Date: 2006-07-13
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. the rule provides 90 minutes of general debate. evenly divided and controlled by the chairman and the ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary. and it also provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions. Mr. Speaker. I think it is appropriate to begin by quoting the 15th amendment to the United States Constitution: "The rights of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race. color or previous condition of servitude." As enshrined by the 15th amendment. there really is no more fundamental right in our democratic system than the right to vote. However. the history of the United States is marked with occasions where minorities were in multiple ways. and by multiple ways. blocked from having their voices heard at the ballot box. One of the great advancements in our American democracy was and is the Voting Rights Act. This historic legislation was the first comprehensive Federal statute to enforce minorities constitutional right to vote. The provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act provided swift relief to those citizens who were victims of discriminatory voting tactics and provided them access in a concrete and effective way to the voting booth. Since it was enacted. the Voting Rights Act has enfranchised millions of racial. ethnic. and language minority citizens to have* access to that sacred right that is voting by breaking down barriers and permitting increased minority participation in elections for candidates at all levels of government. After 41 years of breaking down walls. walls to participation in our democratic process. the Voting Rights Act would soon expire if not reauthorized. With this in mind. the Committee on the Judiciary began hearings to determine whether the legislation is still needed. The committee held 12 hearings on the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act. listening to testimony from State and local elected officials. scholars. lawyers. representatives from the voting and civil rights communities. The testimony and evidence presented before the committee brought to light the fact that even though we have made great strides to stop the discriminatory practices of the past. there still is ample evidence that minorities today face discriminatory practices at the ballot box. Mr. Speaker. in my community for decades we saw the voting power of minorities diluted to the point that they were for many years unable to elect the representatives of their preference. The Voting Rights Act helped correct that wrong. helped enfranchise countless citizens into our democratic political system. The underlying legislation will reauthorize the expiring provisions of the Voting Rights Act for 25 years. I would like to point out one provision which I think is very important. especially to my community. as well as communities throughout the country. The bill extends section 203. the existing language assistance requirements that provide that election materials be provided in select languages in covered jurisdictions. These provisions of the Voting Rights Act require that nonEnglish voting materials be made available in jurisdictions where 5 percent of the citizen voting age population consists of a single language. limited English proficient minority and inwhich there is a literacy rate below the national average. or more than 10.000 citizens who meet those criteria reside. These provisions. brought out in the hearings. cover approximately 12 percent of the counties in the United States. It certainly has benefited the counties that I am honored to represent. The bilingual language assistance provisions play a critical role in assisting both nativeborn and naturalized citizens to fully participate in our democratic form of government. Older residents. Mr. Speaker. who have been legal residents of the United States for many years when they apply for citizenship. they are exempt -when they take their citizenship exam to become United States citizens. They are exempt under our law from the English requirements. In other words. they take those elderly legal residents of the United States who have been here for many. many years. they are allowed to take. if they so wish. the naturalization exam to become a United States citizen in the language of their origin. In addition. many nativeborn citizens have limited English skills because they primarily speak other languages and they require assistance. These citizens should be given the opportunity to understand the ballot. Whether it is a simple. but critically important. choice between two or among candidates -or a complicated ballot initiative. those citizens of the United States should have the opportunity to fully participate. fully understand what they are voting on and that way be active participants in our democratic system. That is what the legislation does. Mr. Speaker. H.R. 9 was introduced by Chairman SENSENBRENNER. Speaker HASTERT. Minority Leader PELOSI. and reported out of the Committee on the Judiciary by an overwhelming vote of 331. It is good legislation. and I am very proud to be bringing it to the floor today. I hope and expect that we are going to see a very significant bipartisan show of support for this legislation today. I think it is fair and appropriate to commend Chairman SENSENBRENNER for his determination and his leadership and strength of character in moving forward this legislation. And also the ranking member. Mr. CONYERS. for his hard work. diligence. and leadership as well on this legislation. I know they put long hours into this process with determination. perseverance. and extraordinary good faith. I urge my colleagues to support both the rule and the underlying legislation. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.