the freedom to vote john r. lewis act. this bill represents the first real opportunity to secure the freedom to vote since the united states supreme court gutted the voting rights act nearly a decade ago. and the senate must pass this bill now. you know, it was more than 55 years ago that men, women, and children marched from selma to montgomery to demand the -- when they arrived at the state capitol in alabama, dr. king decried what he called normalcy. the normalcy, the complacency that was denying people the freedom to vote. as dr. king said, the only normalcy he would accept is the normalcy that recognizes the dignity and worth of all god's children. today we must not be complacent or complicit. we must not give up, and we must not give in. to truly honor the legacy of the man we celebrate today, we must continue to fight for the freedom to vote, for freedom for all. thank you all. may god bless you and make god bless america. have a good morning. >> vice president kamala harris there at the white house on this dr. mart

the freedom to vote act and the john r. lewis voting rights advancement act. the latter of which critically also includes the native american voting rights act. together, mr. speaker, these bills will combat the wave of voter suppression laws we see enacted in states all across the country following the supreme court's decision in shelby county vs. holder, a decision that undermine the essential preclearance protections of the voting rights act. actions which accelerated at an alarming rate following the unprecedented voter turnout in the 2020 elections. rather than responding to increased voter participation with welcoming arms and pro-voter policies, states have instead been enacting laws that roll back access and aim to erect roadblocks to the ballot box. despite a 2020 election that election security experts said was the most secure in american history, according to the brennan center for justice, 19 states -- 19 states have enacted 34 restrictive voting laws in the last 12 months. the time, mr. speaker, to act is now. voter suppression and discrimination

we need to follow john lewis' footsteps. we need to support the bill in his name. just a few days ago, we talked up in the congress and the white house about the event coming up shortly to celebrate dr. king's birthday. and americans of all stripes will praise him for the content of his character. but as dr. king's family said before, it's not enough to praise their father. they even said, on this holiday, don't celebrate his birthday unless you're willing to support what he lived for and what he died for. the next few days when these bills come to a vote will mark a turning point in this nation's history. we will choose. the issue is, will we choose democracy over autocracy, light over shadows, justice over injustice? i know where i stand. i will not yield. i will not flinch. i will defend the right to vote. our democracy against all enemies, foreign and, yes, domestic. [ applause ] the question is, where will the institution of the united states senate stand? every senator, democrat, republican and independent will have to declare where they stand. not just for t

do you stand with john lewis or bill compton? do you stand with abraham lincoln, or jefferson davis? we stand here. civil rights leaders, advocates, legislators, lawyers. we stand here fighting for the people. and so today i'm going to bring several members up and we're going to do something a little different. we're going to do the floor house one minutes for you with the exception of our leader and majority whip, clyburn. [laughter] and then i'm going to ask my members to join me, ladies, congresswoman sheila jackson lee will join me at the podium. former chair of the c.b.c. and good to have our good friend back, will join us to help address questions. with that, congressman james clyburn. mr. clyburn: thank you very much, madam chair. i want to surprise you with this. i don't think there is any issue more emotional with members of the congressional black caucus and our constituents than the issue of voting. i don't believe that any group of people other than the congressional black caucus and our constituents that are really p

i rise today in support of the freedom to vote john r. lewis act. legislation that would protect the right to vote and strengthen our democracy. this week we heard president biden travel to the home of our late colleague john lewis, rally the nation around the need to protect and expand the right to vote. today we will pass this legislation in honor of john's name. but in order to honor our colleague, we must make good on our commitment. we must pass this legislation in both chambers without delay. we must also make clear as president biden did this week that there is nothing more important, no rules or procedures than the health of our democracy. there is far too much at stake to let tradition get in the way of real progress. i know from my work on the committee and the select committee investigating the attack on the u.s. capitol that the concerns about the future of the american system, the consent of the governed, with are well-founded. mr. speaker, every member of this body has a choice today and the world will remember where we stood. i am pro

lewis voting -- john lewis act to the senate for urgent consideration. i just want to say four things about the bill. the freedom to vote bill. we passed it twice in the house under different names, same thing with the jop lewis bill, -- john lewis bill, passed it twice in the house. now today we're sending it over with the prospect that it will have consideration in the senate. four things people should know about it. four reasons why members should be voting for it. and -- [indiscernible] -- gavel that down. but four things. it stops partisan redistricting. very popular with the american people. by making sure we honor the constitution, the voting rights act, and the community of interest. ends partisan redistricting. two, it stops voter suppression and the nullification of elections. you know the story. over 400 bills introduced across the country, 30 some of them already enacted into law. which not only suppress the vote, particularly among people of color, but also, but also nullify elections. people have voted, will decide how that turns out. nulli

