Recognizing 155th Anniversary of 13th Amendment

Floor Speech

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Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield), for yielding, and I commend him for organizing this Special Order on the 155th anniversary of the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and the important relationship between the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments.

Since our founding, the United States has been engaged in a constant struggle to realize the full promise and potential of our founding principles, most especially the right for all people, regardless of race, color, or gender, to vote and participate in our democracy.

Mr. Speaker, despite the fact it has been more than 150 years from the passage of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, I was absolutely horrified by the level of voter suppression that took place in the last election.

The President and some Members of this body falsely claim that there was voting fraud, while courts have dismissed 43 cases the President's legal team has brought.

What is underappreciated and not discussed is the lengths the President and Republicans and States across the country went to to stop minorities from voting: fake vote-by-mail boxes, racist robocalls encouraging Blacks not to vote by mail, and the President's absolute sabotage of the United States Postal Service to stop people from voting.

Mr. Speaker, the next Congress and the new administration must come together to strengthen voting rights next year. We cannot wait.

Those who fought and died for the right to vote must be remembered, and we honor their work by ensuring future generations have the right to vote.

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