Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark the approaching 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act and talk about the importance of restoring the Voting Rights Act as well. For decades, the Voting Rights Act has stood as the guardian for all Americans to exercise their right to vote. But 2 years ago, the Supreme Court reversed course on expanding voting rights when it ruled that section 4 of the Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional. Just hours after that ruling, my home State of Texas immediately began enforcing discriminatory laws against minority citizens from voting. I sued the State to fight these unconstitutional efforts in Veasey v. Perry, which the United States district court agreed that Rick Perry, then the Governor of Texas, signed an intentionally discriminatory Texas voter photo ID law. It was under Perry's watch as Governor of Texas that the State legislature passed the most egregious voter ID law in the entire country. Mr. Speaker, as we await the decision of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Veasey v. Perry, House Democrats will continue to fight against obstacles to voter participation and talk about the importance of restoring the Voting Rights Act. As you can tell by what is going on in Texas, it needs to be done now. ____________________”