Date: 2016-04-20
Speaker: WATSON COLEMAN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. in a 10day march that started on April 11. thousands of Americans came to Washington. D.C.. from all over the country to fight for one thing: our democracy. In peaceful protests right outside this building. Capitol Police arrested more than 1.300 of them as they called on this body to make basic changes to reinforce the institution that makes the United States so special. The reason they marched is simple. Mr. Speaker. In a Nation founded on the will of the people. States have systematically disenfranchised those same people and it is the will of wellfunded special interests that now run our elections. We have found ourselves in this predicament primarily through inaction. the same kind of inaction poised to give the Supreme Court the longest vacancy in nearly 100 years. These folks came to the Capitol to ask our leaders to do something. and their requests are pretty simple. For starters. they want to see the restoration of the Voting Rights Act to prevent voter discrimination in the 21st century because voting discrimination does still exist. something Chief Justice Roberts acknowledged even as he struck down parts of the original Voting Rights Act. It is targeted against voters of color. those with language barriers. and those with disabilities. And Congress should be doing something about it. That is not the only call that came out of last weeks rallies. though. They also want updates to our election day procedures. updates that are sorely needed. In a world as technologically advanced as ours where you can pay for your lunch with your phone and use a fingerprint to unlock your computer. we have hourslong wait times at some voting polls. We have provisional ballots and ineffective. if not outright confusing. notification systems for how. when. and where to register to vote. It is another issue Congress should be doing something about. But perhaps the most important issue that these rallies brought to the table is the need to make sure that the voices of real people. not those of corporations or special interests. are what are heard in our elections. For that. we need to create a path back from Citizens United that allows us to regulate how money is raised and spent in elections. Because of that ruling. we need a constitutional amendment that makes clear what common sense already dictates: corporations are not people and shouldnt get a say in who governs our Nation. What is really interesting here is that the work has already been done. The call of these protesters wasnt for Congress to investigate or draft or identify solutions to these problems. The solutions already exist. They asked that we pass a few pieces of legislation that will put our democracy back where it belongs: with the people. So. Mr. Speaker. I stand in solidarity with the individuals who came to Washington last week for Democracy Spring. I stand in strong support of reforms to how we run elections and how we ensure the right to vote. I urge my colleagues to follow suit in saving our democracy. Mr. Speaker. it is my pleasure to yield to the gentlewoman from Illinois. JAN SCHAKOWSKY. a U.S. Representative.