Obama: "We're Not Going To Wait For Congress" To Act On Voting Rights Act

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, I would distinguish between civil rights issues, voting rights issues – you know, some of the – the core legal protections that came about in 1964. You know, in those areas it’s true that we’ve had some opinions, the most prominent one being the case where the Roberts court struck down a key segment of the Voting Rights Act, where we just have to try a whole range of approaches to make up for those decisions. So I will be working with people like John Lewis in reaching out to both Republicans and Democrats in Congress to see if Congress is prepared to amend the Voting Rights Act to ensure that people are not being prevented from voting. 

But Congress doesn’t move real quickly around here, and if we can go ahead and move administratively so that our attorney general can go ahead in jurisdictions that seem to be intent on preventing people from voting and that have a racial element to it, even though largely it’s probably for partisan reasons, then we need to go ahead and – and enforce the law. And the Voting rights Act has a number of tools. Section 4, which was struck down, was not the only tool available. So we’re going to do that.

As I said in the speech, though, the broader set of issues, that have to do with the economy and economic opportunity and the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow, and the continuing barriers that African Americans and Hispanics and increasingly, you know, working-class whites have in terms of living out the American dream – being able to get a job that pays a decent wage, and having health care, and making sure that their kids can get the education they need to compete – and on those issues it would be very helpful if Congress moved, but once again, we’re not going to wait for Congress. 

So I want to get early childhood education done because we know that’s the single most important thing we can do to increase upward mobility and opportunity for disadvantaged kids. And if Congress isn’t willing to pass a law, then, you know, I’ll start meeting with mayors, and we’ll start meeting with governors, and we’ll start meeting with, you know, non-for-profits and philanthropies.