Hoyer Statement on the Reintroduction of the Voting Rights Amendment Act

WASHINGTON, DC – House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement on the bipartisan Voting Rights Amendment Act, which was reintroduced by Representatives John Conyers (D-MI) and Jim Sensenbrenner (R- WI) today:

“Today the Congress came together in a spirit of bipartisanship to honor those who marched for voting rights in Selma fifty years ago.  However, those same rights have been undermined by the Supreme Court’s profoundly flawed 2013 decision in Shelby v. Holder, and it is up to Congress to work in a bipartisan way to restore the Voting Rights Act’s critical protections.  I am pleased that Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers and former Republican Judiciary Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner are re-introducing the Voting Rights Amendment Act today, which would put these protections back in place for millions of voters. 

“I am proud to join civil rights hero Rep. John Lewis and other Members from both parties as a cosponsor of this important legislation once again.  I urge the Speaker and Majority Leader to help move this bipartisan bill to the Floor without delay so that the full power of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and subsequent reauthorizations will be firmly in place before the next election.”