[Senate Hearing 109-555]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 109-555
RENEWING THE TEMPORARY PROVISIONS OF THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT: AN
INTRODUCTION TO THE EVIDENCE
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
APRIL 27, 2006
__________
Serial No. J-109-70
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary
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COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania, Chairman
ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont
CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, Iowa EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts
JON KYL, Arizona JOSEPH R. BIDEN, Jr., Delaware
MIKE DeWINE, Ohio HERBERT KOHL, Wisconsin
JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California
LINDSEY O. GRAHAM, South Carolina RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, Wisconsin
JOHN CORNYN, Texas CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York
SAM BROWNBACK, Kansas RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois
TOM COBURN, Oklahoma
Michael O'Neill, Chief Counsel and Staff Director
Bruce A. Cohen, Democratic Chief Counsel and Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
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STATEMENTS OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Page
Cornyn, Hon. John, a U.S. Senator from the State of Texas........ 4
prepared statement........................................... 17
Feingold, Hon. Russell D., a U.S. Senator from the State of
Wisconsin...................................................... 10
prepared statement........................................... 18
Kennedy, Hon. Edward M., a U.S. Senator from the State of
Massachusetts.................................................. 3
prepared statement........................................... 20
Leahy, Hon. Patrick J., a U.S. Senator from the State of Vermont. 2
prepared statement........................................... 22
Specter, Hon. Arlen, a U.S. Senator from the State of
Pennsylvania................................................... 1
WITNESSES
Conyers, Hon. John, Jr., a Representative in Congress from the
State of Michigan.............................................. 7
Sensenbrenner, Hon. F. James, Jr., a Representative in Congress
from the State of Wisconsin.................................... 5
SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD
Conyers, Hon. John, Jr., a Representative in Congress from the
State of Michigan, prepared statement.......................... 12
Sensenbrenner, Hon. F. James, Jr., a Representative in Congress
from the State of Wisconsin, prepared statement................ 25
Voting rights reports and hearings, list......................... 30
RENEWING THE TEMPORARY PROVISIONS OF THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT: AN
INTRODUCTION TO THE EVIDENCE
----------
THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006
U.S. Senate,
Committee on the Judiciary,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:40 p.m., in
room SD-226, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Arlen
Specter, Chairman of the Committee, presiding.
Present: Senators Specter, Cornyn, Leahy, Kennedy and
Feingold.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. ARLEN SPECTER, A U.S. SENATOR FROM
THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA
Chairman Specter. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I
customarily say the Judiciary Committee will proceed, but I had
better on this occasion say the Senate Judiciary Committee will
proceed because we have both the Senate and the House Judiciary
Committee present. We might have invited Chairman Sensenbrenner
and Ranking Member Conyers here to sit on the dais, but we will
proceed in the customary way.
The Honorable F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., a Member of
Congress from the 5th District of Wisconsin, became a Member of
Congress in November of 1978 after serving 10 years in the
Wisconsin State Legislature. He became Chairman of the House
Committee on the Judiciary beginning in the 107th Congress.
Previously, he had served as Chairman of the House Committee on
Science. He is a graduate of Stanford in 1965 and has a law
degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1968.
The Honorable John Conyers, Jr., is a Democratic Member
from Detroit, Michigan, representing the 4th Congressional
District. He entered the House of Representatives in 1964 and
is now the second most senior member serving in the House.
After serving as Chairman of the House Committee on
Governmental Operations from 1989 to 1994, he was elected to
lead the Democratic side of the House Committee on the
Judiciary. He has a bachelor of arts degree in 1957 and his law
degree in 1958 from Wayne State University.
Welcome, Mr. Chairman and Mr. Ranking Member. It is an
honor for us to have you here. We have talked preliminarily
about the procedures which we will follow in moving ahead for
the renewal of the Voting Rights Act, a matter of great
importance. There is nothing more important than the right of
citizens to vote, the backbone and basis of our constitutional
democracy.
We are also joined by Congressman John Lewis, from Georgia,
and Congressman Mel Watt, from North Carolina.
Senator Leahy.
