File:H. Con. Res. 9 (Introduced in House) - Expressing the sense of Congress that a day should be designated as National Voting Rights Act Mobilization Day.pdf

English: 115th CONGRESS

 1st Session

H. CON. RES. 9

 Expressing the sense of Congress that a day should be designated as 
           ``National Voting Rights Act Mobilization Day.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           January 13, 2017

 Ms. Fudge (for herself, Ms. Adams, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. 

Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Ms. Castor of

Florida, Ms. Judy Chu of California, Ms. Clark of Massachusetts, Ms. 
Clarke of New York, Mr. Clyburn, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Danny 

K. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Ellison, Mr. Engel, Mr. Evans, Mr. Garamendi, Mr. Al Green of Texas, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Hastings, Ms. Jackson Lee, Ms.

Jayapal, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Ms. Kaptur, Ms. Kelly of 
Illinois, Mr. Larsen of Washington, Ms. Lee, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Meeks, 
   Ms. Moore, Mr. Nadler, Ms. Norton, Mr. Payne, Ms. Pingree, Ms. 

Plaskett, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Raskin, Mr. Richmond, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr.

Rush, Mr. Ryan of Ohio, Mr. David Scott of Georgia, Mr. Serrano, Ms. 
    Sewell of Alabama, Ms. Shea-Porter, Mr. Soto, Mr. Thompson of 
  Mississippi, Ms. Titus, Mr. Tonko, Mr. Veasey, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. 
  Bishop of Georgia, Mr. Brown of Maryland, Mr. Clay, Mr. Lawson of 
   Florida, Mr. McEachin, and Ms. Wilson of Florida) submitted the 

following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on

                   Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                        CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 Expressing the sense of Congress that a day should be designated as 
           ``National Voting Rights Act Mobilization Day.

Whereas the affirmation of the Declaration of Independence that ``all men are

       created equal too often has been disregarded throughout our Nation's 
       history;

Whereas voting is the fundamental political right because it is ``preservative

       of all rights;

Whereas the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to the Constitution prohibit

       racial discrimination in voting by the States;

Whereas when Congress enacted the Voting Rights Act of 1965, certain States

       employed tests and devices that were race-neutral on their face but were 
       used to prevent racial minorities from registering and voting;

Whereas when Congress enacted the Voting Rights Act of 1965, certain States and

       their political subdivisions had resorted to substituting new 
       discriminatory practices for ones that were enjoined by the Federal 
       courts, requiring aggrieved plaintiffs to assume the burden of repeated 
       litigation to vindicate their fourteenth and fifteenth amendment rights;

Whereas Congress enacted section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to require

       certain States and political subdivisions to submit new or modified 
       voting practices for Federal review before they can be used;

Whereas Congress reauthorized section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in

       1970, 1975, and 1982 after finding a continuing pattern of racial 
       discrimination in voting by the covered jurisdictions;

Whereas the Supreme Court repeatedly has upheld section 5 against constitutional

       challenges, and pointed to section 5 as a model for the appropriate 
       exercise of Congress' enforcement authority under the Reconstruction 
       Amendments;

Whereas section 5 has proven to be one of the most effective provisions of the

       Voting Rights Act of 1965 in blocking and deterring many thousands of 
       discriminatory voting practices that would have denied or abridged the 
       ability of minority citizens to register, vote, and elect candidates of 
       their choice;

Whereas Congress in 2006 reauthorized section 5 by overwhelming margins based

       upon an extensive record of continued racial voting discrimination 
       within the covered jurisdictions;

Whereas section 5 continues to require Federal review for changes in all or part

       of 16 States with histories of official discrimination, where the 
       legislative record showed that the bulk of racial voting discrimination 
       has remained concentrated;

Whereas States and political subdivisions that show a clean recent record of

       voting rights compliance can ``bail out from section 5 coverage;

Whereas there are ongoing election problems in both the covered and the non-

       covered States which urgently require the attention of Congress, 
       including voting delays, badly designed and executed voter purges, 
       unduly restrictive voter identification laws, and deceptive and 
       intimidating phone calls, flyers, and billboards, but these problems do 
       not necessarily require the non-covered States to comply with the 
       section 5 preclearance remedy;

Whereas section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 remains necessary to protect

       the hard-won gains in minority electoral participation in the covered 
       States since 1965 against the imposition of new racially discriminatory 
       voting practices;

Whereas the Supreme Court's holding in Shelby County v. Holder severely

       undermined the effectiveness of section 5;

Whereas in the wake of this decision voting rights have come under increased

       attack in States across the country; and

Whereas the first Monday in October would be an appropriate day for the Nation

       to focus upon the historic and continuing importance of the Voting 
       Rights Act of 1965 in ensuring equality at the ballot box: Now, 
       therefore, be it
   Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 

That it is the sense of Congress that a day should be designated as ``National Voting Rights Act Mobilization Day, to remind all Americans of the critical role that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 continues to play in protecting the right to vote, and for them to

voice their support for this landmark civil rights law.