Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, it's a great honor to rise today to support passage of legislation honoring the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the minting of a commemorative $1 coin. It is a particular honor to be working on a bill sponsored by one of the heroes of the civil rights movement, Congressman John Lewis and my colleague Deborah Pryce. Madam Speaker, the Civil Rights Act is widely recognized as one of the most effective, influential pieces of legislation passed by the United States Congress in the last century. The statute helped dismantle the insidious system of legalized discrimination in voting and public accommodations in America and served as a model for subsequent civil rights laws. Equally important, the Civil Rights Act helped America belatedly reach the promise put forth by our Founding Fathers, that all men are indeed created equal. The Act is the bedrock for the America we know today, a Nation that recognizes the equal rights of the disabled, women, the elderly, minority citizens, and other groups as invaluable contributors to our society, and all inherently equally deserving of the protections afforded by our Constitution.”