Blunt Rochester Statement on President Biden's Voting Rights Speech

Statement

Today, Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) traveled with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris as the President gave a speech outlining the critical importance of securing voting rights legislation and announcing his support for changing the Senate filibuster rules to allow for the passage of voting rights legislation.

"Today, the President of the United States made clear that his top priority is securing the most basic and fundamental right of every American citizen - the right to vote. I was honored to join the President and Vice President as we traveled to the cradle of our democracy - the hometown of the late Congressman John Lewis. This visit sent a strong signal to the American people and to Congress of the seriousness with which the Biden-Harris Administration is addressing this issue.

"And the speech from the President signaled that this Administration supports the right to vote not just in word but in deed. President Biden made clear that we will not let process be the enemy of progress. That we will not let Senate procedure stand in the way of the franchise. I believe we have been placed at this moment in history for such a time as this. I feel the fierce sense of urgency that Dr. King spoke of in his 1957 speech, "Give us the Ballot.'

"It was in that address that Dr. King called on the President of the United States and Congress with a most urgent request - that they grant us the right to vote. President Biden and Vice President Harris have answered the calls of history to secure the voting rights of all Americans. It's now time for the United States Senate to Act. This isn't a question of policy - it is the question of our democracy. And we have no time to waste. We must act now."

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