Date: 2002-09-25
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. This motion instructs the conferees on H.R. 3295. the Help America Vote Act. to complete their work and file a conference report prior to October 1. Mr. Speaker. less than a week ago I joined a number of Members at this podium and recounted how allegations of voter intimidation. inaccurate voter registration lists. arbitrary ballot counting standards. and antiquated machinery deprived so many citizens of their right to vote and have their vote counted during the 2000 election. Recent primary elections in Florida and elsewhere have only confirmed that the problems of 2000 will not go away until we pass and enact meaningful election reform legislation reform standards. and we must also provide State and local authorities with resources to improve their election systems from top to bottom. It is really very simple. and so I ask how many times do we have to come to this podium and plead for reform. I am here to tell my colleagues that we will come before them I guess as many times as it takes. This is a number one priority for the Congressional Black Caucus because we believe so strongly in democracy. and this is the crux of democracy. There is no democracy when we shut out the first amendment right and not allow people to cast their votes that are eligible and have those votes counted. So we cannot be silenced until this body answers the call for election reform. We in Congress have within our power. indeed almost within our very grasp. legislation that will take giant strides to remedy the disenfranchisement of the last election. It has not been an easy fight to get where we are today. but we are just inches away from the comprehensive legislation that will secure the constitutional right to vote for millions of Americans. We must pass this bill. and we must send it to the President for his signature before another day passes. I am proud to say that in the fight for election reform we have had many foot soldiers. I want to thank the gentleman from Maryland . who has been battling every day since the 2000 elections to extend these important protections to all of our Nations voters. His leadership is getting us to where we are today on this legislation. It has been limitless. and I thank him for everything he has done. In that same spirit. I must also thank the gentleman from Ohio for his hard work in helping us bridge the differences between the two bills. Indeed. I believe that all members of the conference committee deserve our gratitude for their work on this challenging task. We also have had the terrific support from our colleagues from the other Chamber. and I would like to especially commend the efforts of Senator CHRISTOPHER DODD. who has worked alongside the caucus and the civil rights communities to make certain that the issues we care about most deeply are being addressed in the final bill. Finally. I must thank my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus and. in particular. the gentleman from Michigan and the gentlewoman from California for working tirelessly. We have invested so much energy and so much passion in seeing the goal of making every vote count realized. and now I salute all of the people who have remained steadfast. As many of my colleagues know. the CBC has been holding hearings and forums and speaking out continuously for the past 21 months on this issue. I believe when it comes to election reform. yet again. we have served as the conscience of the Congress. Soon after the Supreme Court announced its decision on Bush v. Gore. the caucus resolved to develop legislation that addressed these spectacular failures in the 2000 election. We resolved to make that legislation our number one priority. We fought hard to get the Help America Vote Act introduced and passed by the House of Representatives. and we worked with the Senate to make sure that the protections they passed were even stronger than those contained in our bill. Mr. Speaker. these bills are not far apart and we cannot reconcile them. This is why I stand here before my colleagues today to encourage conferees to complete their work and send us a bill that can be signed into law. We also know that the legislation be-. fore the conferees is not perfect. I do not think I have ever seen a perfect bill. but it is a tremendous first step toward meaningful reform. The legislation will help protect and secure an electoral system in which all Americans are able to register as voters. remain on the rolls once registered. and vote free from harassment. Mr. Speaker. our democracy begins and ends with the fundamental right to vote. Congress must act immediately to ensure that every American has the right to vote and to have their votes counted. Time is running out for the 107th Congress. We have come so close to the compromise. and the price for not passing election reform is far too high. It is imperative that the conference committee finish their hard work and come to an agreement before October 1 because we cannot afford to let this opportunity slip away. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.