[Pages H4347-H4348]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         RESTORE THE PROMISE AND POWER OF THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT

  (Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I stand in support of H.R. 4. I 
stand in support of democracy. Earlier this month, the House 
Administration Subcommittee on Elections, on which I

[[Page H4348]]

serve, released a report documenting voter suppression following the 
Shelby decision. We detailed the ongoing onslaught on our freedom to 
vote.
  To those that claim that voting is already accessible to all, read 
the report, open your eyes to the experience of minority communities 
who face endless barriers to the ballot box.
  After Latinos, Native Americans, and Black Americans voted in 
historic numbers, State legislators moved to restrict voting in State 
after State. We have a constitutional duty to act. We must pass H.R. 4 
to restore the promise and power of the Voting Rights Act.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my Republican colleagues to join us. Taking 
away equal access to the polls and defending voter suppression is not 
partisan, it is un-American.

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