Probably the biggest reason Americans do not like our government is the sludge flood of red tape. In Kabul, the embassy officials are sitting around filling out forms at a time of extreme emergency for the Afghanis who want to or must leave a country now under Taliban rule. At home, H.R. 4, The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021, has been starting and stopping time and again. But now there is good news for voting rights activists and American voters.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) just announced on Tuesday in a press release that the House will vote on the legislation next week:
‘House Democrats formally introduced H.R. 4 today, the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. The House will vote on the measure next week. Here’s @speakerpelosion the new proposal:’
Former Representative John Lewis was nearly killed when he marched over that bridge in Selma, Alabama with Martin Luther King, Jr., NBC reported. He was badly beaten with police batons. The legendary representative passed away last year after a lifetime of working toward equal voting rights for all.
Instead, the Heritage Foundation let loose a torrent of already-written laws after Donald Trump lost the 2020 election for Republican state legislators to put into action, over 400 bills in total. The state laws varied from making it a crime to give someone a bottle of water to Republican-dominated state governments being able to confiscate the election results with no evidence of fraud and declare a GOP win.
Speaker Pelosi announced that H.R. 4 will secure “the sacred right to vote:”
‘The House today is taking a momentous step to secure the sacred right to vote for generations to come. With the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, proudly introduced today by Congresswoman Terri Sewell alongside Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, Democrats are fighting back against an anti-democratic tide, protecting access to the ballot box for every American and carrying on the cause to which our beloved John Lewis devoted his entire life.’
The speaker pointed to the “voter suppression of voters of color” and urged people to carry through, or it will “erode our democracy:”
‘A brazen, partisan campaign of voter suppression silences voters of color across the nation and threatens to erode our democracy.  Further, the Supreme Court’s disastrous decision in Shelby v. Holder opened the floodgates of voter suppression, allowing states with dark histories of bigotry and discrimination to pass hundreds of laws designed to keep communities of color from the ballot box. This year alone, eighteen states have enacted thirty dangerous voter suppression laws, while the Court has continued its assault on the Voting Rights Act with its shameful decision in Brnovich v. DNC.’
A recent House report confirmed Congress’ “ironclad Constitutional mandate” along with a “moral responsibility:”
‘As confirmed in a recent House report, Congress has not only an ironclad Constitutional mandate, but a moral responsibility to enact H.R. 4 to combat destructive and discriminatory voter suppression. In doing so, we live up to the powerful legacy of this bill’s late namesake, Congressman Lewis: a titan of the Civil Rights Movement and a courageous champion for voting rights.’
Pelosi concluded that the states were already moving, so the Democrats will vote on August 23rd to pass H.R. 4:
‘With the attack on the franchise escalating and states beginning the process of redistricting, we must act. When the House returns on August 23rd, Democrats plan to pass H.R. 4 – and we hope it can secure the bipartisan support this vital legislation deserves. We must also enact H.R. 1, the For The People Act, to ensure that every American has a say in the destiny of our democracy.’
Three White Lions podcast, Gloria Christie reads her week’s most important news/ commentary stories in the liberal online newspaper The Bipartisan Report. Gloria Christie Report her newsletter for people on the go. Written in her own unique style with a twist of humor in a briefer version of Bipartisan Report. Christie’s Mueller Report Adventures In Bite-Sizes a real-life compelling spy mystery. Find her here on Facebook
