Clearly, we know that our neighborhoods and our schools are probably as segregated now as they were in 1968.

People of color in this country have been singled out for precisely the kind of voter suppression that we are talking about here today.

The Constitution doesn't say that you can only vote if you vote in every election.

this is not just a political exercise; this is the real deal, and it is creating the official record that will be used to legislate on voting rights in the United States Congress.

This is an official Congressional hearing, so it does not allow for audience participation by way of asking questions.

I really believe that purging is unconstitutional.

It is just outrageous that we can't find somebody who has lived in the same place for 20 years.

I don't understand why it is difficult for people to understand that if you have one-and-a-half million people and you only have one early-voting site there is something wrong with that.

The government maybe should just put an address on your house and make the post office deliver to you.

I thank you for your patriotism, for wanting to participate in this democracy.

I want to apologize for what seems to be the neglect of the Federal Government to stand up to the promises that it made to you.

Section 2 needs to stay in place. Section 2 is basically what we utilize to ensure that HAVA is actually interpreted and the funds are distributed correctly.

What they said was the formula that you are using to determine preclearance is too old and the data is too old.

The Voting Rights Act was necessary because of this country's long and painful history of not extending the right to vote to all of 'We the People'.

It is the most ridiculous thing that I have ever heard.

Freedom is not free. We learned that during the Civil Rights Movement.

There is a cost to everything we do. Yours just happens to be $50 billion to the Treasury.

Madam Secretary, do you realize that it is your responsibility to educate every child in the United States?

We are once again picking winners and losers, which is something that my colleagues complained about for years.

Are you aware that Alabama and Florida have State tuition tax credit programs and they have shown no improvement in academic achievement for students?

My concern is that you spent so much of your time focused on vouchers, how do we fund religious and private schools?

I just wish that at some point we would just be honest with what we are doing.

It is just a yes or no, Madam Secretary.

the Federal Government should not be impeding states' ability to apply for waivers from work requirements in areas where there is evidence of a lack of sufficient jobs.

The proposed rule would shift the burden of providing food from the Federal Government on to cities, states, and local charities.