mr. butterfield. mr. butterfield: i thank the gentleman for yielding time and thank the chair of the congressional black caucus for convening this special hour tonight. as many colleagues know, before being elected to congress eight years ago, i was a trial judge and appellate judge in my home state. but before that, i spent considerable time litigating cases under the voting rights act and presenting comments to the department of justice in section five cases. so many people do not understand section five. it does not apply in every jurisdiction in america but only to selected counties where there was evidence of discriminatory voting practices when the voting rights act was first enacted in 1965. these jurisdictions are required to submit to the department of justice any changes in election law or procedure for derges of whether the change could have a negative impact on the voting strength of minority groups. if the jurisdiction fails in their proof, the change is not allowed. and i will say for the rec

mr. butterfield, he was not very surprised. little smile and a nod, and i looked right at him. i felt very good. yeah. i can sleep at night now. >> we talked to butterfield only moments after he left the courtroom. and he told us what the verdict meant to him. >> so a free bible study for the rest of my life, free meals included. that's what it is. free bible study for the rest of my life, free meals included. how can you beat that? it's not a joke and i'm trying not to make light of it. i'm trying not to go crazy in this place. >> it was a horrible thing he did to his daughter and a parent is supposed to be the person that protects and loves you. and he was the boogie man that we try to save our children from. >> you guys only see her as dead. she is in the cell with me every day. i just wrote another song two days ago. i feel she helped me with these songs. i've written nine songs in jail, 314 poems. so in my opinion, she's not dead. i hear from her all the time. >> go straight back to your cell. go back to your cell. >> back

mr. butterfield, for five minutes. mr. butterfield: thank you, mr. speaker, for yielding time. the gentleman from tennessee who just spoke said that sequestration is a game of scare tactics. apparently he hasn't looked at the statistics from his district in tennessee. let me tell you. sequestration is not only going to affect the people of my district but it's going to affect the people of his district and his state as well. sequestration is very troubling, mr. speaker. sensible people all across america are beginning to see the impact that sequestration will have on their families. we are hearing from governors every day, both democrat and republican. we cannot wait any longer. we have delayed this for far too long. the consequences of an unbalanced budget are very, very clear. my home state of north carolina already has one of the highest rates of unemployment at 9%. and these cuts, mr. speaker, to education and health care and low-income families and military readiness around my state and country will be disastrous to so many. our children are our most valuable asset and ens