STATEMENT OF HON. PATRICK J. LEAHY, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE
STATE OF VERMONT
Senator Leahy. Mr. Chairman, I join with you in the welcome
to Chairman Sensenbrenner, Congressman Conyers and the others.
It is interesting. Just in chatting in the back room, I was
saying even in my State, which probably has the smallest number
of minorities of any State in the country, this is a matter of
great interest among church groups, civic groups, business
groups, just as a matter of fairness, something that we pride
ourselves on in Vermont. So I appreciate the work that the four
of you have done, as has been mentioned, but also other, of
course, other Representatives, Representative Nadler and Chabot
and others.
It is hard to even think there is a debate on such basic
rights--the right to vote and the right to have your vote
count, which is just as important as the right to vote, of
course. The legitimacy of our Government is dependent on all
Americans having that right.
We are all reminded of the historic struggle for civil
rights, led by such American heroes as Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr., and Coretta Scott King. We have been reminded again, if we
needed the reminder, in the last few months of the courageous
act of Rosa Parks, who said she was not going to be treated as
a second-class citizen.
I remember as a young lawyer March 7, 1965, the pictures in
Selma, Alabama, of Congressman John Lewis, not a Congressman
then, and his fellow civil rights marchers as they fought for
their right to vote. They were attacked by State troopers on
the Edmund Pettus Bridge--Bloody Sunday, the photographs, the
television. It was something that galvanized the Nation. In my
State of Vermont, where we just couldn't conceive of such
things happening, unlike where John Lewis and so many others
saw this as a daily thing, the outrage was palpable.
A few days after that, President Johnson outlined the
proposed Voting Rights Act of 1965. Within months, Congress
passed it. The pervasive discriminatory tactics that led to it
were deeply rooted. This fight dated back almost 100 years to
the ratification of the 15th Amendment in 1870, the last of the
post-Civil War Reconstruction amendments. It wasn't until 1965,
95 years later, that we were actually making that a reality.
We have authorized it, we have reauthorized it. In 1982, we
had a bipartisan process. Mr. Chairman, you and I were there
from this Committee, and, of course, Senator Kennedy, who has
been the leader for so many years on this, and Senator Biden,
Senator Hatch, Senator Grassley, and the late Senator Strom
Thurmond. We passed it in both Houses.
I have a lot more and I will just put it in the record, Mr.
Chairman, but the point being at a time of increasing
partisanship and at a time sometimes when both bodies find
themselves at loggerheads, this is one thing that ought to
unite all of us--Republicans, Democrats, members of the House,
members of the Senate. We would truly be doing this Nation's
business. Let's pass it.
[The prepared statement of Senator Leahy appears as a
submission for the record.]
Chairman Specter. Senator Kennedy, would you care to make
an opening statement?
STATEMENT OF HON. EDWARD M. KENNEDY, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE
STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS
Senator Kennedy. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I first of all
want to thank you and Senator Leahy for having this hearing
today, and welcoming our colleagues and friends from the House.
They have been diligent in reviewing this legislation a great
deal. They have brought together experts from all parts of the
country with varying views. I want to commend you and Senator
Leahy for inviting them to share this extraordinary collection
of material that can be of such value to the Senate in its
consideration of this very important issue and question.
I am reminded, when I see both Representative Sensenbrenner
and Representative Conyers, that both of them were here in 1982
when we reauthorized it. At that time, if you remember, Mr.
Chairman, actually the administration did not favor the
extension of it at that time. It was a matter that was
contentious and took a good deal of time. The House led the way
in that struggle and battle, and the Senate passed it with over
70 votes ultimately. Dr. King called the Voting Rights Act the
No. 1 civil right, the right to vote and have that vote fully
and fairly counted.
Mr. Chairman, I had the opportunity to participate in the
Act's original passage and each of the later renewals. The year
after its passage, I had the privilege of addressing the
Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Mississippi, at the
invitation of Dr. King. When he and Coretta King met me at the
airport, we drove back along a road littered with hate leaflets
and two-inch nails, intended, no doubt, as a threat to the
Kings.
