Raphael Warnock: “I rise today at a defining moment in American history and at a time when I sincerely believe that what we do or fail to…”

“I rise today at a defining moment in American history and at a time when I sincerely believe that what we do or fail to do will have long-lasting and far-reaching implications for the health, viability, and vitality of the world's greatest democracy. We debate many important issues in this Chamber, but this issue, the issue of voting rights, I argue, is decidedly different. It is formative and foundational. It is the framework in which all of our other debates take place, for this issue is about the preservation and the protection of the democracy itself. That is, after all, what we claim to be. That is who we are--a democracy built on that sacred idea of one person, one vote. With all the arguments taking place in the country right now, with all of the audits being ordered, and with all of the voting legislation being feverishly passed in States all across our country, clearly, ironically, there is agreement--albeit for different reasons on the right and on the left--that democracy itself is in danger. Folks on the left and folks on the right believe that there is something broken and it needs to be fixed. If that is, indeed, the case, what kind of Congress would we be in the whole history of Congresses if, seeing that discussion out there, we refuse to even debate the matter in here? Who are we and how are we to hide in a moment like this? So I rise with what I think is a simple request of my colleagues. Let's do our job.…”