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OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS

Clyburn and Colleagues Call for House Action on Voting Rights Legislation

CLYBURN AND COLLEAGUES CALL FOR HOUSE ACTION ON
VOTING RIGHTS LEGISLATION

WASHINGTON – Assistant Democratic Leader James E. Clyburn joined 160 House colleagues in sending the following letter today to the offices of Speaker John A. Boehner, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte.  The letter calls for action on H.R. 3899, the bipartisan Voting Rights Amendment Act.

March 27, 2014

The Honorable John A. Boehner                                                      The Honorable Eric Cantor
Speaker of the House                                                                       House Majority Leader
H-232 The Capitol                                                                             H-329 The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515                                                                     Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Bob Goodlatte
Chairman, House Judiciary Committee
2138 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Speaker Boehner, Leader Cantor, and Chairman Goodlatte:

            In the Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby County v. Holder last year, Chief Justice Roberts expressly acknowledged the persistence of voter discrimination and challenged Congress to formulate an updated coverage formula to protect against it.  H.R. 3899, the Voting Rights Amendment Act, is a bipartisan bill that would restore the safeguards of the 1965 Voting Rights Act in a manner consistent with the Shelby County decision.  Some of us believe the bill should be enacted in its current form, and some of us would prefer to see it amended.  But all of us stand united in our desire for the House to consider the issue in time for the entire Congress to work its will before the August district work period.

            In that spirit, we ask that the Judiciary Committee hold a hearing on this legislation and proceed toward a markup with full confidence that any legislation passed out of the committee will be considered on the House floor.  We stand ready to work with you to move the bipartisan bill to the floor expeditiously.  We are confident that a bipartisan bill passed by the House would be swiftly passed by the Senate and signed into law by the President. 

While we differ in our views on the ideal response to Shelby County, we all hope to join you in building on the bipartisan agreement that has been reached to ensure that, as President Ronald Reagan said, “no barrier will come between our citizens and the voting booth.”

Sincerely,

James E. Clyburn

Steny H. Hoyer

John Conyers Jr.

Robert C. Scott

Ben R. Lujan

Raul Grijalva

Steve Cohen

William Enyart

Bruce L. Braley

John Dingell

Sander Levin

André Carson

Cedric Richmond

Jackie Speier

Chellie Pingree

Judy Chu

Steve Israel

Susan Davis

Sheila Jackson Lee

Mark Pocan

John P. Sarbanes

G.K. Butterfield

Julia Brownley

Nick Rahall

Sanford D. Bishop Jr.

Allyson Y. Schwartz

Elizabeth Esty

Theodore E. Deutch

Keith Ellison

David Price

Gwen Moore

Nita Lowey

Adam Schiff

Yvette D. Clarke

Paul D. Tonko

Jared Huffman

Jerrold Nadler

Marc Veasey

Ed Pastor

Elijah Cummings

Denny Heck

Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Rubén Hinojosa

Louise Slaughter

Beto O'Rourke

Sam Farr

Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr.

Suzan DelBene

John B. Larson

Anna G. Eshoo

Danny K. Davis

Charles B. Rangel

Frederica S. Wilson

Lois Capps

Dutch Ruppersberger

Albio Sires

Lois Frankel

Juan Vargas

Donald M. Payne, Jr.

John Barrow

Henry Waxman

Rush Holt

Brad Sherman

Carolyn Maloney

Corrine Brown

Peter Welch

Robert Brady

Hakeem Jeffries

José E. Serrano

Lloyd Doggett

Henry Cuellar

Mark Takano

James McGovern

Alan Lowenthal

Madeleine Bordallo

Earl Blumenauer

Joe Garcia

Filemon Vela

Michelle Lujan Grisham

Jan Schakowsky

Mike Quigley

Eni F. H. Faleomavaega

Adam Smith

Kathy Castor

George Miller

Zoe Lofgren

Al Green

Marcia L. Fudge

Emanuel Cleaver

Scott Peters

Rosa L. DeLauro

Frank Pallone, Jr.

Daniel Kildee

Derek Kilmer

Jim Cooper

Eric Swalwell

Mike Honda

Gene Green

Eliot Engel

Bobby L. Rush

Niki Tsongas

Jim McDermott

Donna F. Edwards

Ron Barber

Gerald E. Connolly

Barbara Lee

Tony Cárdenas

Tim Ryan

Joyce Beatty

Ed Perlmutter

Matthew Cartwright

Janice Hahn

Colleen Hanabusa

Kyrsten Sinema

Joseph P. Kennedy, III

John Delaney

Pete Gallego

Ann McLane Kuster

Katherine Clark

Timothy Bishop

James Moran

John Tierney

Jim Langevin

Wm. Lacy Clay

Steven Horsford

Pedro Pierluisi

Robin Kelly

John Carney

Betty McCollum

David Cicilline

Ron Kind

Ami Bera

Linda Sanchez

Chris Van Hollen

John Garamendi

Terri A. Sewell

Brian Higgins

Peter DeFazio

John A. Yarmuth

Gregory W. Meeks

Rick Nolan

Luis Gutierrez

Diana DeGette

Gary Peters

Sean Patrick Maloney

Dina Titus

Alan Grayson

Jim Himes

Doris O. Matsui

Raul Ruiz

Karen Bass

Xavier Becerra

Mike Thompson

Eleanor Holmes Norton

Cheri Bustos

Eddie Bernice Johnson

Alcee L. Hastings

Jared Polis

Joseph Crowley

Bill Foster

Suzanne Bonamici

 

 

         

 

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