Providing for Consideration of H.R. John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of Providing for Consideration of Senate Amendment to H.R. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act; and Providing for Adoption of S. Con. Res. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year and for Other Purposes

Floor Speech

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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 601 and ask for its immediate consideration.

The Clerk read the resolution, as follows: H. Res. 601

Resolved, That upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 4) to amend the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to revise the criteria for determining which States and political subdivisions are subject to section 4 of the Act, and for other purposes. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. The amendment printed in the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution shall be considered as adopted. The bill, as amended, shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended, are waived. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and on any further amendment thereto, to final passage without intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary or their respective designees; and (2) one motion to recommit.

Sec. 2. The chair of the Committee on the Judiciary may insert in the Congressional Record not later than August 24, 2021, such material as he may deem explanatory of H.R. 4.

Sec. 3. (a) Upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to take from the Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 3684) to authorize funds for Federal-aid highways, highway safety programs, and transit programs, and for other purposes, with the Senate amendment thereto, and to consider in the House, without intervention of any point of order, a motion offered by the chair of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure or his designee that the House concur in the Senate amendment. The Senate amendment and the motion shall be considered as read. The motion shall be debatable for one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure or their respective designees. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the motion to its adoption without intervening motion.

(b) On the legislative day of September 27, 2021, the House shall consider in the House the motion referred to in subsection (a) if not offered prior to such legislative day. A motion considered pursuant to this subsection shall be considered as though offered pursuant to subsection (a).

Sec. 4. Senate Concurrent Resolution 14 is hereby adopted.

Sec. 5. Rule XXVIII shall not apply with respect to the adoption by the House of a concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2022.

Sec. 6. House Resolution 594 and House Resolution 600 are laid on the table.

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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Mrs. Fischbach), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. General Leave
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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, earlier today, the Rules Committee met and reported a rule, House Resolution 601, providing for consideration of three measures.

First, the rule provides for consideration of H.R. 4 under a closed rule. The rule provides 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and the ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary or their designee. The rule self-executes a manager's amendment from Chairman Nadler, provides one motion to recommit, and provides the Judiciary Committee with the authority to insert in the Congressional Record explanatory material related to H.R. 4 no later than August 24.

The rule also provides for consideration of the Senate amendment to H.R. 3684. The rule makes in order a motion offered by the chair of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure that the House concur in the Senate amendment to H.R. 3684. The rule provides for 1 hour of debate on the motion equally divided and controlled by the chair and the ranking minority member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure or their designees.

Finally, the rule provides that S. Con. Res. 14 is adopted under adoption of the rule.

Madam Speaker, today is an important day. The underlying bills before us today are critical pieces of legislation to enact President Biden's Build Back Better agenda. This plan will create good-paying jobs, put money in the pockets of American families, lower healthcare and childcare costs, and invest in our Nation's infrastructure paid for by ensuring that the wealthiest Americans are paying their fair share in taxes. We also take important critical steps today to secure the right to vote and safeguard our democracy.

S. Con. Res. 14 begins the process to enact this important legislative agenda. In short, the resolution sets out President Biden's Build Back Better plan, which includes critical investments that we can and must make now to provide a better future for our country.

This is a plan to create jobs, to cut taxes, and to lower costs for working families.

Our plan will make things affordable for the middle class and working families and reduce healthcare costs.

The Build Back Better plan will help prepare our Nation for the impacts of climate change: Through historic investments in a reimagined Climate Conservation Corps, investments that will put people to work to protect and conserve our public lands and open spaces, invest in the electrification of our infrastructure, and ensure that we can prepare for and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

We will provide for wildfire prevention and mitigation, resources that are desperately needed, Madam Speaker, across the western United States as we continue to experience devastating wildfires year after year. My State of Colorado, along with many other western States, are in the midst of a terrible drought which, combined with extreme heat, is continuing to wreak havoc on our communities.

As a father of a 3-year-old daughter who will be starting preschool just next week, we will invest in our children through the Build Back Better plan by ensuring universal pre-K for every 3-year-old and 4- year-old in our country, provide tuition-free community college, childcare for working families, upgrading school infrastructure, and strengthening our education workforce.

We will fund investments in child nutrition programs, expand Medicare, Madam Speaker, for the first time in its 55-year history to include dental benefits, vision benefits, hearing coverage, critical coverage that will help our seniors access the care that they need.