do you want to be on the side of john lewis or bull connor? do you want to be on the side of abraham lincoln or jefferson davis? this is the moment to decide. to defend our elections. to defend our democracy. [applause] and if you do that, you will not be alone. that's because the struggle to protect voting rights has never been borne by one group alone. we saw freedom riders of every race, leaders of every faith marching arm in arm. and yes, democrats and republicans in congress of the united states and in the presidency. i did not live the struggles of douglass, tubman, king, lewis, goodman, cheney, and countless others known and unknown. i did not walk in the shoes of generations of students who walked these grounds. but i walk other grounds because i'm so damn old i was there as well. [laughter] they think i'm kidding, man. [laughter] seems like yesterday the first time i got arrested, anyway. but their struggles here, they're the ones who opened my eyes as a high school student in the late 1950's an early 1960's. they got me more engaged

we reflected a life of beloved friend john lewis. in their lifetimes, time stopped when a bubble up the 16th street -- bomb blew up the 16th street baptist church. they stopped when john and many others seeking justice were beaten and bloodied while crossing the bridge at selma, named after the grand dragon of the ku klux klan. stopped, time stopped. they forced the country to confront the hard truths and to act to keep the promise of america alive. the promise that holds that we are all created equal and deserve to be treated equally. from those moments of darkness and despair came light and hope. democrats, republicans and independents worked to pass the civil rights act and voting rights legislation. each successive generation continues that ongoing work. but then, the violent mob of january 6, 2021, empowered and encouraged by a defeated former president, sought to win through violence what he lost at the ballot box. to impose the will of a mob to overturn a free and fair election. and for the first time, the first time in americ

trust me, john lewis is in this room right now. his spirit 34 years later still resonate in this building. the tragedy, the tragedy is we are now fighting the same fight that many of us thought were behind us. senate of the united states will be forced, hate to even say that. they are being forced to take a vote on this. it is convenient everyone will be judged by history on how they stood on how they acted how they voted in the rights across americans to vote and have those votes counted would in fact come before them. i urge everyone in the senate to think about the things that have preceded you and all of us. to think about the nation, to think about the history of segregation, jim crow the history of when you cast the vote in the senate you are casting it to do away with those things not to reaffirm them, thank you madam chair for. >> thank you. our power our message. thank you all for coming. to all the members thank you. [inaudible] [background noises] [background noises] [background noises] c-span offers a variety of podcast

support of h.r. 5746, the freedom to vote john r. lewis act. as president biden made clear in his speech in atlanta on tuesday, the time to act to protect the right to vote and the very essence of our democracy is now. and the bill we are considering today meets the gravity of this moment. h.r. 5746, mr. speaker, combines two -- two pieces of legislation vital to ensuring every american has free, equity and secure access to the ballot. the freedom to vote act and the john r. lewis voting rights advancement act. the latter of which critically also includes the native american voting rights act. together, mr. speaker, these bills will combat the wave of voter suppression laws we see enacted in states all across the country following the supreme court's decision in shelby county vs. holder, a decision that undermine the essential preclearance protections of the voting rights act. actions which accelerated at an alarming rate following the unprecedented voter turnout in the 2020 elections. rather than responding to increased voter participation wit

the lake john lewis, martin luther king iii, rev. al sharpton, tamika mallory and so many more, jesse jackson. thank you. but let me just say today that i march with the spirit of fannie lou hamer and is a cross to be edmund pettus bridge for the 50th anniversary of bloody sunday. that is why i was arrested recently in the united states senate for demanding the protection fryer voting rights. i stand on finney lou hamer's shoulders. i stand on the shoulders of shirley chisholm, caretta scott king, rosa parks. and yolanda, you and my two grandchildren leah and spencer, the new generation, and you are doing it your way, but let me say to you, you stand on our foundation. to gather, we must tear down the walls of injustice against voting rights and insist that the senate passed the freedom to voting rights act because silence is not an option. the congressional black caucus has called for the vote, demanding the senate to take immediate action on voting rights legislation. we will not yield our efforts to enshrine voting rights legislat

