Herbert,

Last weekend, I joined some of my Congressional colleagues on a pilgrimage to Selma, Alabama, where we walked the Edmund Pettus Bridge on the 60^th anniversary of Bloody Sunday.

It was a powerful experience, standing where activists were once brutally beaten for defending their right to vote. I met a woman who, at just 8 years old, was among the youngest of the original marchers in 1965.

Their determination and resilience has stayed with me through the recent turbulence in Washington – including a near shutdown, the passage of a budget that turns its back on our commitments to veterans and the vulnerable, and the continued assault on our civil servants.

We must follow the examples set by the titans of the civil rights movement and keep fighting for what is decent and right. In fact, we owe it to them.

I will keep sounding the alarm for democracy and I am grateful for your support.