The Build Back Better plan will be transformational for the American people, reaching every aspect of their lives and making investments in resources that they can rely on. Madam Speaker, we will lower costs for the American people, we will cut taxes, and we will create jobs. This resolution is a first step toward making those critical investments a reality.

I now turn to a bill that I know, Madam Speaker, you care deeply about, as you are the sponsor of the legislation, and that is the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, H.R. 4. Voting is a sacred right foundational to our democracy and to our Republic. It is a right that many have fought and died to secure and that the late civil rights hero, our dear friend and colleague, John Lewis, fought to protect, despite being harassed, jailed, and beaten. Madam Speaker, as you know, Mr. Lewis often told us that the vote is the most powerful nonviolent tool that we have.

Unfortunately, it is a right that is once again under attack, and we see it, Madam Speaker, in the laws that are being passed in Georgia and in Florida and in Iowa. In State after State after State, and in the glaring absence of Federal standards and enforcement, partisan legislatures are making it harder for those who are legally eligible to vote to do so.

We cannot stand by, Madam Speaker, as discriminatory measures run rampant, blocking Americans from participating in our democracy.

Voting is a constitutional right. It is ingrained at the very core of who we are as Americans, Madam Speaker. As a Congress, protecting that right is foundational; it really is the heart of our duty.

The vote can only truly represent the people's voice if they have the ability to execute it freely and easily. That is why Congress needs to take clear, decisive action today to protect voting rights by passing the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. This bill would strengthen the VRA and respond to recent Supreme Court cases striking critical provisions of the bill, while making clear that Congress has the power to create a new formula.

The VRA has been reauthorized, Madam Speaker, as you know, on a bipartisan basis for decades, most recently in 2006 when the reauthorization on the VRA passed this Chamber 390-33, and in the Senate 98 votes for it, zero votes against it. This should not be a partisan issue.

Our democracy is safeguarded only when every eligible voter has the opportunity to participate, and that is what we will ensure today by passing this bill out of the House.

Finally, Madam Speaker, as you know, the rule provides for consideration of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This bipartisan bill is an important down payment toward meeting the critical infrastructure needs of our communities. We all know that our Nation's infrastructure is in desperate need of repair, and this bipartisan bill seeks to make those much-needed investments.

The bill invests in our roads, our highways, our bridges, focusing on making infrastructure resilient to the impacts of climate change and natural disasters.

It has become particularly clear over the course of this last year that access to affordable, reliable broadband is absolutely critical for Americans to be able to do their jobs and to participate equally in remote learning, to access healthcare, to stay connected. This Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provides $65 billion to expand broadband coverage to areas most in need across the United States, and it also takes steps to make sure that that coverage is more affordable for individuals for whom those costs might be prohibitive.

The bill makes critical investments in our drinking water infrastructure, ensuring that clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities.

Lastly, I would be remiss, Madam Speaker, if I didn't mention that there are several priorities that I have been working on with many of my colleagues from the western United States that are part of this bill, the Joint Chiefs Landscape Restoration Partnership Program, my bill to help restore our forests and respond to wildfire risks; the reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools Program; and, of course, the Disaster Safe Power Grid Act, which ensures a safer and more resilient power grid in the face of emergencies.

The Senate has already passed this bill and shown the desire to invest in our infrastructure, and the House must now do the same.

Madam Speaker, these three underlying bills that we are considering today make essential investments in American families and communities, and we have to meet this moment for the American people.

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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I must say with great respect for my colleague from Minnesota, I think the Republican minority leader of the United States Senate, Mitch McConnell, would disagree with the gentlewoman's characterization of the bipartisan infrastructure bill being for--I think she said--urban cities or blue cities.

Madam Speaker, 19 Republicans voted for that bill in the United States Senate, including the Senate minority leader. So I think that it is important for us to recognize that the investments made in that bill, as well as the investments made in the resolution, the Build Back Better plan that we are also considering over the coming weeks are incredibly important for the future of our country.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Ross), a distinguished member of both the Committee on Rules and the Committee on the Judiciary.

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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, you know what is interesting? I don't remember the ranking member complaining about the deficit 3 years ago when they passed tax cuts for billionaires across our country to the tune of $2 trillion in terms of adding it to the deficit. I don't remember them complaining about process when they had to do three rules within a time period of 6 weeks to try to repeal the Affordable Care Act back in 2017.

I heard much today by way of process, but very little in terms of substance. Why? Because they know that the plan we have put forward today will lower costs, will cut taxes, and will create jobs.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the distinguished Speaker of this House.

