Melvin Watt: “I rise in opposition to Mr. Westmoreland's amendment. This amendment imposes far more federalism costs on states than…”

“I rise in opposition to Mr. Westmoreland's amendment. This amendment imposes far more federalism costs on states than does the current structure of the Voting Rights Act that its opponents criticize. In short, the amendment would permit the Department of Justice on an annual basis to snoop through every governance document maintained by a jurisdiction to determine whether it meets the eligibility requirements for bailout. This process will be far more onerous than that presently imposed on jurisdictions. Now jurisdictions are in control of what they provide to the Department, both for preclearance and bail-out purposes. The mechanism established under this amendment also requires DOJ to expend tremendous amounts of time and resources exposing nondiscrimination while leaving discrimination unabated. This amendment turns the Voting Rights Act on its head and makes a complete farce out of our principles of democracy. It should be soundly defeated.”