WASHINGTON, Oct 19, 2005 - Congressman David Scott spoke at the first of a series of Congressional hearings to take action regarding the Voting Rights Act and six temporary provisions set to expire in 2007. The hearing was held yesterday in the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution to review the impact and effectiveness of the Voting Rights Act. “The Voting Rights Act is one of the most important pieces of legislation enacted by Congress in the 20th century,” Congressman Scott stated. “The Act along with its special provisions has proven tremendously successful at expanding and protecting the opportunity for participation in the political process for all Americans. That is why Congress must not delay in extending and strengthening provisions of the Act which expire in 2007.” SCOTT EXPRESSES CONCERNS ABOUT THE RECENTLY PASSED GEORGIA VOTER ID LAW: Scott particularly took issue with the effectiveness of the preclearance provisions in Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act that require states, including Georgia, with a history of discriminatory voting practices to obtain pre-clearance for any proposed changes to their election laws or procedures. “The fact that Georgia’s obviously discriminatory Voter ID law was precleared by the U.S. Department of Justice underscores the continued need for the judicial remedies of the Voting Rights Act to be extended. A citizen’s right to vote must not be left to the political winds of which party controls the Justice Department, but should be enshrined in our federal laws and protected by judicial review,” Scott said. Congressman Scott will join members of the House Judiciary Subcommittee during their next hearing on Thursday, October 20, 2005, to examine the scope and criteria for coverage under the special provisions of the Act. President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law on August 6, 1965, to protect the voting rights of all Americans in view of practices by some states and counties to deny many citizens access to the ballot because of their race, ethnicity, and language-minority status. Major provisions of the act due to expire in 2007 if not extended by Congress create a right of action for private citizens or the government to challenge discriminatory voting practices and procedures. The Voting Rights Act has been amended and sections that were due to expire extended in 1970, 1975, 1982, and 1992.