JAYAPAL TAKES TO THE HOUSE FLOOR IN SUPPORT OF VOTING RIGHTS ADVANCEMENT ACT OF 2019

WASHINGTON, DC  – U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Vice Chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship, today took the House floor to deliver remarks in support of H.R. 4, the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2019. The bill passed the House and now heads the U.S. Senate for consideration.

“I’m so proud to support the Voting Rights Advancement Act, a vital piece of legislation to protect the right to vote for all. 

When Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, it was a recognition that systemic discrimination based on race continued to deny people the right to vote.

As an organizer, I understand the VRA as a victory hard fought by Black activists like Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Baker, and of course our esteemed colleague, Representative John Lewis, who devoted their lives to fighting for the right to vote; by a movement that recognized that this right to vote is absolutely fundamental to our concept of and our actualization of democracy.

But unfortunately, we have not followed with the same courage. Instead, since 2013, states have enacted laws that are suppressing voting rights across the country. And today, half the country faces stricter voting rights as a result.

If we want a true democracy, we must protect the right to vote for all. This is bill is critical to getting there.”

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Issues: Civil Rights