On the recordJanuary 13, 2022
I am grateful for the distinguished leader of this debate, Mr. Butterfield, and his service to this Nation. Madam Speaker, this is a somber, sacred moment in our lives on this floor. I stand here in the name of the blood shed by those foot soldiers, Dr. Martin Luther King and John Robert Lewis, who shed his blood on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. My friends who vote ``no'' today will disregard and ignore that bloodshed. I refuse to ignore the blood that was shed for the right to vote. As a member of the House Judiciary Committee, this committee built over the course of 13 hearings in two Congresses led by Jerry Nadler and Steve Cohen the record for the John Robert Lewis bill, and for that I am grateful, for I stand as a victim of the lack of preclearance. The bills that we have will eliminate a legislature, as a Texas bill states, to overturn duly voters' choice. It will prevent the purging of voters which happens all the time. It will protect you at the polls, Madam Speaker, and it will disallow people from interfering with your vote. It is now a sacred honor and charge. We must vote now in the name of Martin King and John Robert Lewis. We cannot do any less. The Senate must do its job.…
