Mr. President and colleagues, as today's debate begins to wind down, I want to rise to join those who have called for the passage of the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Years ago, when the United States was in the early stages of conflict in Vietnam, I was fortunate to win a Navy ROTC scholarship to attend Ohio State. During my freshman year there, as spring break approached, our commanding officer urged a bunch of us freshman midshipmen to--he said: I got a deal for you. How would you like an all-expenses-paid trip to Quantico, VA, over spring break? That is where the marine officers trained after going to college. We all raised our hands and said: Count us in. On our way--1 day off--we had 5 days in Quantico and 1 day off. We took a train to Union Station in Washington, DC, just three or four blocks from here, and from there, most of my fellow midshipmen found their way to watering holes in Georgetown. I chose to visit Capitol Hill. It is a place I had never been. That day, I walked up Delaware Avenue and passed this building, somehow finding my way into the Rayburn House Office Building just a short distance from where we are gathered today. I walked up to a security officer there and asked if there were any hearings underway that I might try to sit in on. He said yep, and he directed me to a long line leading to the House Judiciary Committee room.…
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Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be permitted to speak for 5 minutes and that Senator Stabenow be permitted to speak for 5 minutes prior to the scheduled votes. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.





