Dem Rep. Houlahan on Expanding Voter Rights: Our ‘Democracy Is Threatened’ if We Don’t ‘Do Something at the Federal Level’

Monday on MSNBC’s “Hallie Jackson Reports,” Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) weighed in on Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) proposed compromise to the Democrats’ bill to expand voting rights.

Houlahan emphasized the importance of passing voting rights expansion at the federal level. The Pennsylvania congresswoman argued the United States’ democracy “is threatened” without it.

Host Hallie Jackson asked, “Where do you stand on the proposal, for example, from Sen. Joe Manchin, if, let’s say, something happens, and that does get through the Senate, although that seems wildly unlikely at this point?”

“I really appreciate Sen. Manchin putting forward these ideas. Clearly, they’re good ideas because Stacey Abrams has also endorsed them,” Houlahan replied.

“I believe HR1 is a broad sweeping piece of legislation to S1, and of course, I wish that would get to the floor for a vote,” she added. “But I would very much like to see us getting something done, and I think it’s very, very important that we recognize that if we don’t do something at the federal level, the democracy, in my opinion, is threatened. Snd so I’m hopeful that the pieces that Sen. Manchin put forward have an opportunity to gain life and to hopefully be considered by the Senate and would very much love it if they’d come over our way so we could consider them, too.”

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