Presumed Democratic presidential nominee Joseph R. Biden said Tuesday that if Republicans are serious about honoring the legacy of the late Rep. John Lewis they should vote in favor of the Voting Right Act.
“One thing the Senate and the president could do right away, right away, is to pass the bill to restore the Voting Rights Act,” Mr. Biden said in Wilmington, Del. “Back the effusive praise we’ve heard since he passed — especially from many of our Republican friends,” he said. “Back it with some action. Protect that sacred right to vote that he was willing to die for.”
Mr. Lewis, a civil rights icon, died July 17 at the age of 80 after suffering from stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
Mr. Lewis was a prominent leader in the Civil Rights era who fought to secure voting rights for African Americans in the 1960s.
The House on Monday passed a proposal to rename legislation after Mr. Lewis that seeks to restore key parts of the Voting Rights Act that the Supreme Court struck down in 2013.
Mr. Biden said he would push to pass the bill if elected and said that Mr. Lewis urged him from his death bed to keep fighting for equality.
“He asked that we stay focused on the work left undone to heal this nation,” Mr. Biden said.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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