{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20140627173549/http://sewell.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=25&itemid=691", "Statement by Congresswoman Sewell on the First Anniversary of the Supreme Court's Decision in Shelby County, AL v. Holder to Strike Down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act", "2014-06-25", "2014", "2014-06", "Democrat", "House", "AL", "Terri Sewell", "S001185", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC \u2013 Today, Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell (AL-07) released the following statement on the first anniversary of the Supreme Court\u2019s decision in Shelby County, AL v. Holder:\n\n\t\u201cA year ago today we faced a major setback when the Supreme Court dismantled the core of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) in Shelby County V. Holder. By striking down Section 4, the Court effectively left millions of voters without the protection of the most effective tool in American law to combat racial discrimination in voting. In light of this decision, new barriers to voting have been legitimized in state legislatures across the country, including Alabama. As a result, Alabama\u2019s voter-ID law went into effect without being subjected to federal scrutiny and Alabama\u2019s voters have already started paying the price. We simply cannot afford to retreat to the days when barriers to voting rights were the norm,\u201d said Rep. Sewell.\u00a0\n\n\t\u201cCongress should act NOW to restore the VRA so that allvulnerable communities, like those in Alabama, are protected under the preclearance provision. We, as elected officials, must tear down barriers to voting\u2014 not erect new ones.\u00a0 It is inexcusable for Congress to do nothing to restore the protections of the VRA.\u00a0 Therefore, I remain committed to working within the bipartisan efforts being taken by the House and Senate Judiciary Committees to address the Supreme Court\u2019s ruling in the Shelby case, and I will continue to work to strengthen this critical legislation.\u201d\n\n\t\u00a0\n\n\t###", 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://web.archive.org/web/20140627173549/http://sewell.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=25&itemid=691"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.3114439100027084, "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"}