The letter to Bush from Wal-Mart President and CEO H. Lee Scott Jr. said that voting rights are relevant to the company's 1.2 million employees — or "associates," as Wal-Mart calls them — because Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is the largest private employer of black Americans in the United States. "I hope that you will stand with me, members of the Congressional Black Caucus, other political and civil rights leaders and countless Americans in supporting an extension of the expiring provisions of the Voting Rights Act," Scott said in the letter. The issue does not directly benefit Wal-Mart's bottom line but could instead win it goodwill with blacks and with a liberal caucus that has historically had strong ties to Wal-Mart foes, most notably organized labor. And the effort, so far, appears to be paying off. In an interview, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the former chairman of the CBC, praised Wal-Mart for taking up the voting-rights cause. "We need all the partners that we can have," Cummings said.