Louie Gohmert: “I have been reminded again this week in conversations with some friends across the aisle that there are some people in…”

“I have been reminded again this week in conversations with some friends across the aisle that there are some people in here with whom I have extremely different views. But I know them, they have got good hearts, and they want to do the right thing; we just disagree on what that is. There was a lot said today in the debate over the Voting Rights Act change. Some have tried to say and have just been mistaken--I don't think they were intentionally trying to misrepresent anything--but what we voted on today was not a reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act. The Voting Rights Act has been in effect, and it is still in effect. But going back to the previous reauthorization that came through the Judiciary Committee I am on, it became clear that between the Republican and Democrat leaders in Judiciary, there was an agreement, and they weren't going to allow changes to their agreement. I pointed out to both of them back at the time: You have a provision in here that is reauthorized that will punish States for sins committed by grandparents--in some cases great-grandparents--that happened decades before, in many cases decades before some were born who were there. This is not supposed to be a country where we intentionally punish the children and grandchildren of somebody who committed an offense. It was wrongdoing in preventing people from voting, and the Voting Rights Act addressed that.…”