Stand Up America, Rep. Mondaire Jones, Texas State Rep. Jasmine Crockett & MOVE Texas Tell Biden, Senate: End the Filibuster and Pass Voting Rights & Court Expansion Legislation

This morning, Stand Up America held a press call with Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY), Texas State Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-100), MOVE Texas Communications Director Charlie Bonner, and Stand Up America President & Founder Sean Eldridge to discuss the need for lawmakers--from the Oval Office to the Senate--to support an end to the filibuster and urgently pass the For The People Act, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, and Rep. Jones' very own Judiciary Act.

With the Senate's return from recess drawing near, and the recent passage of draconian legislation limiting the freedom to vote and restricting pregnant people's bodily agency in Texas, speakers urged the Senate and President Biden to act swiftly to protect fundamental rights and preserve our democracy.

"Our democracy is under assault right now. Our freedom to vote is under assault. And we are not taking it sitting down," said Sean Eldridge, Founder & President of Stand Up America. "In Texas, Stand Up America members made thousands of constituent calls over the past few months and showed up across the state to oppose the anti-voter bill that Governor Abbott just signed into law. Across the country, our members have now made more than 75,000 constituent calls to the U.S. Senate, demanding that our senators end the filibuster and pass legislation to protect our freedom to vote. What we are asking for is leadership. What we are asking for is a democracy in which voters choose their leaders, instead of politicians choosing their voters."

"This year, the Senate GOP majority has already used the filibuster to block the For the People Act, the bipartisan January 6th commission, and the Equality Act. Last fall, voters delivered a clear mandate for bold policy that meets the moment. Because of the filibuster that bold policy is left at the doorstep," commented Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY). "There is simply too much at stake. President Biden has repeatedly voiced his support of voting rights legislation. But, to be blunt, the time for words has passed. The most important thing President Biden can do is to publicly call on the Senate to end the filibuster."

"I have the unique responsibility of being a Texas lawmaker. There's so much bad legislation, that we can't talk about everything that passed--it's not just in Texas, it's spreading throughout this country," said Texas State Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-100). "We saw the [Supreme] Court spit on the legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. We've always held that precedents matter, but this court seemingly wants to do everything it can to erode the precedents we have relied upon to make decisions in our lives. It is time to get off the bench, to finally begin to control this pandemic that is raging through our country--the pandemic that is known as the threat to our democracy."

"We are in desperate need of federal intervention. We have been on the ground for the past 18 months to protect our freedom to vote, and what we're seeing is absolutely shameful," added Charlie Bonner, Communications Director of MOVE Texas. "The only thing we can do to continue this fight is to end the filibuster. To 'build back better' as President Biden so desperately wants to, we must end the racist voter suppression laws that seek to silence the voices of the most diverse electorate in history."