Congressman Al Green Condemns Policy Positions of the Texas Republican Party and Calls for Reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act of 1965

(Washington, DC) — On Friday, June 24, 2022, Congressman Al Green (TX-09) released the following statement:

“It is exceedingly regrettable and unfortunate that the GOP—the Grand Old Party, the party of Lincoln—has degenerated and devolved into the COT—the Cult of Trump. It is no longer the party of the people, by the people, and for the people, but rather, the party of Trump, by Trump, and for Trump,” Congressman Al Green said. “This is best evidenced by the extreme policy positions recently announced by the Texas State Republican Party. These measures include repealing the Voting Rights Act, denying women their ability to make choices about their own bodies, calling for a referendum on Texas secession from the Union, rejecting the certified results of the 2022 presidential election, as well as not recognizing trans and binary individuals.”

“The measures the Texas State Republican Party is calling for are dangerous and discriminatory, particularly the measure advocating to repeal and not reauthorize the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Repealing the Voting Rights Act is an existential threat for our democracy that would dilute the power of minority voters and erode decades of activism, including the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement,” Congressman Al Green continued. “In 1965, there were only four Asian members, four Latino members, six Black members, and 13 women in Congress. In 2022, there were 21 Asian members, 52 Latino members, 61 Black members, and 151 women in Congress. These numbers demonstrate how the Voting Rights Act has afforded people opportunities that were not there prior to 1965, altered the composition of Congress by expanding representation, and the enormous implications for representation at the local, state, and federal levels.”

Congressman Al Green concluded, “Failure to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act will take us back to a time of poll taxes, literacy tests, and other discriminatory measures that weakened the voting power of countless people across our nation. We cannot, must not allow the will of the COT and their un-American values to encroach upon our future and the will of the majority.”