That trip was significant not for these attempts at
intimidation, but for the enthusiasm that every one of the SCLC
delegates showed for the right to vote newly protected by the
Voting Rights Act and to participate fully in our American
democracy.
There are no words to describe the importance of the step
we took in passing the Act to see that America finally lived up
to its ideals of democracy and justice for all. And as we
considering reauthorizing key portions of the law, we must
remember how far we have come and we must never, never go back
to the dark days. Section 5 serves as an important protection
against backsliding by jurisdictions with a history of
particularly severe discrimination in voting.
So, Mr. Chairman, I look forward to the presentations of
our friends today and to the hearings and to the passage of
this legislation. As our friend, Senator Leahy, and others have
pointed out, there have been many areas of division in the
Congress. The idea that we could all come together in support
of this legislation at this time on an issue of such
overwhelming importance and consequence, I think, is a very
important message to the American people that those that have
positions of responsibility understand that the right to vote
is the bedrock of our democracy and to all democracies, and we
are going to do everything we can to preserve it.
I thank the Chair.
[The prepared statement of Senator Kennedy appears as a
submission for the record.]
Chairman Specter. Thank you very much, Senator Kennedy.
Senator Cornyn, would you care to make an opening
statement?
STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN CORNYN, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF
TEXAS
Senator Cornyn. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I do have a brief
statement. Thank you, first of all, for holding this first in a
series of hearings to explore the expiring provisions of the
Voting Rights Act. As you have already noted, few issues are as
fundamental to our system of democracy and the promise of
equality inherent in our Nation's founding as voting rights,
rightfully called by President Reagan the crown jewel of
American liberties.
The Voting Rights Act was adopted at the height of the
civil rights movement in 1965. On the day he signed the bill
into law, President Lyndon Johnson, a former member of this
body whose seat I am privileged to hold, referred to the Act's
passage as a, quote, ``triumph of freedom as huge as any
victory that has ever been won on any battlefield.''
President Johnson's words captured the atmosphere
surrounding the Act's passage, a hard-fought victory at a tense
time in the Nation's history. Indeed, it is no secret why the
Voting Rights Act was necessary. Numerous jurisdictions
throughout the United States had engaged in the intentional,
systematic disenfranchisement of blacks and other minorities
through the use of tests, taxes, intimidation and other
oppressive measures.
In response, the Voting Rights Act permanently enshrined in
law the long-unfulfilled promise of citizenship and democratic
participation guaranteed by the 15th Amendment to the United
States Constitution. It further enacted for a 5-year period
provisions designed to subject certain jurisdictions to Federal
oversight of their voting laws and procedures until the intent
of the Act was realized.
I think it is significant to point to the fact that much
progress has been made. Today, black voter registration rates
are approaching, and in many areas have surpassed the rates of
white voters. Hispanic voter registration is rapidly rising as
well. In my State of Texas, in 2004, black voter registration
was 68.4 percent, as compared to a national average of 64.4
percent. Hispanic voter registration was 41.5 percent, as
compared to a national average of 34.5 percent.
With this marked progress as a backdrop, we are faced with
determining whether certain provisions of the Act should be
renewed, as they were in 1970, 1975 and 1982. As we proceed
with the upcoming hearings listening to witnesses and studying
the record, I hope we will seek a complete understanding of the
strides made toward political empowerment and equal access to
democratic participation throughout the Nation and craft our
future national policy accordingly.
Thank you very much.
Chairman Specter. Thank you very much, Senator Cornyn.
Your full statement will be made a part of the record,
without objection.
[The prepared statement of Senator Cornyn appears as a
submission for the record.]
Chairman Specter. We turn now to you, Chairman
Sensenbrenner.
STATEMENT OF HON. F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JR., A REPRESENTATIVE
IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF WISCONSIN
Representative Sensenbrenner. Thank you very much, Chairman
Specter, Ranking Member Leahy, Senators Kennedy and Cornyn. I
thank you for the opportunity to testify this afternoon.
Ranking Member Conyers and I are here today to express
bipartisan support for legislation to extend the Voting Rights
Act to ensure that the right to vote continues to be protected
to the full extent of Congress' constitutional authority.
