Speaker Pelosi Remarks at Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Deliver for Voting Rights Press Conference

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke at the MLK Day Deliver for Voting Rights Press Conference. Below are the Speaker's remarks:

Speaker Pelosi. Thank you very much, Martin. What an honor it is, personally and officially, to be here with the family of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King. To hear Yolanda speak about the future and what this all means to young people – how proud her grandparents are. And, to hear Arndrea talk about what is at stake in all of this – couldn't be more clear. Martin, thank you for the challenge that you have put forth.

It is my honor also to be here with some of the leadership of the House. The leader of the Congressional Black Caucus made for us – working with Eric Holder and, and John Sarbanes and others and Mr. Clyburn to make sure this legislation, the Freedom to Vote Act, was passed. And, Terri Sewell has been the author of the John Lewis Voting Rights [Advancement] Act even before it was called that. She's been for it for years and advocating relentlessly, and you will hear from them.

Let me just say that, to what the family had to say about the history and the prospects, let us just say: Amen. In Congress, we'd say: ‘I associate myself with the remarks.' But, I just want to add this, because I was always watching the King family from school and all the rest. In fact, I was at the March. I couldn't stay to hear the speech – can you imagine? Because, I had to leave to go get married.

[Laughter]

That's how I can always remember how long ago this speech was, or how long ago – I've been married, how long I've been married.

But in any event, Dr. King, Coretta Scott King and those who were associated with them, including our beloved John Lewis, they believed in non-violence. They traveled – the Kings – to India to study the Mahatma Gandhi principle of non-violence. The word for non-violence in Sanskrit, ‘satyagraha,' has two meanings. One is ‘non-violence.' The other is ‘insistence on the truth.' And, that's the message they shared with them, brought back and the rest. And, we are insisting on the truth.

The truth is that what is happening in the Congress – and I give great credit to the Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer for his relentless and persistence in trying to get this done and to the President for his leadership, but we have to get this done. And, the truth is that our colleagues, House and Senate, Democrats and Republicans, must weigh the equities here. While it may be true to them that the filibuster is an important custom, it is not the Constitution of the United States. The truth is – and the truth is that the Constitution says only if you're ratifying a treaty, convicting an impeached person or ratifying the Constitution, a simple majority. That's why the Vice President can break a tie, 50-50.

So, the truth – we want all of them in the Senate to weigh the equities. We all want bipartisanship. We all strive for it. We have a responsibility to do so. But, when we cannot have it, we cannot confine our democracy to what might be bipartisanly possible.

So, I ask our colleagues in the Senate, respectfully, for what they think filibuster means, to compare that – to weigh the equities against our democracy. Because, nothing less is at stake than our democracy. This is about suppressing the vote. It's about nullifying the elections, which Dr. King talked about that day, nullifying the election. It's about just doing so many things to be obstacles to participation. That's wrong. The truth is, that's wrong. And, this family – and John Lewis, and so beautifully that this bill is named for him. But, the first bill – he wrote the first 300 pages of what is now called the Freedom to Vote.

And, as has been indicated by the King family this – this bill is supported by all of the Democrats, House and Senate. It's just the filibuster in the way. So, in a way, if you really, truly want to honor Dr. King, don't dishonor him by using a Congressional custom as an excuse for protecting our democracy. We have no right to honor this family, to visit the monument. Imagine, 30 – someone 36 years old, left this earth in such a way that he has a monument on the Mall along with Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson. All of them with tears in their eyes for the departure from our democracy that is happening right now – unless the truth is acknowledged and this legislation is passed.

And, with that, I want to yield to our – am I introducing? Our distinguished Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. Working with her has been a joy, because she has been so persistent. She brings her own record of civil rights experience to this – to the Congress and to this subject, as does our distinguished Whip, Mr. Clyburn. Without her leadership and her persistence, we would not have passed that first bill, For the People Act, which is now called Freedom to Vote. It has been an honor to serve with her, as well as with Terri Sewell. We are just so determined to make this happen tomorrow, and no one more determined than the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Joyce Beatty of Ohio.