Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, Steve and I were both in the senate, and you have a president in the senate. That's why he was referring to you as Mr. President. I understand that, Steve. I am pleased to join Marcia Fudge, the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, and my good friend, Steve Horsford, the gentleman from Nevada. And I notice that Don Payne is here. His father was a very close friend of mine, active some 45 years ago. So it's good to see you here, Don, and Hakeem Jeffries, two of our really great new Members. I'm pleased to join you. {time} 2040 Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Congressional Black Caucus for organizing this Special Order hour. America's greatest strength--and its greatest gift to the world--is our democratic system of government based on an equal voice for every citizen. It is what grants legitimacy to our laws and earns us respect from those in other parts of the world who yearn for the freedoms we enjoy. For most of our history, our democracy was deeply flawed: excluding women, African Americans, Native Americans and many others. But part of what makes America great is that we are constantly working to perfect our democracy by correcting such flaws. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a central part of that effort--and an incredibly successful one. Before that legislation was enacted, millions of African Americans were systematically prevented from registering to vote or casting their ballots across much of the South.…”