As many of you know, my interest in the Voting Rights Act
dates back some 25 years. In 1982, I was proud to help lead a
bipartisan effort to reauthorize the temporary provisions of
the Voting Rights Act for an additional 25 years. In addition
to reauthorizing the Act, we made several necessary changes to
Sections 2 and 4 to address the concerns of many interested
parties. I believe that the 1982 amendments have been effective
in further transforming our local, State and Federal election
systems for the better.
Over the last 25 years, we have witnessed significant
increases in minority registration and turn-out. We have also
seen substantial changes in the make-up of local, State and
Federal elected offices. Today, more and more minority citizens
hold elective office in Congress, State legislatures, city
councils and school boards, and our Nation has been enriched as
a result.
Last summer, in recognizing the 40th anniversary of the
Voting Rights Act, I, along with Ranking Member Conyers and
Judiciary Committee member and Congressional Black Caucus Chair
Mel Watt and our colleague civil rights leader John Lewis of
Georgia, pledged our commitment to see the Voting Rights Act's
temporary provisions reauthorized for an additional 25 years.
Since last fall, the House Judiciary Committee has examined
the Voting Rights Act in great detail, with a particular focus
on the provisions currently set to expire in 2007. I am here
today to present this Committee with the results of our
examination, which includes almost 8,000 pages of testimony
that comprise 9 of the 10 hearing records compiled by the House
Judiciary Committee.
Since October of last year, the House Subcommittee on the
Constitution has held 10 hearings and received oral and written
testimony from more than 39 witnesses, including supporters and
opponents of reauthorization. The hearings examined the
effectiveness of each of the expiring provisions in remedying
discrimination, as well as their continued need over the next
25 years. In some cases, the Committee held multiple hearings
on certain provisions to ensure that all of the relevant issues
were fully examined.
I would ask the Committee to incorporate the hearing record
compiled by the House into your record.
Chairman Specter. Without objection, it will be made a part
of our record, perhaps the most voluminous unanimous consent
request in the history of the Committee.
Representative Sensenbrenner. Mr. Chairman, quality rather
than quantity counts, and you will find there is quality in
there, too.
Chairman Specter. We accept the representation of quality.
We observe the quantity.
Representative Sensenbrenner. Thank you.
In particular, the Committee examined the continued effect
of Section 4(b)'s trigger formula and identifying those
jurisdictions covered by the extraordinary remedies; the
feasibility of the bail-out process, as demonstrated by the
successful bail-out of eleven counties in the covered State of
Virginia; the increased use and continued need for Section 5's
pre-clearance requirements; the continued need for Federal
observers in covered jurisdictions to protect minority voters;
and the impact Section 203 has had on facilitating the
participation of language-minority citizens in the political
process.
The Committee has also carefully examined the impact
certain Supreme Court decisions have had on Section 5's ability
to protect minorities from discriminatory voting changes
enacted by covered jurisdictions, particularly in State and
Congressional redistricting initiatives.
In addition to the testimony received during the hearings,
the Committee has received and incorporated into its hearing
record written testimony from the Department of Justice, non-
governmental organizations, and other interested citizens,
including several comprehensive national and State reports.
This information significantly strengthened the Committee's
record by documenting discrimination in the electoral process,
the temporary provisions' effectiveness in addressing
discrimination, and the continued need for Federal oversight in
covered jurisdictions over the next 25 years.
This comprehensive record established by the Committee
strongly supports reauthorization of the VRA, and I believe
this record will be vitally important in ensuring that the
resulting legislation can withstand an almost certain
constitutional challenge. The Supreme Court looked to similar
records in upholding the use of these extraordinary measures on
two separate occasions, first in 1965, and again in 1980.
It has been 40 years since Congress took the first steps to
remedy our Nation's sad history of discrimination in voting.
The Committee's record demonstrates that while progress has
been made, the vestiges of discrimination are still present in
certain parts of the country. As the record also reveals,
Congress is clearly justified under Section 2 of the 15th
Amendment in using all remedies at its disposal to ensure that
the most fundamental right of citizenship, the right to vote,
is protected for all citizens.
