NAACP President Bruce S. Gordon said Congress should stop delaying a vote on the bi-partisan legislation that would authorize and restore expiring portions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act (VRA). The legislation, named the Fannie Lou Hammer, Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006, would extend what is widely considered the most effective civil rights law in American history.
"Congress should not lose any more time at getting this bill passed," Gordon said. "The delaying actions today by some members of the House of Representatives are extremely disappointing. This bill is supported in both the Senate and the House of Representatives and Congress should not go home for the summer until this legislation is sent to President Bush for his signature."
The House had been expected to vote on the bill today, but House Republican leaders delayed the vote after several members, in an example of retrogressive thinking, expressed resistance to the legislation. These members include Reps. Lynn Westmorland (R-GA), Charlie Norwood (R-GA) and others. Many of those trying to derail this bill represent states with the most egregious records of discrimination in voting.
Gordon said: "Their actions would return us to a time when the rights of racial and ethnic minority Americans
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