the lake john lewis, martin luther king iii, rev. al sharpton, tamika mallory and so many more, jesse jackson. thank you. but let me just say today that i march with the spirit of fannie lou hamer and is a cross to be edmund pettus bridge for the 50th anniversary of bloody sunday. that is why i was arrested recently in the united states senate for demanding the protection for our voting rights. i stand on finney lou hamer's shoulders. i stand on the shoulders of shirley chisholm, caretta scott king, rosa parks. in dorothy height. and yolanda, you and my two grandchildren leah and spencer, the new generation, and you are doing it your way, but let me say to you, you stand on our foundation. together, we must tear down the walls of injustice against voting rights and insist that the senate passed the freedom to voting rights act because silence is not an option. the congressional black caucus has called for the vote, demanding the senate to take immediate action on voting rights legislation. we will not yield our efforts to enshrine vo

do you want to be on the side of john lewis or bull connor? do you want to be on the side of abraham lincoln or jefferson davis? this is the moment to decide. to defend our elections. to defend our democracy. [applause] and if you do that, you will not be alone. that's because the struggle to protect voting rights has never been borne by one group alone. we saw freedom riders of every race, leaders of every faith marching arm in arm. and yes, democrats and republicans in congress of the united states and in the presidency. i did not live the struggles of douglass, tubman, king, lewis, goodman, cheney, and countless others known and unknown. i did not walk in the shoes of generations of students who walked these grounds. but i walk other grounds because i'm so damn old i was there as well. [laughter] they think i'm kidding, man. [laughter] seems like yesterday the first time i got arrested -- anyway. but their struggles here, they're the ones who opened my eyes as a high school student in the late 19 50's an early 1960's. they got me more engag

lewis voting -- john lewis act to the senate for urgent consideration. i just want to say four things about the bill, the freedom to vote bill. we passed it twice in the house under different names. same thing with the john lewis bill -- passed it twice in the house. so now, today, we're sending it over with the prospect that it will have consideration in the senate. four things people should know about it, four reasons why members should be voting for it. and we have a vote on now, so i'm going to have to go gavel that down. but the four things are -- one, it stops partisan redistricting. very popular with the american people, by making sure we honor the constitution, the voting rights act, and the community of interest. ends partisan redistricting. two, it stops voter suppression and the nullification of elections. you know the story -- over 400 bills introduced across the country, 30-some of them already enacted into law, which not only suppressed the vote, particularly among people of color, but also -- but also, nullify elections. people have voted,

nothing wrong with the john lewis voting rights law. there is nothing wrong with the john lewis voting rights law before us. it is a bill with bipartisan support that tries to maintain i think the federal minimumon assurance that states don't suppress the rights of our fellow americans. martin luther king was fighting the fight and he said one man, one vote. we knew that this was about making sure that everybody had a chance to vote. the john lewis act was a continuation of those rights and upgrading something that has been upgraded numerous times since 1965 and that is why my colleagues senator manchin and murkowski called for bipartisan reauthorization of the voting rights act. bipartisan calls for reauthorization last spring of the voting rights act. he said quote in action is not an option end quote. he continues to say quote congress does come together just as we have done in the past time and time again to reaffirm our long-standing, bipartisan commitment to free, accessible and secure elections. and that is what we must do now an

trust me, john lewis is in this room now. his spirit, 34 years later, still resonates in this building. and the tragedy, the tragedy is that we are now fighting the same fight that manufacture ous thought was behind us. -- that many of us thought was behind us. the senate of the united states will be forced, i hate to say that, but they're being forced to take a vote on this. it's convenient if the vote never comes up but it will come up. and everyone will be judged by history on how they stood, on how they acted, on how they voted when the rights of americans all across this country to vote and to have those votes counted would in fact come before them. i urge everyone in the senate to think about the things that have preceded you and all of us. to think about this nation. to think about the history of segregation and jim crow. the history of exclusion so that when you cast that vote in the senate, you are casting it to do away with those things, not to reaffirm them. thank you, madam chair. mrs. beatty: thank you. our power

