G. K. Butterfield

That is why I am proud to colead H.R. 2347, the Strengthening the Vaccines for Children Act of 2021.

the most important thing is to--is to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act

And let me thank you for mentioning our intent to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, and we certainly plan to do that.

We are just concerned. We are concerned that not all staff and not all of our Members have been vaccinated.

we want to build a very significant legislative record that will be persuasive to the Supreme Court if this were ever challenged.

Thank you to the members for your questions as well. The members of the Subcommittee may have additional questions for these witnesses.

The Constitution is unambiguously clear: Congress has a clear role in protecting this right to vote and ensuring equal, equitable access to the franchise.

This historic bill will reverse the damage done by the Supreme Court in Shelby County and update the Voting Rights Act.

But the purpose of these hearings--and we are going to have 16 hearings.

I certainly agree with you that we need to strengthen section 2 and not weaken it.

Now, we all know that the Supreme Court has suspended the use of section 5, but section 2 continues to be the law of the land.

My time has expired. At this time I will yield back the balance of my time.

It has been demonstrated time and time again that voter ID laws disproportionately impact racial minorities.

there are 10 million U.S. citizens eligible to vote who do not speak English well.

these laws do, in fact, pose a disproportionate, negative, strong, consistent depreciation of minority votes.

It was supported and demanded, actually, by President Lyndon B. Johnson at the time, right after the Selma to Montgomery massacre.

Thank you, Ms. Roman, for your testimony.

In my State of North Carolina, a Federal court found that our voter ID law in particular targeted African-American voters with almost surgical precision.

We must do that. We should be making it easier for all citizens to vote, not leaving State and local governments with unchecked authority to enact legislation that imposes discriminatory barriers to the ballot.

I remember it so very well. I had just finished high school a few weeks before the VRA was passed.

We should not erect more barriers for just some citizens. Americans who are eligible to vote should be able to register and cast their ballot without undue obstacles and burdens.

there is no widespread threat of voter fraud in our elections.

Black, Latino, and immigrant communities are statistically less likely to have a valid ID for purposes of voting as compared to White, non-Hispanic populations.

these burdens fall disproportionately on Black, Latino, and immigrant communities.

it was Mr. Sensenbrenner and President Bush and others who embraced the 2006 reauthorization.