Sheila Jackson Lee: “I thank the gentlewoman. Might I say, as we vote on this, we vote together. Might I say, as much as we vote, can we do…”

“I thank the gentlewoman. Might I say, as we vote on this, we vote together. Might I say, as much as we vote, can we do it in action and vote to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act by simply restoring section 5, giving the Supreme Court what it needs, but recognizing the importance of protecting the right to vote? In the name of Jimmie Lee Jackson who died trying to protect his mother and grandmother, in the name of Viola Liuzzo, and in the name of Reverend James Reeb, I ask that we stand here today and vote for this legislation to honor them, but vote for reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act. Mr. Speaker, I rise today not only as a proud supporter, but as a cosponsor, of H.R. 431, a bill authorizing the award of the Congressional Gold Medal to the ``foot soldiers of Selma,'' those heroic souls who risked their lives for freedom and to secure the right to vote for all Americans by their participation in marches for voting rights on ``Bloody Sunday,'' ``Turnaround Tuesday,'' or the final, completed march from Selma to Montgomery in March 1965.…”