{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://lee.house.gov/news/press-releases/congresswoman-barbara-lee-joins-congressional-black-caucus-in-voicing-concerns-to-president-bush", "CONGRESSWOMAN BARBARA LEE JOINS CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS IN VOICING CONCERNS TO PRESIDENT BUSH", "2001-02-01", "2001", "2001-02", "Democrat", "House", "CA", "Barbara Lee", "L000551", "lee.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "02.01.01\n\t\t\t CONGRESSWOMAN BARBARA LEE JOINS CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS IN VOICING CONCERNS TO PRESIDENT BUSH \n\t\t\tWashington, DC - Congresswoman Barbara Lee last night joined members of the Congressional Black Caucus in a meeting\r\nwith President Bush to voice their concerns over alleged voting rights\r\nviolations in Florida, and to discuss their objection to the\r\n   nomination of Senator Ashcroft to Attorney General.  \"Our meeting with President Bush was very serious and focused,\" said Lee. \"We reiterated our strong opposition to the  \r\nnomination of Senator Ashcroft to head the Department of Justice and\r\nour complete outrage at voting rights violations in Florida.\" \"By nominating a person with this kind of record to be the nation's top law enforcement official, President-elect Bush has  \r\n   dramatically widened the political rifts in our country; rifts he pledged to bridge during his campaign.\" Lee said. \"We let President Bush know that too many people fought and died\r\nfor the right to vote for us to stand silently by while African\r\nAmerican voters are dismissed from polling places, forced to use\r\nantiquated machines, and denied their rightful voice,\" said Lee.\r\n\"We let him know that what happened in this election is still on the\r\nminds of voters in Florida, and on the minds of the\r\nconstituents we represent.\"  \"We urged President Bush to embrace electoral reform because a fundamental principle of our democracy is that every vote  \r\n   counts,\" said Lee. \"He listened intently to our concerns, but stood behind his nomination of Senator Ashcroft. While he would  \r\n   not fully commit to a specific course of action, he agreed to review electoral reform proposals.\"  The Congressional Black Caucus also discussed their legislative priorities with President Bush, including strengthening our  \r\n   public schools, ending racial profiling, and combating the global HIV/AIDS crisis.\r\n###\r\n\t\n\t  \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n \n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article", 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://lee.house.gov/news/press-releases/congresswoman-barbara-lee-joins-congressional-black-caucus-in-voicing-concerns-to-president-bush"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.809949055314064, "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"}