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Sen. Markey says passing voting rights law would honor sacrifices of Capitol police on Jan. 6

 Outside during the U.S. Capitol during the January 6, 2021, attack on the building.
Tyler Merbler
/
Creative Commons
Outside during the U.S. Capitol during the January 6, 2021, attack on the building.

U.S. Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts is calling for those who orchestrated and executed the attack on the Capitol a year ago to be held accountable. He said the best way to do that is to protect voting rights.

Markey said passing voting rights legislation would restore Americans' faith in the peaceful transfer of power and prevent another attempt at insurrection.

But he said to pass it, the filibuster rule, which allows prolonged debate to put off or prevent a vote on a bill, should be repealed.

"Our success will undoubtedly depend on eliminating, even just for this one issue, the filibuster, which is a Jim Crow relic and undemocratic tool that has been used to block progress on policies favored by the majority of Americans for far too long," Markey said. "And I strongly support abolishing the filibuster completely."

Markey said that would help get the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act passed and honor the sacrifice made by Capitol police and others, a year ago.

Markey was at the Capitol during the insurrection.

Nancy Eve Cohen is a senior reporter focusing on Berkshire County. Earlier in her career she was NPR’s Midwest editor in Washington, D.C., managing editor of the Northeast Environmental Hub and recorded sound for TV networks on global assignments, including the war in Sarajevo and an interview with Fidel Castro.
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