EXCERPT:
PRESSLEY: “It is young people like Kianna who march, organize and remind us daily in the House and the halls of this institution what is at stake and just how high those stakes are. Since the days of abolitionists, suffragists and Civil Rights activists, young people have been pushing the wheels of progress forward. These youth, our young people who will inherit the nation we design here by virtue of our policies or by default of our policies and authority, these very same young people should also have a say in who represents them. For your consideration, Amendment No. 127, which would lower the minimum voting age in federal elections from 18 to 16 years of age. At the age of 16, our young people have the opportunity and also responsibility to drive a vehicle, to gain employment and even to pay taxes. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2018, nearly 2 million young people between ages of 16 and 17 were employed, contributing to our labor force, to their communities, their local economy, by paying taxes. And to be clear, this is not simply enhancing income. This is critical income to stabilizing of households. And although I am introducing this amendment, I'm not the first to broach the idea."