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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I certainly understand where my colleague is coming from and have great reverence and respect for him and his service to our country, and I certainly look forward to continuing to work with him on the important issues that he described.

But defeating the previous question would hand over the floor to the Republican Conference. And, as you know, Madam Speaker, we have incredibly important pieces of legislation that we are considering, specifically, the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, and the bipartisan infrastructure budget, and the President's Build Back Better plan today.

Madam Speaker, I look forward to voting for the rule, and would encourage all Members in the House to vote for the rule, to vote for the previous question so that we can proceed with the business of the House.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Scanlon), a distinguished member of the Rules Committee.

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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), who is the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague on the Rules Committee for the respectful way in which she has engaged in today's debate. I wish I could say the same for all of the speeches that Members have delivered today.

I think it is unfortunate to have deeply partisan speeches made on the floor on matters of such great significance. I have great respect and reverence for Democratic and Republican Members of this body who have served so honorably in our Nation's Armed Forces and who have been working together to do everything they can, in concert with the administration, to evacuate Americans and our Afghan partners out of Afghanistan.

I think it is unfortunate, as I said, to hear folks politicize that particular issue. I didn't hear much, Madam Speaker, regarding the bipartisan infrastructure deal that we are considering today. I didn't hear much by way of specifics in terms of the voting rights advancement act that we are considering today. Why? Because my friends on the other side of the aisle know that both the Build Back Better plan and the bipartisan infrastructure deal will create jobs, will lower costs, and will cut taxes.

I wish we could have a reasonable debate on the merits of these particular policies, but it is clear that some would prefer to avoid that debate entirely.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee), my distinguished colleague on the Judiciary Committee.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I am very proud to be able to stand here today remembering the Constitution and saying to my good friends that this floor belongs to the American people. This floor is a floor, as John Lewis has often challenged us, that calls upon us to be courageous.

I am also here to say to you that I have no doubt that the United States military, with the will of the American people, will ensure that all Americans come out of Afghanistan and our allies. But at the same time, I am grateful for the idea of a build back America act that will have Texas get universal pre-K childcare, tuition-free community college. And then, of course, the invest act that will see us get $537 million for bridges, $100 million for broadband, $3.3 billion for public transit so that our climate can improve.

I know that the Texas delegation, State representatives who sacrificed and came to this Nation's Capital to cry out for justice, Texas Democratic representatives who are here in this place now, that H.R. 4 is going to save the day, not partisan, but it is going to make us a democratic Republic. And we need to pass H.R. 4 because John Lewis said: Do you have any courage?

Madam Speaker, as a senior member of the Judiciary Committee and an original cosponsor, I rise today in strong support of the Rule governing debate of Senate Amendment to H.R. 3684, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act; S. Con. Res. 14, Budget Resolution For Build Back Better Plan; and H.R. 4, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

Madam Speaker, as a senior member of the Committees on the Judiciary, on Homeland Security, and on the Budget, I rise in strong support of the Rule governing debate of Senate Amendment to H.R. 3684, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which represents the most significant long-term investment in the United States' infrastructure and competitiveness in nearly a century.

This legislation will make life better for Americans across the country, create a generation of good-paying union jobs, grow our economy, invest in communities that have too often been left behind, and better position the United States to compete globally and win in the 21st century.

The United States is the wealthiest country in the world, yet after decades of underinvestment, the country's roads, bridges, and water systems are crumbling, and our electric grid is vulnerable to catastrophic outages.

Too many families lack access to affordable, high-speed internet, clean drinking water, and public transportation, and too often, past infrastructure investments have disproportionately and negatively impacted low-income neighborhoods and communities of color.

Investing in our infrastructure--and investing in communities across the country--can create millions of good-paying jobs in underserved areas and lay the groundwork for not only a full economic recovery from the pandemic, but also usher in a new era of American innovation and prosperity.

The historic Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act invests $550 billion in new federal investment to make an array of transformational investments in our country's infrastructure including:

$121 billion to repair and rebuild our roads and bridges with a focus on climate change mitigation, resilience, equity, and safety for all users, including cyclists and pedestrians.

$89.9 billion to modernize America's public transit, by increasing routes, reducing the transit maintenance backlog, and providing more frequent service, resulting in better options for riders, improved environmental outcomes, and increased access to jobs and essential destinations.

$66 billion to modernize and expand passenger and freight rail networks across the country, to position our railways to play a central role in our transportation and economic future.

