On the recordMay 23, 2016
I thank the gentleman for yielding time this evening, and I thank him for his incredible work not just in the Congressional Black Caucus, but on behalf of the people that he represents in that great borough of Brooklyn, New York. And I thank the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Beatty) for all the work that she does. She is an incredible leader in this Congress, and we appreciate her so very much. I want to thank my colleagues for selecting the topic for discussion tonight. It is certainly an appropriate topic. There are so many of us who have been working on enforcement and extension of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. They are too numerous to mention, but I will certainly single out Congressman John Lewis, Congresswoman Terri Sewell, Congressman Mark Veasey, Congressman John Conyers, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, and so many others, who have just worked tirelessly to enforce the right to vote not just for African Americans, but for all Americans. {time} 2030 Mr. Speaker, on August 6, 1965--and I remember it so very well; it was a few days after I had graduated from high school--this Congress, this House of Representatives where we are seated tonight, and the Senate, which is just a few steps down the hall, together passed the Voting Rights Act. This act was signed by the President of the United States immediately, and it has had a profound impact on empowering African American communities all across the country to participate in the electoral process.…
