John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Mr. STEIL. Madam Speaker, this House just passed a spending framework for $3.5 trillion in new government spending. And immediately following, what is next? A plan for a Federal Government takeover of elections.

H.R. 4 is focused on overturning the Supreme Court decision in Shelby County v. Holder and reinstituting Federal power over State election laws.

Preclearance was established in 1965 because there were blatant attempts to disenfranchise African Americans. We are not debating that today. We have made great progress since 1965.

What is the purpose of H.R. 4? H.R. 4 is a Federal power grab. This bill would gut voter ID laws across the country. The bill would allow the Biden Department of Justice to veto State voter ID laws.

In my home State of Wisconsin, some said commonsense voter ID laws would lower turnout. They were wrong. In 2020, Wisconsin had the fourth highest voter turnout in the country.

This bill would make it harder for States to maintain accurate voter rolls. Accurate voter rolls are essential for local election officials to accurately administer elections.

This bill is a Federal overreach. Instead of Federal overreach, let's get to work and make it easier to vote and hard to cheat.

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