gentlemen proceed thank you mr speaker i rise today to celebrate israel on its sixtieth anniversary while israel is frequently cited as a model of democracy in the middle east i'd like to focus on israel's advances in embryonic stem cell research the united states is still trying to fully harness the potential of this valuable research we aim to cure debilitating diseases like parkinson's diabetes epilepsy spinal injuries and others but for years at facilities like hebrew university tel aviv university and the weizmann institute and many others israeli scientists have blazed a path for the rest of the world to follow for sixty years americans and israelis have built a friendship embracing all that we share and as the united states works to unlock the promise of embryonic stem cell research we find yet another reason our friend israel is so special honor nascar legend dale jarrett this weekend marks the last race of nascar legend dale jr its long career may seventeenth at the all star race at lowe's motor speedway will be his last time dale jarrett and i'm proud of call him a constituent and my community is grateful for his service honored by his presence and again grateful for his contribution and the charitable sector as well nascar will miss him but we're grateful to still have him on no the speaker i rise a day to announce to the american people that their voices have been heard today this house voted down the hundred eighty billion dollars war funding bill that the president requested it is time now for americans to be heard and for this congress to move forward on the safe redeployment of our troops in addition mr speaker i offered amendments to declare the authorization of two thousand and two expired i hope we will address that question and to announce or to establish a national day of honor and celebration to bring our troops home with the utilization of the hundred and eighty billion dollars we can begin an economic stimulus package that would include the work that the congressional black  and majority whip cliburn and myself have been supporting and that is to provide for a billion dollars or five hundred million dollars for the summer jobs program this is an emergency our young people are finding the doors of opportunity closed many of support their families need money for books we need a summer job program with the defeat of this hundred and eighty dollars one hundred eighty billion outlining program for the war we can do better the war to than we've defeated the spending i yelled back for  gentle soft airliner us so our miss figure in the past few months there's been a lot of talk about high gasoline prices in talk about commonsense plans to lower the skyrocketing costs individuals and business across the nations are suffering misspeak or and there's too much talk congress must take steps now to address our nation's energy needs so today i'm proud to announce i'm an original co sponsor of h r six thousand and one the main street usa energy security act two thousand and eight this legislation is an action plan and our first step to energy independence it will boost our national security by increasing domestic exploration encouraging research in the area of alternative energy sources and promoting clean nuclear energy which speaker for decades united states has not had a comprehensive energy policy now with gasoline prices eating up americans paychecks we need to find solutions to our growing energy needs we have the resources  technology available to make energy independence a reality so no more talk mr speaker it's time to act and act today baker our government should fight for the release of a key prisoner of conscience the first person in the arab world convicted of what he peaceably wrote on his blog the case has attracted strong international attention and the personal interest of the president last year in egypt saw the deterioration of human rights and especially the regard to freedom of expression most troubling is the conviction and imprisonment of a young human rights activist and blogger sullum on known for his internet pen name kareem america was convicted for statements made on his personal web blog condemning islamic extremism and the poor treatment of women and minorities he was sentenced to four years in prison and while we recognize what he said may have offended some his convictions sends a dangerous precedent on the internet on saturday the president will meet with president mubarak i urge members to sign the letter to the president urging him to raise the case of karim a mare and to free this man the first man in the arab world convicted simply for what he said on his internet web l mr franks bill in this water's bill which dealt with the foreclosure crisis in the neighborhoods and been affected thereby it was a difficult decision for me not to be here for i haven't missed a day in my two years that i've been in the congress but a very dear friend of mine thomas bogs passed a y and i was asked to be a pall bearer it is funeral which i was honored to do thomas fox is one of the finest people that i've had the pleasure of knowing nearly thirty five years he was a leading citizen and memphis tennessee giving much to the community and charitable works to people regardless of income status or rice no matter where they came from thomas reached out to try to be good to them he was very helpful with the methods food bank with the memphis do with raising monies for the church bell center that gives them health care to people in need and his death was met with a lot of notice now this is not normally reserved for an individual above the fold first page of the memphis commercial appeal lead editorial in a cartoon he was a wonderful human being he has a great family he was a good father he had many great friends even though we're congresspeople we need to remember we're citizens and humans remember our friends on their last day was revealed today pulling open the curtain they brought forward their proposal as to dealing with our troops keeping all republicans out of consideration of that which was being brought to the floor republicans decided to leave the democrats to their own devices left to their own devices what do we have no money for our troops a cut and run policy and extraneous funding being put on the bill that's what's what is the democratic approach to our war and fighting those who would kill us in places overseas no funds for the troops a cut and run policy and extraneous funding placed on it the wizard has been for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina arise here i ask unanimous consent that today following legislative business any special orders heretofore entered into the following members may be permitted to address the house revising extend their remarks and include there an extraneous in the material mr poe may twenty second for five minutes mr mchenry today for five minutes mr jones may twenty second for five minutes without objection so ordered for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california arise this is speaker i ask unanimous consent that today following that displayed of business in any special or there's heretofore entered