i'm going to repeat those words from john lewis. listen closely. the right to vote is the most powerful tool in a democracy. each person's vote is their voice. it's every citizen's opportunity to weigh in to what matters most to them, for their family, for their community, for their country, for the world. it matters. it is fundamental to our democracy, to the very definition of what it means to be an american citizen. for each and every one of us to stand up, to stand tall, to get to the ballot box, be able to vote the way we choose and have the assurance that our vote is counted. it matters. each person matters. and so if the senate cannot move forward on this critically important legislation under the status quo, then it is time to reform the rules to restore the senate to pass this legislation legislation, because only then can we protect our

congressman john lewis. he was beaten by mobs using baseball bats and chains, attacked by racist members of the k.k.k., and even thrown in jail. but still he fought for the freedom to vote. if he was willing to withstand all of that to do what's right then certainly we can cast a vote to defend our democracy. john once said and i quote, change often takes time. it rarely happens all at once. in the movement, we didn't know how history would play itself out. when we were getting arrested and waiting in jail or standing in unmovable lines on the courthouse steps, we didn't know what would happen but we knew it had to happen. i don't know what will happen in the senate, madam speaker but i know this vote has to happen because the freedom to vote is under assault. we have a system today that undermines the civil rights of the young, the poor, and those who don't look like me. it's a system that's allowed presidents to win elections. it's a system that's allowed politicians to gerrymander their way into office. a

do you want to be on the side of john lewis, a bowl connor? do you want to be on the side of abraham lincoln, or dress or some davis? this is the moment to decide. to defend our elections. to defend our democracy. >> joe biden has always known that putting enormous pressure on two democratic senators could lose him their votes. not just on voting rights, but on everything else joe biden wants to do. and that is why he waited until now. joe biden wasn't going to take the chance of having joe manchin quit the democratic party, which is a possibility. until joe biden got most of his legislation agenda passed. and then there was precious little time left on the senate clock for voting rights. and now, joe biden and structure are going to bring voting rights legislation to a vote in the senate, knowing that they might lose. they both know, that at least having a vote in the senate, is better than having no vote at all. it's only in the 21st century, that virtually every suspense is disappear from the senate. now that senate leaders also never bring

the john lewis voting right revisions here which have a great name, but they are 120 pages. i voted to extend the voting rights act and i would do it again. t i would be proud to do it if it wasin named for john lewis, but 735 pages saying that if we does not vote for that 735 pages, somehow we are opposed to the voting rights act or opposed to the heroism of john lewis, i do not think so. since it does not have to support to pass under the current senate rules, the next thing that we will do is attempt to got the filibuster to force it through. my republican colleagues have spoken at length about the consequences of doing that. the justification rests on a narrow basis that somehow the protection of the minority no longer matters. the danger of overturning 200 years of election it restoration by this date, i will resist doing any of the things that you've heard over and over again from our democrat friends who njust a couple of years ago were saying they have critically important rules that never be dchanged. democrats eliminate the 60 vote rule for election legislation. th

lewis voting rights act because america - john lewis: we are not going back, we are going forward. >>> 44 past the hour. thousands are without power, more than 3,000 flights are actually canceled around the northeast of the united states, all because of a winter storm, a dangerous storm that continues to make its way up the east coast. snow, sleet, and freezing rain covering much of the southeast yesterday, creating dangerous road conditions. in north carolina, two people were killed in a car crash. a tractor-trailer was left dangling from an overpass after it slid off an icy bridge. the storm now dumping snow in parts of the northeast. nbc's emilie ikeda joining us from the northeast. lots of snow where you are. what can we expect today? >> reporter: lots of snow is right. some folks in western pennsylvania will step out to find a foot on the ground. and that number is looking more like a foot and a half when you approach the western new york area. and what is so impressive and notable about this storm is the pace of the snowfall. four, sometimes even 5 inches of snow an hour record

when congressman john lewis and hundreds of others marked across the bridge on blondie sunday, when john lewis had a school fractured on that ridge, for daring to demand the right to vote for black american and the american south that was the example of their courage and their sacrifice. it paved the way for passage of the voting rights act of 1965. as my colleague, my brother hasn lewis passed, there were many in this chamber on both sides that celebrated its achievements. and its legacy. i speak for the state of georgia when i say do not evoke congressman lewis name to signal your virtue while you work to erode his legacy and defy his will. i have heard a lot from our republican colleagues about the recently passed election law in the state of florida. let's be very rare. there is no one in georgia on the other side of the aisle that does not understand cicely what its purposes. forbidding voter registration for runoff election. driving down the early vote. during decisive runoff to drive up lines at majority black precincts. as he used to say, john lewis did not give a little blood on

