Political Quotes

On the recordDecember 6, 2019
As a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, having participated in the restoration and reinvigoration of the Voting Rights Act in the 2000-2008 period that was bipartisan because there was an understanding by President Bush that the denial of one's right to vote is a denial of human rights, I stand here today as a Member who has joined a number of the congressional hearings. I thank Congresswomen Sewell and Fudge and Congressmen Cohen and Nadler for the work that has been done, and I encourage my good friend, Mr. Collins, to be reminded of the voter suppression in his gubernatorial race that resulted in the loss of Stacey Abrams. And so I rise today as one who has seen the impact of voting rights, particularly in the State of Texas, and argue vigorously for the restoration through H.R. 4. It is a fair bill: 25-year period on a rolling basis with current conditions, and a 10-year legitimacy for those that pass the test. President Johnson, during the signing of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, said the vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men and women because they are different from other men and women. I am a victim of voting rights suppression. I am a redistrict district that comes from the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Barbara Jordan would not have come to this House had it not been for the right to vote for someone that you choose.…
Said by
Sheila Jackson Lee
Democratic · Texas

Share

More from Sheila Jackson Lee

Mar 22, 2024

As a senior member of the Committees on the Budget, Judiciary, and Homeland Security, I proudly rise in support of H. Res. 1102--Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (Approps Minibus No. 2) which will provide funding to continue…

govinfo.gov
Mar 13, 2024

I thank the graciousness of Ms. Kaptur for this time. I honor, in this month, Women's History Month, and salute the many women who have invested in the lives of so many. I honor the teachers who have taught young people. I honor Ivalita…

govinfo.gov
Feb 15, 2024

I could not help, with my good friend and colleague eloquently speaking about the children and the pain, to rise to the floor today, having just stood on the grounds of the United States Capitol, wondering why we have not been able to pass…

govinfo.gov
Apr 9, 2024

What a great amount of excitement yesterday when I left downtown Houston and went to one of our community schools to engage with young Hispanic and African-American students on the eclipse that had not been seen for years and years and…

govinfo.gov

Other voices in this conversation