$15 billion in zero emission and clean buses and ferries and to build the first-ever national network of electric vehicle chargers in the United States, in order to address the adoption of electric vehicles and support domestic manufacturing jobs.

$42 billion to modernize our airports, ports, and waterways;

$50 billion to weatherize our infrastructure and insulate it against the threats of droughts, floods, and wildfires.

$55 billion to drinking water infrastructure, including eliminating the Nation's lead service lines and pipes, thereby delivering clean drinking water to up to ten million American families and more than 400,000 schools and child care facilities that currently do not have it, including in Tribal nations and disadvantaged communities.

$65 billion to upgrade our power infrastructure to facilitate the expansion of renewable energy.

$21 billion in environmental remediation, making it the largest investment in addressing the legacy pollution that harms the public health of communities and neighborhoods in American history.

$65 billion to connect every American to reliable high-speed internet, building on the billions of dollars for broadband deployment in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

Across this country, far too many communities are struggling with crumbling roads and structurally unsound bridges, outrageous congestion, lead-coated pipes and no broadband access.

The Senate Amendment to H.R. 3684 addresses economic disparities in our economy and the consequences of decades of disinvestment in America's infrastructure that have fallen most heavily on communities of color.

Through critical investments, the legislation increases access to good-paying jobs, affordable high-speed internet, reliable public transit, clean drinking water and other resources to ensure communities of color get a fair shot at the American dream.

These critical investments are first steps in advancing equity and racial justice throughout our economy.

Additional investments are needed in our nation's caregiving infrastructure, housing supply, regional development, and workforce development programs to ensure that communities of color and other underserved communities can access economic opportunity and justice.

This bill will address these challenges, and will also deliver much- needed investment to my home state of Texas, making life better for millions of Texas residents.

Specifically, under the bill, Texas is expected to receive:

$26.9 billion for federal-aid highway apportioned programs and $537 million for bridge replacement and repairs with a focus on climate change mitigation, resilience, equity, and safety for all users, including cyclists and pedestrians;

$3.3 billion over five years to improve public transportation options across the state through healthy, sustainable transportation options for millions of Americans;

$408 million over five years to support the expansion of an EV charging network in the state; and

Texas will also have the opportunity to apply for the $2.5 billion in grant funding dedicated to EV charging in the bill;

A minimum allocation of $100 million to help provide broadband coverage across the state, including providing access to at least 1,058,000 Texans who currently lack it.

In addition, 8,381,000 or 29% of people in Texas will be eligible for the Affordability Connectivity Benefit, which will help low-income families afford internet access.

Madam Speaker, in sum, I encourage all members to support the Rule governing debate of Senate Amendment to H.R. 3684 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, so that we can invest in strengthening our infrastructure and competitiveness, and do so in a way that creates the good-paying union jobs of the future, addresses long-standing racial and economic injustice, and helps to fight the climate crisis.

Madam Speaker, as a senior member of the Committees on the Judiciary, on Homeland Security, and on the Budget, I rise in strong support of the Rule governing debate of S. Con. Res. 14, which reorders budgetary priorities to provide $3.5 trillion investments to build back better and provides reconciliation instructions to 13 House and 12 Senate committees to support visionary and transformative investments in the health, well-being, and financial security of America's workers and families.

It is often said that the federal budget is an expression of the nation's values and the budget resolution before us is a clear declaration of congressional Democrats' commitment to ensuring that our government, our economy, and our systems work For The People.

Madam Speaker, these long-overdue investments in America's future will be felt in every corner of the country and across every sector of American life, building on the success of the American Rescue Plan, accommodating historic infrastructure investments in the legislative pipeline, and addressing long-standing deficits in our communities by ending an era of chronic underinvestment so we can emerge from our current crises a stronger, more equitable nation.

Should our friends across the aisle join us in this endeavor, it would send a powerful signal to the American people if our colleagues across the aisle would join us in this effort because nothing would better show them that their elected representatives can set partisanship aside and put America first.

And that bipartisan achievement would portend success for similar initiatives in the area of strengthening the infrastructure of democracy in which every American has a vital interest, national and homeland security, and criminal justice and immigration reform.

I would urge my Republican colleagues to heed the words of Republican Governor Jim Justice of West Virginia who said colorfully several months ago, ``At this point in time in this nation, we need to go big. We need to quit counting the egg-sucking legs on the cows and count the cows and just move. And move forward and move right now.''

The same sentiment was expressed more eloquently by Abraham Lincoln in 1862 when he memorably wrote:

``The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.''

