South Bay Leader

Maxine Waters was mentioned in FIGHTING FOR THE RIGHT TO VOTE..... on page E829 covering the 1st Session of the 117th Congress published on July 27, 2021 in the Congressional Record.

The publication is reproduced in full below:

FIGHTING FOR THE RIGHT TO VOTE

______

speech of

HON. MAXINE WATERS

of california

in the house of representatives

Monday, July 26, 2021

Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, let me start off by making one thing clear. The 15th amendment of the United States Constitution says, ``The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.''

And so, I challenge the Supreme Court's decision that gutted Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The Supreme Court's interpretation does the exact opposite of the 15th Amendment to the Constitution. But since the 2020 election that broke voter participation records and gave us a democratic majority, Georgia has been ground-zero for voter suppression efforts in this country.

Because Black people came out to vote in record numbers, Republican lawmakers in Georgia moved with lightning speed and surgical precision to restrict voting rights. State lawmakers reached deep into their bag of tricks, including eliminating ballot drop box locations, limiting voting days and hours, instituting strict ID requirements, and even going as far as trying to make it a crime to distribute food and water to people waiting in long voting lines. It's clear that these laws aren't about protecting voters. It's about punishing voters for exercising their right to vote.

But it's not only Georgia. Since Election Day, we have been experiencing an all-out anti-democratic assault on our voting rights. Eighteen states, all led by Republican governors, have enacted voter suppression laws because they know that when we vote, they lose. They're playing scared, but we have got to play smart.

We have seen this type of backlash before. And just as we did in the 1960's, we must pass new civil rights legislation, including the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the For the People Act, to protect and expand voting rights.

The legislation named after my dear friend and civil rights icon, the late Congressman John Lewis, would restore the Voting Rights Act to its full strength, and stem the tide against this flood of voter suppression laws.

The For The People Act establishes automatic voter registration. It prohibits the most common forms of voter roll purges. It increases access to the polls. It restores voting rights for the formerly incarcerated, among many other democracy saving provisions.

After an election filled with big lies and scare tactics, that culminated in the violent January 6 insurrection, the American people deserve hard assurances that their vote and their voice will continue to count. So, if the Senate needs to eliminate the filibuster to protect voting rights, then that is exactly what it must do.

This fight that we are in to protect our sacred right to vote is critical and urgent. Our democracy is on the line, and we are not without options to try and save it.

SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 131

The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.

House Representatives' salaries are historically higher than the median US income.