do you want to be on the side of john lewis or bull connor? do you want to be on the side of abraham lincoln or jefferson davis? those are not open questions in modern american life. they cannot be for anyone who is in public service. and to have put it that starkly and laid it out in those terms, that has to ring. if you are sentient and you are an elected official, that has to ring for you, and i imagine that's what senator klobuchar said was some of the drama tonight on capitol hill, those u.s. senators meeting right now. >> it's going to move fairly quick toy the senate floor, possibly monday of next week. could be -- it's definitely going to happen. there is going to be action there before martin luther king jr. day. >> yeah, before monday of next week. it could happen as soon as tomorrow. so sort of don't sleep. >> yeah, exactly. that's the message. okay. thank you, rachel. >> thanks, lawrence. >>> joe biden went to georgia today because, as he said, he is tired of being quiet. >> look, it's also time to pass the john lewis voting rights

they support the john lewis act. they say, quote, an election cannot be free or fair if every eligible voter is not given a full chance to vote or if the law exists that make it harder for them to do so. michael dell basically said, quote, those rights, especially for women, communities of color, have been hard-earned. government should ensure citizens have their voices heard. hb-6 does the opposite, and we're opposed to it. paypal, an organization, quote, the passage of the john lewis voting rights advancement act of 2021 is pending now in the united states senate and will be an important step towards making free and fair access to voting a reality for all. these are all corporations who know the importance of doing business in the united states, the importance of a democracy, and they've got to be scared about what they're seeing. they got people coming up on stages in rallies all over the united states basically saying i will overturn the 2020 election. do you think people want to do businesses in countries like t

the freedom to vote john lewis r. lewis act meets the challenges before us by establishing basic federal standards for our election, restoring and strengthening the voting rights act, countering the power of secret money in our politics and taking on new threats to our elections to ensure that every vote is properly counted. and, again, let me read from the constitution, from article 1, section 4, that clause empowers congress to make or alter rules for federal election at any time -- at any time. as senator kaine noted, that's the only time at any time -- that any time is used in the constitution, at any time. the word filibuster isn't in this document. the word cloture isn't in this document. but it was anticipated that congress could and should be involved in federal elections when necessary. what brought us to the point today? we're here in the midst of a concerted effort to stop people from exercising the most fundamental right in our democracy, because, as reverend warnock has put so well, some people don't want

are they allowed to teach kids about what happened to john lewis, or might that hurt their feelings? well, this is what happened to john lewis, on march 7th, 1965 when he and other civil rights leaders marched across the edmund pettus bridge in alabama. they were beaten by police simply because they believed in something as simple as equal access to the voting booth. lewis suffered a cracked skull on that day, which became known as bloody sunday. lewis spoke about the struggle during his address to the democratic convention in 2012. >> not too long ago people stood in unmovable lines. they had to pass a so-called literacy test. pay a poll tax. on one occasion a man was asked to tap the number in a bar of soap. on another occasion, one was asked to count the jellybeans in a jar, all to keep them from casting their ballot. i've seen this before. i lived this before. too many people struggled, suffered, and died to make it possible for every american to exercise their right to vote. >> john lewis used to talk about the virtues of good trouble, something tells me the politicians standing

that's why we must pass the freedom to vote john lewis act today. i know that some folks think that any legislation we pass to protect the freedom to vote must be bipartisan to be legitimate. but when it's time to vote, we're told not one republican will join all 50 democrats, 50 democrats in voting for the freedom to vote john r. lewis act. therefore, they say the bill shouldn't pass. yet the attacks on democracy in michigan and the other states are strictly partisan. in michigan republicans are even using a loophole in our constitution to go around the governor's veto and take away people's freedom to vote without her capacity to veto the legislation. and they're doing it by a simple majority. and they're doing it with not one democratic vote, not one in michigan. but they're still doing it. republicans are making it harder for people to vote using a simple majority, yet we are told that protecting people's freedom to vote needs a super majority to do it. that makes no sense. and wait. i think i hear hamilton, jefferson, and madison ruling over --