Thank you for your indulgence today, and happy reading.
[The prepared statement of Representative Sensenbrenner
appears as a submission for the record.]
Chairman Specter. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Member Conyers.
STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR., A REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MICHIGAN
Representative Conyers. Thank you, Chairman Specter, and to
our Ranking Member, Pat Leahy, and our dear friend, Senator Ted
Kennedy. It is an honor for me to appear here today. You see,
my congressional career goes back to 1965 and my service on the
Judiciary Committee as the first African-American to hold that
honored position has not been lost on me all these years.
So I am deeply sensitive to the fact that John Lewis just
passed me a note observing that today is the birthday of the
late Coretta Scott King, and so I see the significance of this
moment, of this day, of the House and the Senate coming
together to work as expeditiously as we can to continue the
crown jewel of the civil rights laws in America. I also
remember that it was in Atlanta that Senator Ted Kennedy spoke
for the U.S. Senate at the memorial services of Coretta King
and I was honored to make a presentation for the House of
Representatives. So this is special.
When Martin King and Roy Wilkins and Whitney Young went
back to President Johnson to ask for a voting rights bill, he
told them that he had thought that he gotten as much as he
could out of the legislative body here and that it might not be
possible. But when he saw that Bloody Sunday, which went across
the Nation on television, he, like the country, was shocked at
the violence that was visited upon all of those folks there in
a non-violent, peaceful march for voting rights, in which many
others, including John Lewis, was a participant. He called back
and said I want to get an effective and strong Voting Rights
Act as quickly as we can through the Congress.
It is funny how these things come together, and I commend
Jim Sensenbrenner, the Chairman of this Committee, because he
was very effective in the 1982 extensions and has worked with
us in a truly cooperative way. It is not by accident that we
have John Lewis behind us, and Mel Watt, a member of the
Judiciary Committee and, as well, Chairman of the congressional
Black Caucus.
We have enjoyed, as this hearing demonstrates,
unprecedented levels of bipartisan support in Congress in 1970,
1975 and 1982, and I believe that all of us together can move
through the closing months of this 109th session to accomplish
what all America, and indeed in some respects all the world is
waiting to see, if we can get this through and also keep the
measure as strong as it was when it was passed in 1965.
In 1965, of course, the civil rights era was in full bloom.
In sit-ins and marches across the South, in response to massive
resistance to the call for equal rights and voter rights, brave
Americans of different races and religions risked their lives
to stand up for political equality.
So today, as the Senate commences the process of
reauthorizing the Act, its importance to opening the political
process for all Americans is beyond doubt or challenge. Across
the Nation, the number of people of color and minorities
elected to Federal, State and local offices has increased
tremendously in the last 40 years, further opening the
political process.
It is not an overstatement to call the Voting Rights Act
the keystone of our Nation's array of civil rights statutes.
And against this historical backdrop, we view our hearings and
the larger reauthorization process as an opportunity to take
stock of where we are and, if necessary, to make adjustments
that will protect and restore the Act just as we have done in
the past.
As Chairman Sensenbrenner has noted, we pay particular
attention to the pre-clearance provisions of Section 5 and the
language minority provisions of Section 203. However, we also
focus on some less well-known examiner and observer provisions
which are designed to ensure fair access to the polls.
Our inquiry broke down into two fundamental questions: Is
there an adequate record of discrimination to justify
reauthorization of the expiring provisions, and are the
expiring provisions, as interpreted by the courts, still
adequate to protect the rights of minority voters.
While there is so much to celebrate over the last 40 years,
our record indicates that we have not yet reached the point
where the special provisions of the Act should be allowed to
lapse. As some might have you believe, efforts to suppress or
dilute minority votes, I report to you sadly, are still all too
common.
With respect to Section 5, covered jurisdictions, we found
continuing patterns of discrimination in voting, as evidenced
by adverse Section 2 findings, Section 5 objections, and
withdrawals of Section 5 submissions after requests for more
information from the Department of Justice itself.
