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CONGRESSWOMAN JACKSON LEE MARKS 49TH ANNIVERSARY OF VOTING RIGHTS ACT

August 6, 2014

“the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is sacred treasure, earned by the sweat and toil and tears and blood of ordinary Americans who showed the world it was possible to accomplish extraordinary things”

HOUSTON– Today, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, released the following statement today marking the 49th anniversary of the landmark Voting Rights Act signed by President Lyndon Johnson on August 6, 1965:

"In the 49 years since its passage on this day in 1965, the Voting Rights Act has safeguarded the right of Americans to vote and stood as an obstacle to many of the more egregious attempts by certain states and local jurisdictions to game the system by passing discriminatory changes to their election laws and administrative policies.

"In signing the Voting Rights Act on August 6, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson said:

‘The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men.'

"But on June 25, 2013, the Supreme Court decided Shelby County v. Holder, 570 U.S. 193 (2013), which invalidated Section 4(b) of the VRA, and paralyzed the application of the VRA's Section 5 preclearance requirements, which protect minority voting rights where voter discrimination has historically been the worst. Since 1982, Section 5 has stopped more than 1,000 discriminatory voting changes in their tracks, including 107 discriminatory changes in Texas.

"Although much progress has been made with regard to Civil Rights there is still much work to be done in order to prevent systemic voter suppression and discrimination within our communities and we must remain ever vigilant and oppose schemes that will abridge or dilute the precious right to vote.

"H.R. 3899, ‘Voting Rights Amendments Act of 2014,' of which I am an original co-sponsor, repairs the damage done to the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court decision and is capable of winning majorities in the House and Senate and the signature of the President.

"This legislation replaces the old ‘static' coverage formula with a new dynamic coverage formula, or ‘rolling trigger,' which effectively gives the legislation nationwide reach because any state and any jurisdiction in any state potentially is subject to being covered if the requisite number of violations are found to have been committed.

"For millions of Americans, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is sacred treasure, earned by the sweat and toil and tears and blood of ordinary Americans who showed the world it was possible to accomplish extraordinary things.

"The Voting Rights Act is needed as much today to prevent another epidemic of voting disenfranchisement as Dr. Salk's vaccine is still needed to prevent another polio epidemic. I again call upon Speaker Boehner to bring H.R. 3899, ‘Voting Rights Amendments Act of 2014' to the floor for a vote."

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Congresswoman Jackson Lee is a Democrat from Texas's 18th Congressional District. She is a senior member of the House Committees on Judiciary and Homeland Security and is Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security