A senior Democrat on Tuesday said he was “hopeful” the House would approve new voting rights legislation by the summer, despite the lack of an endorsement from the Republican leadership. “We are very hopeful that we will pass a voting rights bill and do so in the near term, hopefully in the next couple of months,” Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said during his weekly briefing with reporters. Hoyer over the weekend participated in an annual bipartisan pilgrimage to the South commemorating the civil rights movement. Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) also attended events on the trip, and Hoyer said he planned to meet with Cantor this week to discuss a legislative response to the 2013 Supreme Court ruling that struck down a key part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Cantor has joined the pilgrimage with Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a civil rights leader, for the past two years, but he has yet to take a position on a bill that Lewis wrote with GOP Rep. James Sensenbrenner (Wis.).
A Cantor spokeswoman, Megan Whittemore, said he had been meeting with lawmakers and groups, including Lewis, the NAACP and members of the Congressional Black Caucus, in search of a consensus on legislation. “The majority leader believes this is an important issue and wants to make sure we preserve every American’s right to vote,” Whittemore said. “Right now, there are still concerns on all sides of the issue on exactly the right path forward, but we are hopeful we can find consensus.”
She did not set a timetable for House action.
Full Article: Hoyer optimistic on voting rights bill | TheHill.