Similarly, with respect to Section 203, we received
substantial testimony from the advocacy community and the
Department of Justice, supported by its litigation record, that
language minorities remain the victims of discrimination in
voting. Most importantly, our record indicates that substantial
native-born populations and other citizens still need language
assistance to cast an effective ballot.
In addition to examining whether there was continuing
discrimination in voting, we also examined the impact that
several Supreme Court decisions have had on Section 5's ability
to protect the minority community in covered jurisdictions from
discriminatory voting changes. This inquiry was important to
ensure the continuing vitality of the Voting Rights Act.
Just as we found in 1982, after examining the negative
impact of Mobile v. Bolden on Section 2, a straight
reauthorization of the Act will not be sufficient to protect
the rights of minority voters, given its evolution in the
Court. Our examination focused on the impact of two Supreme
Court cases, in particular, the Bossier Parish case, and the
other case was Georgia v. Ashcroft. In another narrow majority,
we had a discussion about whether or not we could have factors
balance out the loss in minority voting power through so-called
influence districts.
So against this historical backdrop, we want you to know
that we think that the way that we have agreed to proceed--and
I want to thank the Chairman of this Committee--it is very,
very important that we work as closely together, as
expeditiously as possible. And we trust that whatever is useful
in our hearings that may be used by this distinguished
Committee will be put to full use.
Our record with respect to this inquiry leaves us to
confront the prospect that cases may severely limit the scope
of the Act's non-discrimination standards. And just as in 1982,
we are presented with choices of whether to simply reauthorize
the Act or to address the actions of the Court and restore the
Act to the standard that was earlier intended by Congress.
The Voting Rights Act is one of the Nation's most important
civil rights victories. It memorializes those who marched,
struggled, and even died to secure the right to vote for all
Americans. In the global circumstances in which we find
ourselves today, we know that many on this planet are looking
to see how effectively we can handle the responsibilities that
are before both bodies.
We owe a deliberative and thoughtful process to those who
have risked so much in the fight for equal rights. And while we
must applaud the substantial progress that has been made in the
area of voting rights, we must also continue our efforts to
protect the rights of every American voter with the
reauthorization and restoration of the expiring provisions of
the Act.
The Voting Rights Act remains the crown jewel of our civil
rights laws. We must extend the Act at full strength, and I am
fully committed to do that. And I know that I speak for every
Member on the House side of the Judiciary, and we know and
trust that you, Mr. Chairman, and Senator Kennedy will do all
in your power to move this very, very vital measure forward as
expeditiously as you can.
I thank you for this opportunity today.
[The prepared statement of Representative Conyers appears
as a submission for the record.]
Chairman Specter. Thank you very much, Ranking Member
Conyers.
We share the sentiments which you two distinguished
legislators have articulated. I have no questions. I believe
the questions are all answered by the qualitative and
quantitative introduction of evidence today which has been made
a part of our record.
I like the qualitative and quantitative record because we
have to be sure that it passes muster. We do not know what the
Supreme Court will do. When they declared portions of the
violence against women legislation unconstitutional because of
an insufficient record, which was voluminous, a mountain of
data identified by Justice Souter in dissent, they said we had
a defective, quote, ``method of reasoning,'' which is
incredible and insulting, candidly.
Then when they declared the Americans With Disabilities Act
unconstitutional in an employment discrimination case in
Garrett v. Alabama, five to four, and then, five to four, the
same record upheld access in Tennessee v. Lane under a standard
of proportion and congruent, plucked out of thin air, it puts
us on notice that we had better have the kind of a record that
you have produced here today. We thank you.
Senator Kennedy, would you care to comment?
Senator Kennedy. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will reserve
any questions until our own hearings. I am very grateful for
the opportunity to hear our two distinguished colleagues and
understand the depth of their pursuit on this issue. I agree we
have an important opportunity to take very essential and
necessary action, and hopefully we can do that expeditiously.
We thank you both for being here. I thank you, Mr.
Chairman.
Chairman Specter. We are committed, as we talked about
earlier Chairman Sensenbrenner and Ranking Member Conyers, to
join with you on joint introduction, bicameral introduction,
and to meet the timetables which we have discussed.
