Washington, D.C. -- Congressman Steve Chabot (R-Cincinnati) today helped lead important Voting Rights Act legislation through a mark-up by the full House Judiciary Committee, setting the stage for the historic civil rights legislation to be reauthorized for another 25 years. H.R. 9, the “Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006”, passed the Judiciary committee by a vote of 33-1, sending it on for consideration by the full House of Representatives.  

     "The right to vote is one of the most fundamental and essential rights we have as citizens,” said Chabot.  “I'm pleased that the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act, of which I am a lead sponsor, has such overwhelming bipartisan support. I will continue to work to see that the Voting Rights Act is passed by the full House and signed into law."

      “My subcommittee held 12 hearings and heard from 48 witnesses to review the provisions of the Voting Rights Act that will expire in 2007. The extensive testimony from a large number of diverse organizations demonstrated a clear need to reauthorize this historic legislation.”

      Chabot is a lead sponsor of the Voting Rights Act which was recently introduced with the support of House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL), Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Judiciary Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Mel Watt (D-NC), Judiciary Constitution Subcommittee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), and Rep. John Lewis (D-GA). 

     Identical bipartisan legislation was introduced in the Senate and sponsored  by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA), Judiciary Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH).

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