Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement after Senate Republicans blocked the urgently needed Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act:
“On Monday, our nation celebrated the birthday of civil rights hero Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for his courage, leadership and sacrifice for our democracy. Today, Senate Republicans have dishonored his leadership and legacy by blocking passage of urgently needed legislation to protect voting rights and our democracy. In doing so, they voted to silence the voices of their constituents, to allow for the nullification of elections, to greenlight partisan gerrymandering, to suppress the grassroots and to embrace the influence of dark money in our politics.
“Right now, our nation faces the most severe and sinister threat to our democracy since the era of Jim Crow. Proudly, every single Democrat in the House voted to advance the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act to combat Republicans’ dangerous campaign of suppression and subversion. Yet, an arcane Senate Rule – one that clearly conflicts with the intentions of our Founders and has long been used to block progress on civil rights – continues to stand in the way of enacting this vital legislation.
“In the fight for voting rights, nothing less than our democracy is at stake. Democrats will never relent in our mission to safeguard the sacred right to vote.”
