49–008 

109TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 109–516 

PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 9, FANNIE LOU HAMER, ROSA 

PARKS, AND CORETTA SCOTT KING VOTING RIGHTS ACT REAUTHORIZATION AND AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2006 

JUNE 20, 2006.—Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed 

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART, from the Committee on Rules, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 878] 

The Committee on Rules, having had under consideration House 

Resolution 878, by a nonrecord vote, report the same to the House 

with the recommendation that the resolution be adopted. 

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS OF THE RESOLUTION

The resolution provides for the consideration of H.R. 9, the 

Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, and Coretta Scott King Voting 

Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006, under a 

structured rule. The rule provides 90 minutes of general debate 

equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary. The rule waives all 

points of order against consideration of the bill. 

The rule provides that the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on the Judiciary now printed in the bill shall be considered as an original bill for the purpose 

of amendment and shall be considered as read. 

The rule makes in order only those amendments printed in this 

report. The rule provides that the amendments made in order may 

be offered only in the order printed in this report, may be offered 

only by a Member designated in this report, shall be considered as 

read, shall be debatable for the time specified in this report equally 

divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not 

be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for 

division of the question in the House or in the Committee of the 

Whole. The rule waives all points of order against the amendments 

printed in this report. 

Finally, the rule provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions. 

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EXPLANATION OF WAIVERS

The Committee on Rules is not aware of any points of order 

against consideration of the bill or against the amendments. The 

waivers of all points of order are prophylactic in nature. 

COMMITTEE VOTES

Pursuant to clause 3(b) of House rule XIII the results of each 

record vote on an amendment or motion to report, together with 

the names of those voting for and against, are printed below: 

Rules Committee record vote No. 226 

Date: June 20, 2006. 

Measure: H.R. 9, Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, and Coretta 

Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments 

Act of 2006. 

Motion by: Mr. Hastings of Florida. 

Summary of motion: To extend general debate to four hours. 

Results: Defeated 4 to 9. 

Vote by Members: Diaz-Balart—nay; Hasting (WA)—nay; Sessions—nay; Putnam—nay; Capito—nay; Cole—nay; Bishop—nay; 

Gingrey—nay; Slaughter—yea; McGovern—yea; Hastings (FL)— 

yea; Matsui—yea; Dreier—nay. 

SUMMARY OF AMENDMENTS MADE IN ORDER

1. Norwood (GA): Updates the formula in section 4 of the Voting 

Rights Act (VRA) that determines which states and jurisdictions 

will be covered under Section 5 of the VRA. This updated formula 

would be a rolling test based off of the last three presidential elections. Any state would be subject to Section 5 if it currently has 

a discriminatory test in place or voter turnout of less than 50% in 

any of the three most recent presidential elections. (40 minutes) 

2. Westmoreland (GA): Provides for an expedited, proactive procedure to bail out from coverage under the preclearance portions of 

the Voting Rights Act, by requiring the Department of Justice to 

assemble a list of all jurisdictions eligible for bailout and to notify 

the jurisdictions. The Department of Justice is then required to 

consent to the entry of a declaratory judgment allowing bailout if 

a jurisdiction appears on the list. (40 minutes) 

TEXT OF AMENDMENTS MADE IN ORDER

1. AN AMENDMENT TO BE OFFERED BY REPRESENTATIVE NORWOOD

OF GEORGIA, OR HIS DESIGNEE, DEBATABLE FOR 40 MINUTES

Page 11, strike lines 1 through 3. 

Page 11, line 4, strike ‘‘(2)’’ and insert ‘‘(1)’’. 

Page 11, line 7, strike ‘‘(3)’’ and insert ‘‘(2)’’. 

Add at the end the following: 

SEC. 10. CRITERIA FOR INCLUSION FOR PRECLEARANCE AND OTHER 

PROVISIONS OF TITLE I. 

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973 et seq.) is amended— 

(1) in the first sentence of section 4(a)(1), by striking ‘‘the 

first two sentences of’’; 

(2) by striking the second sentence of section 4(a)(1); 

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(3) in section 4(a), by striking ‘‘or (in the case of a State or 

subdivision seeking a declaratory judgment under the second 

sentence of this subsection)’’ each place it appears; 

(4) so that subsection (b) of section 4 reads as follows: 

‘‘(b)(1) Subsection (a) applies in any State or subdivision of a 

State that the Attorney General determines maintains a test or device, or with respect to which the Director of the Census determines that less than 50 percent of the citizens of voting age residing therein were registered on November 1 of a critical year, or 

that less than 50 percent of those citizens voted in the presidential 

election of that critical year. The critical years for the purposes of 

this Act are the 3 years in which the last preceding presidential 

elections took place. 

‘‘(2) A determination under paragraph (1) is not reviewable in 

any court and shall take effect upon publication in the Federal 

Register.’’; 

(5) in section 4(f)(4), by striking ‘‘the second sentence of section 4(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (a)’’; and 

(6) in section 5, by striking ‘‘Whenever a State or political’’ 

and all that follows through ‘‘1972’’ and inserting ‘‘Whenever a 

State or political subdivision with respect to which the prohibitions set forth in section 4(a) based on a determination made 

under section 4(b) enacts or seeks to administer any voting 

qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or 

procedure with respect to voting different from that in force or 

effect on the day before that determination was made’’. 

2. AN AMENDMENT TO BE OFFERED BY REPRESENTATIVE WESTMORELAND OF GEORGIA, OR HIS DESIGNEE, DEBATABLE FOR 40 

MINUTES

Add at the end the following: 

SEC. ll. EXPEDITED DECLARATORY JUDGMENT IN CERTAIN CASES. 

Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act is amended by adding at the 

end the following: ‘‘The Attorney General shall annually determine 

whether each State and political subdivision to which the requirements of this section apply meets the requirements for a declaratory judgment under section 4(a). The Attorney General shall inform the public and each State or political subdivision of the determination with respect to that State or subdivision. The Attorney 

General shall consent to the entry of judgment in favor of a State 

or political subdivision that seeks such a declaratory judgment if 

the Attorney General has determined that State or subdivision currently meets the requirements.’’. 

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