what s taking so long? it is our obligation and our constitutional prerogative as congress under article 1, section 4 of the constitution to make laws pertaining to the conduct of federal elections. and so when you have state legislatures that are making it more difficult to vote on the basis of lies so that they can gain a partisan edge in elections that offends the basic principles of our constitution and demands federal response. we ve talked about a lot of obstacles and hurdles. what keeps you optimistic? look, let s return for a moment to a celebration of congressman lewis life and legacy. and congressman lewis represents and stood for courageous defiance of racism. he was a titan of the civil rights movement. his self-sacrifice paved the way for passage of the civil rights act and the voting rights act. he was also someone who urged us to focus on our shared humanity