Dear John,
When Texas House Democrats broke quorum last month to take the fight for voting rights to Washington, DC, they made us proud, and did more than we ever could have asked of them. They left behind their homes, their families and their businesses to stall Republican efforts to pass voter suppression legislation and dismantle our democracy.
As the minority in the state legislature, we always knew that the Texas Democrats couldn’t hold the line forever, and that the purpose of their quorum break was to buy us time to pass federal voting rights legislation. Yesterday, we learned that the Texas House regained quorum, meaning it’s time for Congress and President Biden to finish the job and do their part to save our democracy.
The good thing is this: because of what Texas Democrats accomplished during their quorum break in Washington, DC, Congress is moving in the right direction. The Senate Majority Leader has promised to take up the For the People Act as the “first order of legislative business” when senators return from recess in mid-September. And next week, the House is set to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which would complement the For the People Act by fully restoring the 1965 Voting Rights Act that the Supreme Court has gutted over the past decade.
But I want to be clear. There is no path forward for either piece of legislation unless the Senate reforms the filibuster. And that will not happen unless President Biden puts the full power of the presidency behind pushing Democratic senators to do so.
With that in mind, please contact President Biden. Push him to use the full force of his office to reform the filibuster and pass the For the People Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Act. While writing to the President is only part of what it will take to move him to act, it’s an important first step. There is no way to win this fight without him, and it’s going to be up to all of us to push him to get it done.
Thanks for taking part in this fight,
Beto