do you want to be on the side of john lewis or bull conor? do you want to be the side of abraham lincoln or jefferson davis? >> within days, we got an answer. democratic senators kyrsten sinema and joe manchin, members of the president's own party reiterated their unwillingness to allow for a simple majority vote on the freedom to vote act or the john lewis voting rights advancement act. never mind that they were just fine to allow a filibuster exception last month to raise the debt ceiling. it's not enough to have photos with john lewis, only to turn your back on his life's work. it's not enough to slap your name on voting rights legislation only to be the reason the bills will never get a vote. on tuesday, senate majority leader chuck schumer will bring the two floors together for a vote. he then promises to hold a vote to push through the rule change to allow for a simple majority vote. that effort will fail, too. so, where does that leave us? quite honestly, i don't know. but, history is neither linear nor on a perpetual trajectory of adv

name of h.r. 4 to rename it in hop nor of john lewis -- in honor of john lewis. than body granted unanimous consent for that to happen. now john lewis and i first met as 19-year-old college students. i was in orangeburg. he was down -- orangeburg, south carolina, he was down in nashville, tennessee. we met on the campus of morehouse college where the vice president was on the day before yesterday, i think it was. it was also the weekend that i first met martin luther king jr. now, as is often the case, and we see quite a bit of it today, a disagreement cropped up between us so-called young turks, those of us who were in sncc, the student nonviolent coordinating committee, in fact this is the second organizational meeting of sncc, and sclc that was being run by martin luther king jr., ralph abernathy and others and we asked dr. king to come and meet with us so we could try to reconcile our differences. dr. king came. and agreed to a one-hour meeting. that meeting convened at 10:00 p.m. in the evening. it was not over until 4:00 a.m. the next morning. i always refe

do you want to be the side of john lewis or bull connor? do you want to be the side of abraham lincoln or jefferson davis? this is the moment to decide, to defend our elections, to defend our democracy. if you do that, you won't be alone. that's because the struggle to protect voting rights is not borne by one group alone. we saw freedom riders of every race marching arm and arm and democrats and republicans in congress of the united states and in the presidency. i did not live the struggles of douglas, tubman, king, lewis, goodman, cheney, countless others known and unknown. i did not walk in the shoes of generations of students that walked these grounds. i walked other grounds. i'm so damn old, i was there as well. you think i'm kidding, man. [laughter] seems like yesterday the first time i got arrested -- anyway. but there's struggles here. they're the ones that opened my eyes as a high school student in the late 50s and early 60s. they got me more engaged in the work of my life and what we're talking about today is rooted in the idea of

that's why we must pass the freedom to vote john lewis act today. i know that some folkss think that any legislation we passed to protect the freedom to vote must be bipartisan to be legitimate. but when it's time to vote we're told not one republican will join all 50 democrats. 50 democrats in voting for the freedom to vote john r. lewis voting act. therefore, they say, the bill shouldn't pass. yes, the attacks on democracy in michigan and the other states are strictly partisan in michigan, republicans are even using a loophole in our constitution to go around the governors of ego and take away people's freedom v to vote witht her capacity to veto the legislation.im .. michigan. but they're still doing it. republicans are making it harder for people to vote using a simple majority, yet we are told that protecting people's freedom to vote needs a super majority to do it. that makes no >> that makes no sense. and wait, i think i hear hamilton, jefferson, and madison rolling over in their graves. today we each will choose to protect every american's f

there is nothing blocking them from adopting the john lewis voting rights act. we really make sure that we protect -- this is not a partisan issue. this is about the right to vote. we have seen these type of postures before we have the right to fully engage. but before the 19 625 voting rights act, many african-americans across the country were denied access to voting because of the procedure rules. take the partisanship out of this. it's an issue that all americans can fully engage in. host: what do you think will happen today and in the coming days? what have you been told about holding this possible vote on these pieces of legislation? and what will your group do in response to the two democratic senators that say they are not on board with changing the rules? derek: it's not about these two democratic senators, it's all 100 members of the senate. and until we can hopefully get the necessary votes to pass voting rights protection, this is not about partisanship. it's about protecting the integrity of our democracy. other people can expand and fight for democr