into the following members may be permitted to address the house for five minutes to revise and extend their remarks and include their in extraneous material mr allen maine ms wells a california mr ellison minnesota mr mcdermott washington mr holt new jersey mr schiff california miss kaptur ohio mr de fazio of oregon mr sarbanes maryland without objection so ordered the chair lays before the house the following communication the honorable the speaker house of representatives m this is to formally notify pursuant to roll eight of the rules of the house of representatives that i have been served with a criminal trial subpoena for testimony issued by the district court of maryland well for baltimore county after consulting with the office of general counsel i have determined that compliance with a subpoena is consistent with the privileges and rights of the house and generally katie malone under the speaker's announced policy of january eighteenth two thousand and seven and under a previous order of the house the following members are recognized for five minutes each mr allen of maine today the congressional progressive caucus held an event called winter soldier where we honored our men and women in uniform who have returned as veterans and then this afternoon we were given another bite at the so called apple as if we were continuing the honor for of the winter soldiers what happened this afternoon what happened less than an hour ago was that an amendment on the house floor to fund the iraq afghanistan war until june of zero nine failed it did not pass it failed now that is the way to honor winter soldiers stop paying for the president's the back will for the failed international policy for the damages that are being caused to our soldiers across the waters that is the way to make up and to honor winter soldiers so what is a winter soldier in one thousand nine hundred one a courageous group of veterans of the vietnam war took their cause to washington in and then called winter soldier today we honored that tradition and we looked at a new generation of veterans and a new war friend or rock the event which was organized with iraq veterans against the war got to the heart of the issue how this endless occupation is affecting our men and women in uniform and the iraqi people themselves in recent months we have heard from general david pertaining to terror betray us we've heard from ambassador david crocker and we've heard a lot from the administration all armed with powerpoint presentations and colorful posters attempting to convince us that after five years we are finally making progress in iraq that's what made this morning so unique this was an opportunity to hear not from the military's top brass but directly from the very soldiers who put their lives on the line to carry out the administration's policies today's event was a continuation of winter  hearings that were organized earlier this year at the national labor college in silver spring maryland over three days dozens of veterans shared their personal stories and testified about their own experiences on the ground in combat in iraq and afghanistan these weren't pundits or analysts talking about the wars in iraq and afghanistan in the abstract these were the stories these were the testimonies of the men and women who had experienced the horrors of war up close and personal as i listened to the testimony this morning i was struck that while each witness brought a unique and very personal perspective towards the occupation of iraq there was one consistent thread that connected each and every testimony that despite the valor and sacrifice of our troops at almost every level the administration strategy in iraq ha failed and continues to fail and what a great response to those wonderful soldiers because today's vote says exactly what we need to say put an end to this war reject a blank check to extend this occupation into another year concentrate on funding the redeployment of our troops and the redeployment of our our contractors we'll nothing less than that to those brave men and women in uniform and those who have been there before them and we also owe nothing less than that to the iraqi people i feel back back for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina rise like to claim a time of war without objection gentleman from north carolina is recognized for five minutes thank you mr speaker and this evening i am here to address the house and take a moment to talk about something that's on my constituents mind in my mind and it's energy policy we have a real need for a strong energy policy in america actually to go further we have a need for an energy policy in america and we've not seen leadership out of washington on this issue period in two thousand and five we had an energy act that we passed out of this chamber and acted into law that helps get the refining process working well actually more pointedly it helps move forward nuclear power and new plants with nuclear power production and there are other small changes for the refining process and licensing and things of that sort but but that wasn't enough we've not done enough earlier this week this house passed by a wide margin thankfully a bipartisan majority that i was happy to vote in favor of that would suspend the addition of more oil in the strategic petroleum reserve now this according to most economists and folks that look at oil and energy production  according to them it would reduce gas prices just a little bit well and the reason why reduce it just a little bit is because it would take less demand off the marketplace thereby keeping the same supply that we have but reducing the mand and as such as most people now with economics when that happens prices fall well i think we have to go one step further and that one step further is increasing capacity that means we have to have american energy production that means off the deep waters of our coasts we need to find oil and natural gas off in remote areas of alaska we need to harness the oil that is there whether soil share the shale in the rocky mountain west or energy production and drilling in the dakotas i think these are the things that we have to be about and congress must put forward a bold initiative to do that and that's the legislator legislation that i have co sponsored here in this in this chamber to increase capacity in production but beyond that i think most americans know that simply getting more american oil is  enough getting more american natural gas is not enough increasing refineries here in the united states is not enough it's a start but long term we have to have a massive investment a twenty first century manhattan project that harnesses our power and ingenuity here in the united states to end our reliance on foreign oil and go one step further than that in our reliance on oil that should be a national priority kennedy demanded that we go and put a man on the moon before the end of the one nine hundred sixty s and we did it in a dire time with a war the greatest war the world ever known we developed a manhattan project to produce a devastating weapon that would hopefully end all wars that didn't happen and terms of ending