WASHINGTON, June 25 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement after the Supreme Court ruled today that Congress had not provided adequate justification for continued federal oversight under the Voting Rights Act of 1965:

“The Supreme Court has turned back the clock on equality in America by striking down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act. The landmark civil rights law that Congress passed almost five decades ago, and reauthorized with overwhelming bipartisan support only seven years ago, has been an important tool to protect voters in places with a history of discrimination. The law is as necessary today as it was in the era of Jim Crow laws. We must act immediately to rewrite this vital law.”