OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Upholding Voting Rights Act

Floor Speech

Date: March 5, 2013
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, this weekend I joined a trip led by Congressman John Lewis to some of the landmark sites of the civil rights struggle, culminating in a walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on the 48th anniversary of that historic march. The trip underscored the importance of the Voting Rights Act, which is responsible for much of the progress we have made toward eliminating voter discrimination, and the need for the Supreme Court to uphold section 5 of the law in the case pending before it.

Meanwhile, in Congress, we should be working to eliminate the inexcusably long lines at polling places across the country and ensure that every American who wants to cast a ballot is able to do so.

Decades ago, Congressman Lewis helped lead the fight for the idea that all Americans should be able to participate in our democratic process. It is my hope that the Supreme Court and this Congress will honor that struggle in the years ahead.


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