. >> what is your message for voters of color who are concerned that without the john lewis voting rights act they won't be able to vote in the midterm? >> the concern is misplaced. if you look at the statistics,

congressman john lewis. he was beaten by mobs using baseball bats and chains, attacked by racist members of the k.k.k., and even thrown in jail. but still he fought for the freedom to vote. if he was willing to withstand all of that to do what's right then certainly we can cast a vote to defend our democracy. john once said and i quote, change often takes time. it rarely happens all at once. in the movement, we didn't know how history would play itself out. when we were getting arrested and waiting in jail or standing in unmovable lines on the courthouse steps, we didn't know what would happen but we knew it had to happen. i don't know what will happen in the senate, madam speaker but i know this vote has to happen because the freedom to vote is under assault. we have a system today that undermines the civil rights of the young, the poor, and those who don't look like me. it's a system that's allowed presidents to win elections. it's a system that's allowed politicians to gerrymander their way into office. a

the john lewis voting rights act , the freedom to vote act. he tried to mischaracterize what we were doing. let me be very clear. the elections are still run by the states. we're just trying to provide a federal baseline says everybody ought to have access, every eligible american has to have access to the ballot. i find it ironic. that the senator from texas would stand here and push against these proposals and give lip service to bipartisanship when members of the state legislature in texas had to come here just a few months ago to break were -- quorum to keep them from passing some of the most repressive antidemocratic measures we have seen in the state of texas in a long time. members of his own legislature had to come here, leave their families, leave their children, to keep them from passing these terrible voter suppression bills which are not bipartisan in texas, not bipartisan in georgia. at the same time, they are saying to us we can't pass these because this happens at the state level. i'm the pastor of ebenezer baptist church. where

do you want to be on the side of john lewis, or bull connor? do you want to be on the side of abraham lincoln or jefferson davis? >> some of the most pointed remarks from president biden today, as he urged a change in the rules of the senate if need be to change voting protections. and the direct action over the course of the past year has included hunger strikes, rallies, marches, and nonviolent civil disobedience. this, outside of the oval office, people were arrested. that is ben jealous, who called on president biden to do more on this issue. he's taken part in five such protests outside of the white house, he was arrested four times, spent a night in jail, to try to push the president to do more when it comes to voting rights protections. ben jealous was there today. he joins us now. thank you for making time to be here tonight. i've been dying to talk to you, my friend. >> thank you, it's good to be here. >> i didn't know what you would think of president biden's speech today. you told our producers that you heard what you wanted to hear

that was the law john lewis and others risked their lives for on bloody sunday. the voting rights act of 1965 ended discriminatory tactics that not only blocked black voters from their ballots, but other minorities too, including latinos. shortly after the civil war, latinos held greater political power in states like california, tex, arizona -- texas, arizona, but as jim crow spread throughout the south they were pushed out of elected positions and threatened with violence for their continued participation. the voting rights act transformed our country for the better. it created the diverse, multiracial democracy we live in today, and i know that my story, the son of first-generation refugees who came from nothing and rose to become one of 100 united states senators in a nation of 350 million people, is only possible because of the civil rights giants who came before me. the voting rights act ended jim crow era voting laws, and its preclearance provision stops states from resurrecting them in the future. states and localities with ugly histories of discriminatio

we need to work to pass the john lewis voting rights advancement act. we must get both done so we can send these bills to president biden's desk and they can be signed into law, preventing undoing the pernicious activities that i have documented in the past hour. for months -- for months -- we have tried to get our republican colleagues to join us. after all, voting rights should not be partisan. it hasn't been in the past. it has been supported by george w. bush, hardly democratic sympathizers. we've tried to continue in that bipartisan spirit. we've tried no less than four times to begin a simple debate here on the floor about this matter. we've lobbied our republican friends privately. we've gone through regular order. we've attempted to debate them on the floor. we have presented reasonable, commonsense proposals in june, august, october, and november. each time i personally promised my republican colleagues and my democratic colleagues -- particularly the two who have some doubts -- that they would have ample opportunities to voice their concerns,

they are doing so to campaign for two laws: the freedom to vote act and the john lewis voting rights act. >> right. >> brennan: the freedom to vote actually does promote a national standard for i.d.s, you can use a bank statement, a utility bill. i wonder why do you think republicans -- >> it does not have photo i.d., and photo i.d. is the most secure way of making sure you can identify who the voter is. i think that is very important. and they also want same-day registration. and i think that undermines trust in elections. and right now we need to restore trust wherever we can. in georgia, we've been fighting this theme of stolen election claims from stacey abrams, and in 2020 it is about voter fraud. both of them undermine voter trust. >> brennan: they may both undermine voter trust, but i'm sure you hold a distinction of someone who doesn't hold any office and the president of the united states actively putting pressure on you to find and manufacture votes. >> january 6 was terrible, but the response doesn't need to be eliminating photo i.d. and having same-day registration. in ge

