To commemorate President Joe Biden, who has long served as a member of Congress, once again urged Congress to pass legislation to defend the right to vote.

US President Joe Biden once again called on Congress to pass legislation to protect the voting rights of civil rights leader and long-time Congressman John Lewis. Passed away a year ago.

In a statement on the first anniversary of Lewis’s death on Saturday, Biden stated that it is vital to continue “the cause for which John is willing to give his life: protecting the sacred right to vote.”

“Since the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s, we have not seen such a relentless attack on voting rights and the integrity of our elections,” Biden said, noting that his predecessor Donald Trump falsely claimed The 2020 elections are widely regarded as examples.

He also criticized the “new wave of voter suppression”, referring to A series of state legislation This is designed to limit the chances of voting, which critics say will disproportionately harm black and other colored voters.

Controversial laws are being debated in states such as Texas and implemented by Republican lawmakers in other states, including Arizona, Florida, and Georgia.

The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University tracks voter suppression laws across the United States, Say On its website, as of June 21, 17 states had enacted 28 new laws restricting voting.

Biden said in the statement: “I once again call on Congress to pass the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Promotion Act so that I can sign them into law,” he was referring to the proposed legislation aimed at strengthening The right to vote, but stagnated in Congress. .

Lewis, who has served in Congress for decades, is a disciple of Martin Luther King Jr., who has fought for civil rights and human rights until the end of his life.

He is probably best known for leading about 600 protesters in protests. Bloody sunday march Crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama in 1965. On the same day, the state police defeated Lewis and other militants who marched for the right to vote.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris called Lewis an “American hero.”

Harris said in his statement on Saturday: “Congressman Lewis has worked tirelessly for the highest ideals of our country: freedom and justice for all, and the right of every American to express his or her voice in the ballot box.”

As a college student at American Baptist College and Fisk University, Lewis also helped abolish apartheid in public places in Nashville and promoted racial justice throughout the South.

Nashville held a series of events on Friday and Saturday to commemorate his death anniversary, renaming most of Fifth Avenue to Congressman John Lewis Way.

Among the institutions on both sides of the street are the buildings in downtown Woolworth, where Lewis and other black civil rights leaders sit provocatively at the isolated lunch counter, where they will not be served in 1960. Hundreds of people marched along the street and then arrived at the Lehman Auditorium to participate in the celebration ceremony.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, senior U.S. lawmakers and Lewis’ family gathered in San Diego to name a naval ship named after Lewis.

“This ship will become a beacon of the world, reminding everyone who sees it of John Lewis’ perseverance and courage,” Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said at the baptism of US Navy John Lewis.

Lewis’ nephew Marcus Tyner (Marcus Tyner) said that the family was grateful for the honor, but said that “my uncle is most pleased” if Congress passes a voting rights bill named after him.