Republican Leadership Plays Politics with Renewal of Voting Rights Act to Appease Republican Extremists

Republican Leadership Plays Politics with Renewal of Voting Rights Act to Appease Republican Extremists

Congresswoman Betty McCollum (MN-04) called on House Republican leaders to allow the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (H.R. 9) to come back to the House floor before the July 4th recess. On Wednesday, Republican House leaders pulled the legislation from the House floor, delaying a vote on this critical civil rights law to appease the partisan interests of Republican members who are determined to weaken the law. Congresswoman McCollum's statement follows:

"Republican leaders should immediately bring the bipartisan Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act (H.R. 9) to the House floor so that Congress can reaffirm its commitment to protecting equal voting rights for every American, and stop playing politics in order to appease the most extreme wing of the Republican Party. The right to vote cannot be taken for granted, and must be actively defended. Pulling this bill from the House floor is nothing more than a partisan tactic by Republican leaders -- an insult to minority voters and all Americans committed to our democracy.

"When the law was enacted in 1965, African Americans who attempted to register to vote or to organize or assist others to attempt to register to vote in some areas of the South risked losing their jobs, their homes, even their lives. The year is no time for the U.S. House of Representatives to play politics with the right to vote - it will not be tolerated. The Voting Rights Act is needed to remove direct and indirect barriers to voting and overcome the disenfranchisement that still exists today. It is crucial that we reaffirm our commitment to voting rights, equality and equal access."

http://www.mccollum.house.gov/index.asp?Type=B_PR&SEC={96403347-5C32-4473-82D4-FD38B8077AC7}&DE={8A942F51-34A4-43EF-9CC1-48397C3B1965}