote'' ribbon pin and will speak on the House floor about the importance of restoring and protecting voting rights for all Americans. Today is the first Restoration Tuesday, and I am honored to speak on behalf of H.R. 2867, the Voting Rights Advancement Act.
Two years ago, Mr. Speaker, the Supreme Court in the Shelby case struck down the Federal preclearance. The Supreme Court issued a challenge to Congress to develop a modern-day coverage formula that looks at current discriminatory acts by States and political jurisdiction. The Voting Rights Advancement Act answers that challenge.
The bill restores and advances the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by looking at recent voter discrimination practices since 1990. An entire State can be covered by preclearance if 15 or more voting violations occur in a State in the most recent 25-year period. This updated coverage formula ensures that 13 States, including my home State of Alabama, are required to obtain preclearance for changes in voting practices and laws. The 13 States that will be covered under this new formula include Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Arkansas, Arizona, Texas, New York, California, and Virginia. The bill also provides greater transparency in Federal elections by ensuring that voters get notice of changes in locations and of changes in voting practices.
Put simply, the Voting Rights Advancement Act offers more voter protection to more people in more States.
Mr. Speaker, old battles have become new again. Since the Shelby decision, 33 States across this Nation have issued photo I.D. laws that have made it harder for vulnerable communities to vote, like our senior citizens, our young people, and the disabled.
As a daughter of Selma, I am painfully aware that the injustices suffered on the Edmund Pettus Bridge 50 years ago have not been fully vindicated. Just recently, my constituents were dealt a very devastating blow when Alabama closed 31 DMVs--that's right, driver's license offices--a State that had recently adopted one of the Nation's harsher photo I.D. laws. This decision is completely unacceptable. These closures render it almost impossible for so many of my constituents to get the most popular form of photo I.D., which is a driver's license.
This DMV closure decision is just one example of modern-day barriers to voting. While we no longer have to count marbles in a jar or recite the names of all of the counties, there are still laws and decisions that make it harder for people to vote. ``Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,'' Martin Luther King once said.
On March 7, 2015, I welcomed President and Mrs. Obama as well as President Bush and Mrs. Bush, along with 100 Members of the House and the Senate, to my hometown of Selma, Alabama, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery. Mr. Speaker, it was a ``kumbaya'' moment when Republicans and Democrats gathered together in recognition of how far our
Nation had come in living up to its ideals of justice and equality for all.
The 50th commemoration of the marches from Selma to Montgomery must be so much more than just one day of reflection, Mr. Speaker. A single moment filled with colorful language and wonderful speeches is nice, and walking hand in hand across the Edmund Pettus Bridge is nice; but gone should be the days of ``feel good'' moments that, in and of themselves, lead to no clear path to action. The Voting Rights Advancement Act is that action.
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Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, we are asking our colleagues, Democrats and Republicans, to join with us in supporting the Voting Rights Advancement Act as Congress must act now to protect the rights of all Americans.
The fate of our democracy depends upon its citizens having the unfettered right to vote. Our vote is our voice, and no voices should be silenced. We are asking everyone to join us in our efforts to make sure that we restore the vote to the voices of the excluded. To restrict the ability of any American to vote is an assault on all Americans' rights to participate equally in the electoral process.
I ask my colleagues to support H.R. 2867, the Voting Rights Advancement Act.
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