{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://frankel.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=3017", "ICYMI: Rep. Frankel Defends Voting Rights on the House Floor", "2019-12-09", "2019", "2019-12", "Democrat", "House", "FL", "Lois Frankel", "F000462", "frankel.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC  On Friday, Rep. Lois Frankel (FL-21) took to the House floor to support H.R. 4, the Voting Rights Advancement Act, legislation to restore the strength of the Voting Rights Act to combat voter discrimination.\r\nThe bill passed the house by a vote of 228 to 187 and now goes to the Senate. The House has passed more than 275 bipartisan bills this Congress that are now stuck in the Senate, where Mitch McConnell refuses to bring them to the floor for a vote.\r\nBelow are Rep. Frankel's remarks as delivered:\r\nThank you. Mr. Speaker.\r\nVoting is the cornerstone of our democracy. It has been a hard-fought right, because we must ensure that every American that is eligible to vote can make their voice heard.\r\nAnd this right has been trampled on after the Shelby County v. Holder court decision which has unleashed a flood of state and local voter suppression laws and silencing targeted voters, particularly communities of color.\r\nAnd in my home state of Florida, laws and policies have cut back early voting, established English-only ballots, and are now trying to thwart efforts to restore voting rights to ex-felons, hurting the access to the ballot box for Floridians.\r\nH.R. 4 will push back against suppressive voting laws, restoring the great equalizer for democracy, and for our people.\r\nFor video of the speech, click here. \r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://frankel.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=3017"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6363280117511749, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}