Senator Feingold, would you care to comment?
STATEMENT OF HON. RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE
STATE OF WISCONSIN
Senator Feingold. Yes, Mr. Chairman, briefly. I am pleased
to be here for this first hearing on the renewal of the Voting
Rights Act. I would first like to welcome Chairman
Sensenbrenner and Ranking Member Conyers, and thank them for
being here.
Chairman Sensenbrenner, your leadership on this issue has
been heartening. I understand you came to this issue in 1982 as
something of a skeptic, and yet you approached the issue with
an open mind and ultimately came away with the impression that,
as you have said, the ingenuity of the human mind is limitless
when it comes to devising ways to rig elections or to favor
certain candidates.
In light of the evidence presented during that
reauthorization process, you worked tirelessly to ensure the
Act's reauthorization. We were fortunate to have you as a
champion of the Act at that time and we are fortunate to have
you here again today as Chairman.
I also welcome, of course, my colleague and friend,
Representative Conyers. Few in this Congress have done more to
advance civil rights than Mr. Conyers. He and I have worked
closely on many legislative issues, including racial profiling,
bankruptcy, and the integrity of our electoral process. I am,
of course, not only pleased that you are here today, but the
other distinguished colleagues from the House who are here with
you today, underscoring the great importance of this.
The Voting Rights Act has been hailed as the most important
piece of Federal legislation in our Nation's history, not just
the most important piece of civil rights legislation, but the
most important piece of legislation ever passed. This may well
be true. It is from our political rights, our rights of
citizenship, that all other freedoms flow. Without a meaningful
chance to vote, there can be no equality before the law, no
equal access to justice, to equal opportunity in the workplace
or to share in the burdens and benefits of citizenship.
In 1965, the year that the Voting Rights Act first passed,
our Nation was failing to fulfill one of its most fundamental
promises--representation for all. At that time, African-
Americans were excluded from almost all public offices in many
areas of the South, and discriminatory election practices at
the State level were having a devastating effect on the ability
of minorities to exercise their right to vote.
In response to the horrific events in Selma, Alabama, and
after years of effort in Congress and around the country, on
August 6, 1965, the Voting Rights Act became law. Certainly,
much has changed since then. The Voting Rights Act has allowed
millions of minority voters to exercise their constitutional
rights to participate fully in elections. There are a record
number of African-American and Hispanic members serving in
Congress today, and the number of minorities serving in other
levels of government has increased dramatically as well.
Furthermore, the Act has been amended to cover non-English-
speaking minorities such as Latinos, Asian-Americans, Native
Americans, Alaskan Natives and other minority groups, and has
been used to examine and challenge new election formats that
dilute minority votes.
Unfortunately, though, obviously, as has been pointed out,
we have much more work to do. As the record that our witnesses
present helps to illuminate, in each election cycle many
Americans are still disenfranchised by discriminatory
redistricting plans, voter intimidation tactics, long lines at
polling places, inadequate numbers of voting machines, and
lifetime restrictions on voting rights for ex-felons.
In 2007, key elements of the Voting Rights Act, including
the Federal pre-clearance requirement, provisions related to
Federal examiners and observers, and certain language
assistance programs are due to expire. Voters should not be put
in the position of having to re-fight the battles won in the
civil rights struggle. We should be building on the success of
the Voting Rights Act, not turning back the clock in the face
of ongoing threats to our election system.
I hope today's hearing will be the first step in that
process in the Senate, and I look forward to working with
supporters of the Voting Rights Act on both sides of the aisle
to reauthorize this Act this year and make sure we establish
the legislative record needed to support it in court.
I want to, of course, thank again the Chairman for holding
this important hearing and thank our witnesses from across the
Capitol for their work on this issue and for joining us today.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Specter. Thank you, Senator Feingold. Thank you,
Senator Leahy. Thank you, Senator Kennedy. And most of all,
thank you, Chairman Sensenbrenner, and thank you,
Representative Conyers.
That concludes our hearing.
[Whereupon, at 3:18 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.]
[Submissions for the record follow.]
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