The Congressional Black Caucus has called on the Senate to reconvene and pass voting rights legislation.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Caucus urged the Senate to immediately bring the voting rights legislation to a vote, saying that the proposed bill is a primary focus for them.
CBC Chairwoman Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) said in the statement that Black communities across the county will “lose the most if the Senate does not do their job and pass voting rights legislation,” adding that “every citizen is entitled to an equal opportunity to participate in our democracy.”
“This must not be filibustered. Voting rights has been a bipartisan issue reauthorized by four republican administrations,and it is time to send it to President Biden’s desk for reauthorization,” Beatty said in the statement.
“The Congressional Black Caucus stands with Martin Luther King, III, in saying ‘We must restore the very voting rights protections Dr. King and countless other civil rights leaders bled to secure.’ How can we commemorate the legacy of a man who dedicated his life to voting rights, and then allow inaction when the looming threat of Jim-Crow era suppression threatens to dismantle every stride Dr. King worked to achieve?” Beatty concluded in her statement.
The Caucus’s remarks come after Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced on Monday that Democrats will take up the voting rights legislation once they return in January.
“The recent wave of voter suppression is a stain on our democracy. The Senate owes it to the American people to return from their holiday break and protect the sacred freedom to vote,” Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) said in the statement.
“Over our fifty years as the Conscience of the Congress, the Congressional Black Caucus has used Our Power and Our Message to lead the fight for voting rights. Today, we call on the Senate to do their job and pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act into law,” Horsford concluded.