Summary
Interestingly, the Majority provided 2 hours of general debate last year on their politically-driven flag burning amendment. If the flag is the symbol of our democracy, then the Voting Rights Act is the very foundation from which that flag flies. It is both troubling and telling that the Majority is unwilling to extend today's debate beyond 90 minutes.
M. Speaker, as debate on this historic bill commences, I am reminded of President Kennedy's words delivered to Congress in 1962 with the first draft of what would later become both the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts. President Kennedy wrote:Each attempt by a Republican Member to precondition minimum language requirements with the right to vote gives breath to [Jim Crow]. Each attempt by a Republican Member to dilute the influence of minority voters mocks longstanding Legislative and Judicial precedent and mandates. When this happens, we are reminded why this law still today is so critically needed. We will hopefully extend the Voting Rights Act by 25 years today. We should extend it for another 100 years.See the full content of this document
Extract
Statement of the Honorable Alcee L. Hastings
On H. Res. 910, the rule providing for consideration of H.R. 9, the Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006 - July 13, 2006
Thank you, M. Speaker. And I thank my colleague from Florida, Representative Diaz-Balart for yielding me the...See the full content of this document
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