another catastrophe around the corner. the democrats are in the crisis business. and thanks to covid, business is good. when the pandemic hit, the democrats only saw power. they used it to attack voting rights all across the country pushing for federal control of elections the same policy they are now trying to make permanent. voter protection bills as well as voting rights act, but please know that there is nothing more important that congress has to do than to pass this little. the most fundamental right in america is the right to vote and have it counted. [applause] and, look, it s under assault. you can t let this happen. tonight i call on the senate to pass, pass the freedom to vote act. pass the john lewis act voting rights act. will: gas, guns, universal mail-in balloting, federalizing elections, it doesn t matter
congressman, thank you for join us. you co-chair the voting rights caucus in congress, but you re also a texas democrat and your fort worth district is among the many that would stand to be altered after this new map drawn up by republicans, state lawmakers in both houses, grow the number of gop seats by a shrinking minority representation that result predicted to last for years even as black and brown populations grow in texas. i cannot help but wonder if when you look at the current gridlock over infrastructure negotiations, is any part of your critical of the president for putting so much of his time and political capital behind that priority and not behind voting rights to the same extent? as we see voter protection bills shot down one after another. is this time?
need executive assistance while congress fights its own fight over voter protection bills? i m so happy the vice president is leading this effort, that she s been tapped by the president to do it. i ve been friends with the vice president for more than 15 years. she s obviously up to the task. she understands these issues in her core. i would just say that right now, these voting rights battles, they re happening in the states, not in washington, d.c. this is where the litigation is happening. this is where they are trying to pass the same bills they passed into law in georgia and texas and elsewhere. they re trying to do it here in pennsylvania. they re trying to do it in other states. we need to make sure we battle it back at the state level. thankfully, we have a democratic governor here who would veto any of those bills if they ever made it to his desk. the battle is in the states. what i need right now, number one, is strong support from the vice president, which i know we will
democratic majority with the inevitability of a filibuster should they feel the need. when it comes to suppressing black voters, they have always felt the need. joining me now, michigan senator garrett peters. he is the chair of the democratic senatorial campaign committee and the chair of the homeland security committee. senator, first of all, my appreciation that you are joining us tonight. as we watch the nation convulse with voter suppression legislation with eyes on texas right now over its special legislative session to basically jam through a gop bill with expand restrictions, i wonder what your view from the senate is right now. because democrats in the housekeep getting voter protection bills passed. they come to the senate, where the opposition makes it clear in advance that they will not pass.