Nancy Pelosi: “my colleagues, last August I had the honor to march in Atlanta in recognition of the 40th anniversary of the Voting…”

“my colleagues, last August I had the honor to march in Atlanta in recognition of the 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, joining our colleagues Congressman Lewis, the Reverend Jesse Jackson and so many other leaders. I took with me the commitment of more than 200 House Democrats that we would vote 100 percent to reauthorize and strengthen this landmark legislation. And we stand by that commitment today. In May, I was proud to join Speaker Hastert and the Senate leaders, Senator Frist and Senator Reid, to march down the steps of the Capitol and reaffirm our commitment to passing this legislation to strengthen and reauthorize the Voting Rights Act for another 25 years. Today, we have the opportunity, indeed the privilege, to honor that bipartisan commitment. In that spirit, I wish to acknowledge the steadfast leadership of Chairman Sensenbrenner. Thank you, Mr. Sensenbrenner; Mr. Conyers, thank you for your leadership, the two of you for working together; and the extraordinary leadership of Congressman Mel Watt, the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and a member of the Judiciary Committee, who helped cobble together this compromise with his persistent, persistent leadership. Thank you, Mr. Watt. I also salute the Chair of the Hispanic Caucus, Congresswoman Grace Napolitano, and the Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, Congressman Mike Honda, for their leadership.…”