Madam Speaker, the bipartisan action we took in February 2021 when we passed the American Rescue Plan was a giant step in the right direction, but it was a targeted response to the immediate and urgent public health and economic crises; it was not a long-term solution to many of the pressing challenges facing our nation that have built up over decades of disinvestment in our nation and its people in every region and sector of the country.

We simply can no longer afford the costs of neglect and inaction; the time to act is now.

The Build Back Better Plan makes the transformative investments that we need to continue growing our economy, lower costs for working families, and position the United States as a global leader in innovation and the jobs of the future.

This $3.5 trillion gross investment will build on the successes of the American Rescue Plan and set our nation on a path of fiscal responsibility and broadly shared prosperity for generations to come.

The Build Back Better Plan will provide resources to improve our education, health, and child care systems, invest in clean energy and sustainability, address the housing crisis, and more; all while setting America up to compete and win in the decades ahead.

The Build Back Better Plan is paid for by ensuring that the wealthy and big corporations are paying their fair share and Americans making less than $400,000 a year will not see their taxes increase by a penny.

Let me repeat that: No American making less than $400,000 a year will not see their taxes increase by a penny.

In sum, Madam Speaker, the investments made by the Build Back Better Plan will expand opportunity for all and build an economy powered by shared prosperity and inclusive growth.

Madam Speaker, while I am proud to strongly support this Rule and underlying bill, I would be remiss if I did not express my disappointment at the Rules Committee's decision to not include my amendments to this bill.

Jackson Lee Amendments #6, #7, and #8 are easy to understand and vitally important--they simply protect state legislators who, in keeping with their sacred oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States, refuse to perform unconstitutional acts under the guise of legislative process.

Specifically:

Jackson Lee Amendment #6 allows for federal judicial review of any warrants issued for the arrest of a state legislator where said state legislator refuses to engage in the state legislative process due to a reasonably held belief that doing so would infringe on the right to vote.

Jackson Lee Amendment #7 inserts a Sense of the Congress stating that a state's power to arrest a duly elected representative of a constituency for refusal to engage in a state's legislative process should be subject to federal judicial review where such elected representative's refusal is premised upon a reasonable belief that participation would result in the suppression of voting rights or other violations of the Constitution of the United States of America.

Jackson Lee Amendment #8 privileges against arrest any member of a state legislature for any reason except treason or murder while the legislature of that state is debating or voting on legislation relating to redistricting or election practices or legislation relating to the right to vote in federal, state, or municipal elections.

These amendments would have critically strengthened H.R. 4 because state legislatures across the country are utilizing every weapon in their arsenal to curtail voting rights; and no one should fear arrest due to fighting for the Constitutional rights of their constituents.

This includes my home state of Texas, where earlier this month officers of the Texas House of Representatives delivered civil arrest warrants, signed by the Texas state Speaker of the House, for more than 50 absent Democrats in an attempt force a vote on the naked attempt at voter suppression known as Texas S.B. 7.

This is the latest Republican attack on these brave state legislators, which began on May 30, where after a night of impassioned debate and procedural objections, these Democratic lawmakers in Texas took action to block passage of this massive overhaul of the state's election laws.

Since the arrest warrants were issued, it is my understanding that mass intimidation of the Texas House Democrats has occurred.

State officials came to their homes with the purpose of dragging them back to eviscerate the voting rights of thousands of Texans.

These elected Texas Representatives have had to hide away from their friends, their families, and their loved ones, all to ensure that Texans retain their most sacred of rights.

They are risking their freedom to ensure every Texan has full access to their constitutional right to vote.

Texas Republicans seek to pass voting regulation laws focused on diverse, urban areas, by setting rules for the distribution of polling places in only the handful of counties with a population of at least 1 million--most of which are either under Democratic control or won by Democrats in recent national and statewide elections.

Standing between all of this and the voting rights of thousands of Texans are those brave state legislators who currently have a warrant out for their arrest.

No elected representative in this great nation should fear that he or she will be locked away for simply standing up for justice and ensuring that America's citizens have the right to vote.

For this reason, I believe that H.R. 4 would have been greatly strengthened by the inclusion of my amendments in the Rule.

I strongly encourage all Members of Congress to support this Rule and the underlying bill, because it is the responsibility and sacred duty of all members of Congress who revere democracy to preserve, protect, and expand the precious right to vote of all Americans by passing H.R. 4, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

Madam Speaker, I am here today to remind the nation that the need to pass this legislation is urgent because the right to vote--that ``powerful instrument that can break down the walls of injustice''-- faces grave threats.

