to vote act. [ applause ] and these two bills represent 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. we do not know when i ll have this opportunity again. senate republicans have exploited arcane rules to block these bills. and let us be clear, the constitution of the united states gives the congress the power to pass legislation and nowhere nowhere does the constitution give a minority the right to unilaterally block legislation. the american people have waited long enough.
reaction to president biden s speech was bad. republicans outraged at being called racist and democrats, by and large, felt if was weird and an overshot and you would think if president biden made a speech demanding everybody vote for election reform legislation, they would have that legislation ready to go. that is not true. nancy pelosi says the rules committee would meet yesterday, last night, to provide key provisions for the john lewis voting rights act and they will vote today. they don t know what they are voting for yet when it comes to voter reform. todd: when has that stopped dc before, read the bill after you vote, i believe nancy pelosi said one time before. when you lose dick durbin and al sharpton, the crux of the speech, if you think people need an id to vote, you re a domestic
i.d. requirements, shorter windows for getting mail-in ballots, and new barriers for voters with disabilities. now the u.s. president is taking a tougher approach to passing election reform legislation despite two possible democratic holdouts. cnn s phil mattingly has our report. he s quite focused on how ensuring the american people understand what is at stake here. reporter: a white house sharpening its message. the president will forcefully advocate for protecting the most bedrock american rights, the right to vote and have your voice counted in a free, fair, and secure election that is not tainted by partisan manipulation. reporter: it launches its most aggressive push yet to unlock president biden s agenda. those who stormed this capitol and those who instigated and incited and those who called on them to do so held a dagger at the throat of america and
republican support. but it has not. now this legislation, the freedom to vote act, would make it easier for all americans to register to vote. it would make election day a public holiday. require states to have at least 15 consecutive days of early voting for federal elections with some exceptions. it will allow all voters the ability to ask for and use mail-in ballots without needing an excuse that the bill would boost security on voting systems, overhaul how congressional districts are drawn and impose new disclosures on donations to outside groups active in political campaigns. the second bill, senate democrats are pushing is the john lewis voting rights advancement act. it s narrower in scope because this bill is less about the mechanics of voting. more about preventing discrimination against voters of color. democrats say it s a direct response to a 2013 supreme court decision that gutted in their view a central pillar of the 1965 voting rights act. all 50 members of the senate de
quietly talking to democrats and republicans on the hill for the last month or so about this. he said he s not being quiet anymore, but the question is what has come out of those talks? what has he learned as a result of those conversations? because from what we are hearing on capitol hill, from our correspondents and others, is that there is no movement either on the democratic side or on the republican side on these things. we should note, bakari, there are 50 votes, democratic votes, for this both pieces of election reform legislation. but there are not 50 votes, plus kamala harris, the tiebreaker, the vice president, to change the senate rules to get rid of the filibuster which requires 60 votes. manchin and sinema and maybe mike kelley and chris coons have said they have a lot of concerns about this. do you think today s speech would have any impact on them? i mean, that is the