lewis, of course, an icon of the civil rights movement to make the case for the john lewis voting act but ana it's a big challenge for the white house, one that the president is leaning into. >> jeff zeleny, thank you for that preview. we're joined by one of the leaders skipping the president's speech the reverend james woodall. he's a public policy associate for the southern center of human rights and part of the georgia naacp. reverend, i really appreciate you joining us wondering what is your goal today? why skip today's speech? >> well, today, ana, is really centered around us pushing the white house and ultimately congress to pass voting rights legislation. we saw this kind of moment back in the 1960s in which lyndon b. johnson would say something along the lines of we have to continue on the course so that we may fulfill the destiny that history has set up for us and then lyndon johnson knew that the most immediate task was to be here or to be there on capitol hill, and so our message is clear that the president, the white house, all of the senators, they need to be in the congr

do you want to be on the side of john lewis or bull connor? do you want to be on the side of abraham lincoln or jefferson davis? this is the moment to decide, to defend our elections. to defend our democracy. >> all right, so you get the difference there, right? so if you are -- if you're on the side of -- so if you want voting rights protection, that would be like saying you are dr. martin luther king jr. you are john lewis. right? that's the opposite of -- so he's saying, whose side are you on? as i have said before, if you were a supporter of this president, then you voted for the president, or the former president trump, then you voted for the president who what? the bigots supported. the klan supported. right? the proud boys supported, the alt-right supported. didn't mean that you were a member of that, but that's who supported the former president. so if you don't believer in the voting rights legislation, then joe biden is absolutely right. that's the side that you're on, people who have historically voted against voting rights protecti

we do not have to change the rules to make our case to the people about voting rights, about john lewis, we do not have to. senator schumer did not have to cut off debate. he did not have to block republican amendments, we are here. we could have kept voting rights legislation is pending business for the senate today, next week, a month from now, this is important. let's work it out. everybody is here, had a lot of good talks today. we want to see it work again. let's do it, let's go for it. that is exactly what i think should be done. i think the american people need that and i think we owe that to them. we are here behind-the-scenes, partisan negotiations talking through each other, around each other, not to each other. let's at the debate but let the american people decide. until you have made a compromise, a decision, you all decided to go one way or another you were going to end that filibuster, and today we have not seen that. just what years ago 61 of us, 33 of us on the democrat side, you have heard this many times, we sent in order to senator schumer and senator mcconnell warni

lewis voting rights act because america - john lewis: we are not going back, we are going forward. new projects means new project managers. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. when you sponsor a job, you immediately get your shortlist of quality candidates, whose resumes on indeed match your job criteria. visit indeed.com/hire and get started today. what does a foster kid need from you? to be brave. to show up. for staying connected. the questions they weren't able to ask. show up for the first day of school, the last day at their current address. for the mornings when everything's wrong. for the manicure that makes everything right, for right now. show up, however you can, for the foster kids who need it most— at helpfosterchildren.com >>> right now, jerome powell is speaking before congress, as he seeks confirmation for a second term as chairman of the federal reserve. >> the confirmation hearing comes as powell's vice chair, richard clarida announced on monday he would be resigning before the end of his term this. follows questions over stock trades he made during

this is the first time i've done so without john lewis. i think we have to invoke not only his memory, his legacy, so many of these senators walked across that bridge with john in my hometown commemorating the events of bloody sunday. now they have an opportunity to write their own history. will they stand on the side of john lewis, or will they stand on the side of bull connor. i think the president made that comparison, and it was an excellent comparison. i know where i stand, and i'm sure you know where you would stand, too, alex. >> mm-hmm, i absolutely do, 100%. alabama congresswoman terri sewell, a pleasure to talk with you. i really appreciate your positive approach and can do attitude. keep it up. >>> new alarm overseas as the white house is preparing for a potential russian invasion of ukraine. this comes as tensions between the two countries hit a new high on friday when ukraine was hit by a massive cyberattack warning its citizens to expect the worse. that's a quote. let's go to nbc josh lederman joining us from delaware. where