The threat stems from the decision issued in June 2013 by the Supreme Court in Shelby County v Holder, 570 U.S. 193 (2013), which invalidated Section 4(b) of the VRA, and paralyzed the application of the VRA's Section 5 preclearance requirements.

Not to be content with the monument to disgrace that is the Shelby County decision, the activist right-wing conservative majority on the Roberts Court, on July 1, 2021, issued its evil twin, the decision in Brnovich v. DNC, 594 U.S. __, No. 19-1257 and 19-1258 (July 1, 2021), which engrafts on Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act onerous burdens that Congress never intended and explicitly legislated against.

Madam Speaker, were it not for the 24th Amendment, I venture to say that this conservative majority on the Court would subject poll taxes and literacy tests to the review standard enunciated in Brnovich v. DNC.

According to the Supreme Court majority, the reason for striking down Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act was that ``times change.''

Now, the Court was right; times have changed.

But what the Court did not fully appreciate is that the positive changes it cited are due almost entirely to the existence and vigorous enforcement of the Voting Rights Act.

And that is why the Voting Rights Act is still needed and that is why we must pass H.R. 4, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

Let me put it this way: in the same way that the vaccine invented by Dr. Jonas Salk in 1953 eradicated the crippling effects but did not eliminate the cause of polio, the Voting Rights Act succeeded in stymieing the practices that resulted in the wholesale disenfranchisement of African Americans and language minorities but did not eliminate them entirely.

The Voting Rights Act is needed as much today to prevent another epidemic of voting disenfranchisement as Dr. Salk's vaccine is still needed to prevent another polio epidemic.

As Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg stated in Shelby County v. Holder, ``[t]hrowing out preclearance when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet.''

For millions of Americans, the right to vote protected by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a sacred treasure, earned by the sweat and toil and tears and blood of ordinary Americans who showed the world it was possible to accomplish extraordinary things.

I strongly encourage all Members of Congress to support this bill, because it is the responsibility and sacred duty of all members of Congress who revere democracy to preserve, protect, and expand the precious right to vote of all Americans by passing H.R. 4, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, while I would relish the opportunity to respond to the points made by my colleague, we have a lot of enthusiasm on our side to speak in support of this rule.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), the distinguished chairwoman of the Committee on Appropriations, who has led on the child tax cut for decades.

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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, my colleague from California is certainly right about one thing, the Build Back Better plan would raise taxes on billionaires. The tax cuts that ultimately were approved by my colleagues on the other side of the aisle several years ago for the richest Americans in our country, we do not pursue that in our bill. Instead, we pursue tax cuts for working families, for middle-class Americans.

Madam Speaker, I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters), the distinguished chairwoman of the Committee on Financial Services, whose leadership has kept millions of Americans in their homes over the course of the last year.

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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Alabama (Ms. Sewell).

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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan).

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Mr. NEGUSE.
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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the distinguished majority leader.

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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

We have heard a lot about partisanship during the course of today's debate.

What are the three bills that we are considering within the rule today?

The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, a reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act. VRA has been reauthorized by Republicans and Democrats in the United States Congress for decades. The last time it was signed by George W. Bush, a Republican.

A bipartisan infrastructure deal that earned the votes of 69 Senators, 19 Republicans, including Mitch McConnell, but apparently, that proposal is too radical for the House Republican Conference.

And a Build Back Better plan that would invest in American families, that would lower costs, that would cut taxes for working families.

Americans are worth investing in. Our families, our students, our teachers, our firefighters, our communities are worth investing in. And we have a chance to do that today.

The late Congressman John Lewis once said that every generation leaves behind a legacy. What that legacy will be is determined by the people of that generation. Madam Speaker, I would say that our legacy must be one of progress, of courage, and of action.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this rule and on the previous question.

The material previously referred to by Mrs. Fischbach is as follows: Amendment to House Resolution 601

At the end of the resolution, add the following:

Sec. 7. Immediately upon adoption of this resolution, the House shall proceed to the consideration in the House of the bill (H.R. 5071) to direct the Secretary of Defense to submit to Congress daily reports on the evacuation of citizens and permanent residents of the United States from Afghanistan, and for other purposes. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. The bill shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill are waived. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and on any amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Armed Services; and (2) one motion to recommit.

Sec. 8. Clause 1(c) of rule XIX shall not apply to the consideration of H.R. 5071.

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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

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