On the recordFebruary 11, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee), who represents the Houston and Harris County area, who does such a great job of speaking out on these issues. Representative Jackson Lee and really the entire delegation down there--Representatives Gene Green and Al Green, along with Representative Jackson Lee--do a great job of keeping this on the forefront of Texans' minds and on the United States' mind. Texas is such a large State that oftentimes, legislation that is passed out of Texas has an impact on the rest of the Nation. It does seem that much of the discriminatory laws regarding redistricting and regarding voter suppression, like the voter ID bill, sadly, has emanated from our State. Mr. Speaker, let me tell you just how bad it is in our State. This is going to be really hard for some people to believe. But in the State of Texas, if a young person on a college campus were to find themselves their freshman year lost on the campus, or if they were to find themselves in a little bit of trouble on campus, they would be able to show their student ID to the proper law enforcement official, who is a police officer recognized by the State of Texas, on the campus to identify themselves. That ID works for them to be able to legally identify themselves. In the State of Texas today, that same young person would not be able to show that same student ID at the voting place, at the voting booth, to be able to cast a vote.…





