Civil Rights and the Fight for Equality

While our nation was founded on the principles of equality, justice, and freedom, the fight for civil rights and true equality defined the last century in the United States and continue on today.  Our democracy is better when we ensure that all voters can access their polling locations without hassle.  Our economy grows when we bring more diversity into the workplace and ensure that workers receive equal pay for equal work.  And our nation is more united when our law enforcement agencies reject racial profiling and work with their communities to prevent and prosecute crimes motivated by hate and prejudice.  I will continue fighting for true equality, which requires a strong educational system, better economic opportunities for all of our families and a chance for everyone to live the American Dream.

• Equal Pay for Equal Work: It is unacceptable that women in Michigan earn only 70 cents for every dollar earned by men.  I am proud to have stood with President Obama to help pass the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the first major piece of legislation President Obama signed into law.  This bill ensures that women and other workers who receive discriminatory pay will have access to a remedy for their unfair treatment.  To reach full equality however, there's still a lot of work to do. This is why I strongly support the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would prohibit employers from engaging in retaliatory tactics against employees who discuss their salary.  The Paycheck Fairness Act also strengthens the Equal Pay Act by closing loopholes that allow some employers to avoid the Equal Pay Act’s intentions.  Additionally, it strengthens penalties for discriminatory employers by making it harder for them to pay workers less than they deserve.
• Hate Crimes: We simply cannot tolerate violent crimes motivated by hate, prejudice, or bias.  This is why I worked with my colleagues in Congress and President Obama to help pass the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law.  This legislation extends protections to victims of violent hate crimes committed based on a person's actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and/or disability. It also strengthened existing hate crime protections for other categories, including race, color, religion, national origin and ethnicity. This important law also provides assistance to state and local law enforcement agencies.
• Voting rights: Our nation has a long history of struggle over the right to vote.  Every eligible American has an equal constitutional right to cast a ballot without the requirement of a poll tax or discrimination based on race, sex or age.  While these principles have been reaffirmed time and again, we have seen laws enacted to provide enough voting machines to accommodate voting patterns totally ignored.  In some states, legislation enacting draconian voter ID requirements and early voting restrictions limited voter participation. In Michigan, a lack of voting booths forced voters to wait for hours to cast their ballot.  This is why I am working with my colleagues to advance the Voter Empowerment Act (VEA), a comprehensive voting rights bill.  This critical legislation will modernize our voter registration system, reduce long wait times to vote, ensure equal access to the ballot box for all Americans and prohibit deceptive practices that may discourage people seeking to exercise their constitutional right to vote.
• Racial Profiling: Racial profiling by law enforcement agencies is ineffective, counterproductive, and morally wrong.  Law enforcement agencies should focus on suspicious behavior and activities rather than on preconceived perceptions related to appearances. That is why I have cosponsored and strongly support the End Racial Profiling Act.  Authored by my friend and colleague Representative John Conyers, this important legislation would prohibit racial profiling by law enforcement agencies. The bill also creates legal recourse for victims of profiling and would allow the Attorney General to withhold funds from state law enforcement agencies that engage in racial profiling. This legislation would require additional training on racial profiling for law enforcement agents and require data collection and monitoring mechanisms.