John Conyers: “this Westmoreland amendment has some huge problems. I would like to remind you that a 25-year veteran of the Department…”

“this Westmoreland amendment has some huge problems. I would like to remind you that a 25-year veteran of the Department of Justice Voting Section commented that the bailout amendment proposed is completely unworkable unless the staff of the Voting Section is tripled or cuts corners in making its determination. There is no way the existing staff can possibly do what this calls for and make a binding determination of eligibility for bailout. And plus, we do not include one dime in this proposal to take care of all of this. We turn section 5 on its head, and we will not be stopping voting discrimination. This amendment would cripple the Voting Section at the Department of Justice, making enforcement of the Act nearly impossible. There are 900 jurisdictions covered by section 5. How could we do a report on them every year? Reject the amendment.”