Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks: Senate Democrats Will Hold A Special Caucus Meeting To Continue Discussing The Best Path Forward To Achieve Voting Rights Legislation

Washington, D.C. –  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor regarding the caucus’s meeting with Texas Democratic state legislators and Senator Schumer’s intention to hold another special caucus meeting to continue discussing the best path forward to achieve voting rights legislation. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

The Senate will also vote on major voting rights legislation before the end of June. Yesterday, the Democratic caucus hosted a group of Democratic lawmakers from Texas who led the dramatic walkout to prevent Texas Republican legislators from passing one of the most draconian voting laws in our country.

It was a powerful meeting. We heard moving testimony from five different lawmakers about the vicious, nasty, even bigoted attacks against voting rights in their state. The actions taken were totally partisan, just like those in all the other legislatures. So the idea that this can have some kind of bipartisan solution befuddles me because every action taken in the legislatures is done just with Republican State Senators, Republican Assemblymembers, with no Democratic participation or input. In fact, the Texas legislators told us they were deliberately excluded from certain meetings and conference committee meetings.

Speaking for our caucus, we were all taken by the courage of the Texas legislators, by their fortitude, and most importantly, by their mission to defend the right of every American to access the ballot. Not just in Texas, but across the country.

These lawmakers in one state put everything on the line to protect voting rights in their state. The Senate should put everything on the line to protect voting rights in this country.

Tomorrow, Senate Democrats will hold another special caucus meeting to continue discussing the best path forward to achieve voting rights legislation. 

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