; Whereas Congress in 2006 reauthorized section 5 by overwhelming margins based upon an extensive record of continued racial voting discrimination within the covered jurisdictions; Whereas section 5 continues to require Federal review for changes in all or part of 16 States with histories of official discrimination, where the legislative record showed that the bulk of racial voting discrimination has remained concentrated; Whereas States and political subdivisions that show a clean recent record of voting rights compliance can bail out from section 5 coverage; Whereas there are ongoing election problems in both the covered and the non-covered States which urgently require the attention of Congress, including voting delays, badly designed and executed voter purges, unduly restrictive voter identification laws, and deceptive and intimidating phone calls, flyers, and billboards, but these problems do not necessarily require the non-covered States to comply with the section 5 preclearance remedy; Whereas section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 remains necessary to protect the hard-won gains in minority electoral participation in the covered States since 1965 against the imposition of new racially discriminatory voting practices; Whereas the Supreme Court’s holding in Shelby County v. Holder severely undermined the effectiveness of section 5; Whereas in the wake of this decision voting rights have come under increased attack in States across the country; and Whereas the first Monday in October would be an appropriate day for the Nation to focus upon the historic and continuing importance of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in ensuring equality at the ballot box: Now, therefore, be it