Contact: Speaker’s Press Office,

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Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement after the Court handed down rulings in the cases of Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee and Americans for Prosperity v. Bonta:

“The right to vote and to have a voice in the political process of every American is the foundation of our American Democracy.  Sadly, the Supreme Court has handed down two rulings today that undermine our democracy.

“With the decision in Brnovich, the Court has continued its unprecedented assault on voting rights, compounding the damage of the disastrous Shelby v. Holder ruling.   As Justice Kagan wrote in her dissent: ‘The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is an extraordinary law... Never has a statute done more to advance the Nation’s highest ideals.  And few laws are more vital in the current moment.  Yet in the last decade, this Court has treated no statute worse.’  This decision greenlights the brutal, accelerating campaign of voter suppression waged by partisan lawmakers in Arizona and possibly across the nation.  And it is particularly disastrous for the communities of color targeted by racist suppression tactics, whose voices may now be silenced.   

“The decision in Americans for Prosperity further harms our democracy by allowing the suffocation of the airwaves caused by big dark special interest money.  This torrent of dark money silences the voices of voters and prevents passage of commonsense, bipartisan and popular legislation – from gun violence prevention to climate action to LGBTQ equality.  It is fundamentally anti-democratic, and it cannot go unanswered.

“The solution is clear: H.R. 1/S. 1, the For The People Act.  The For The People would be a remedy for the assault on the vote and on our democracy, and would prevent the disasters in both cases.  We also need H.R. 4, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, to combat the brazen voter suppression threatening to erode our democracy.  As we prepare to celebrate the Fourth of July and the blessings of liberty bestowed upon our nation, all Members must recognize their responsibility to secure and save our democracy with H.R. 1 and H.R. 4.” 

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