the war but we did produce nuclear power and a nuclear weapon in a few short years we must have that same priority here in the united states and demand energy independence from the rest of the world by embracing our alternatives that we have here domestically and bracing our ingenuity and going that final step to true energy independence that's what we should be about this should not be a partisan issue we should have a bipartisan majority that says yes we will do these things and we will do these things in a short period of time because that's what the american people deserve my constituents are hurting that's a drive automobiles we don't have mass transit my district or any substantive form really so my constituents are hurting and that's a question about being able to take your kids to the beach this summer but beyond that many families are struggling just to buy food and keep shelter i think we have to be very sensitive to the demands of our constituents and realize that they are hurting and energy and gas prices are the central reason why they're hurting with get serious about this put politics aside and do what's right for our american people so right thing for our american people it's a right thing for our economy it's a right thing for our future in the united states and i look forward to us working together in a bipartisan way for true energy independence now you'll back to balance my time gentleman yield back mr poe from texas for what purposes does the gentleman from maryland rise was out of order and without objection the gentleman from maryland is recognized for five minutes mr speaker i rise today in recognition of israel's sixtieth anniversary my first visit to israel was in  it was during the time of the ethiopian airlift before the first intifada before the second intifada and a decade before the tragic assassination of prime minister rabin i can remember feeling deeply moved by the powerful mix of history culture and religion the sheer humanity that pulsated through the tiny ition of israel and those charged with that stewardshi i realized too that america's stake in the existence and preservation of israel was nearly as fundamental as the stake of israel's own citizens not just because of israel's role as a strategic military ally in what is a notoriously unstable part of the world although that alone would justify the maintenance of strong aid and assistance to israel not just because of israel status as the only true democracy in the middle east although that's who would call upon the united states to give its unwavering support beyond those things for many americans there is a deeper usually unspoken reason that the united states must never depart from its staunch support for the state of israel in the wake of world war two and its tragic legacy for the jewish people the existence of israel will always be a profound moral and spiritual imperative for the united states on a return trip just two years ago i had the opportunity to witness the growth and change that has occurred in israel since my first visit a generation earlier from the technology being developed in the silicone wadi to the advances in health care in preservation of the ecosystem israel is a model for other industrialized nations mr speaker in the last sixty years israel has demonstrated time and time again its value to the world not just in geopolitical terms but in one it's what it people have given us in ingenuity innovation and expression this anniversary offers us an occasion to thank the people of israel for their strength their rich and their enormous contributions to our global requested unanimous consent to address the house for five minutes without objection the gentleman from colorado is recognized for five minutes thank you mr speaker just c b s news recently ran an expos on the growing phenomena of illegal aliens entering the united states in order to give birth to a child this segment shed some light on what has become an increasingly costly burden to the united states taxpayer an estimated three hundred thousand children of illegal aliens are born in this country every year largely because of a misguided policy of so called birthright citizenship this peculiar policy confers u s citizenship on any child born here regardless of what country their parents are from or whether those parents are here in the united states legally we are one of the few if in fact we may be the only country now that still provides for this particular kind of citizenship and it's based on a very strange sort of interpretation of the fourteenth amendment one part of the fourteenth amendment in particular we all recognize of course that when the fourteenth amendment was written there was no such thing as illegal immigration certainly there could have been no reference to it in the amendment itself and what we need to do frankly is to pass legislation in this house and in the senate and the president needs to sign it outlawing this practice of and this habit really that we can got into which is more than anything else  a phenomena of of custom more than it is of actual law or analysis of the legal system or of the constitution of the united states we should pass legislation to lot and let it be tested at the supreme court it results not just in the benefit for a child who is born as a u s citizen it also makes it easier for that anchor baby the parent of that anchor baby or the illegal alien to become a u s citizen through that child the story on c b s focused on one woman who had crossed over the rio grande with her husband and two other children to give birth in the united states she gave birth to a healthy and a half pound baby on american soil after american doctors performed a c section procedure that carries a price tag of nearly five thousand dollars bill that was sent to the american taxpayer joe riley is the c e o of macallan texas medical center near texas mexico border said this sort of thing is quite typical he told c b s news that he had seen quote mothers give about to give birth that walk up to the hospital still wet from swimming across the river in actual labor dirty wet and cold they're here to have a in the united states mr riley's hospital alone is forced to provide uncompensated care worth more than two hundred million dollars each to cover the costs of the nearly three thousand illegal alien births that take place there annually even more startling that equates to about fifty percent of all the births in that hospital meaning doctors are delivering almost as many children for illegal aliens as they are for american mothers in california alone by the way the cost for illegal alien surprise that many american hospitals are on the verge of collapse some in fact have gone that way and that billions of taxpayer dollars are being squandered on illegal aliens actually taking advantage of the health care program it's time we yank back nagle allianz welcome mat eliminated perverse incentives for illegal immigration like birthright citizenship and the taxpayer services for illegal aliens i yield back the balance of my time gentleman yield back the balance of his time mr ellison for what purpose does the gentlewoman from ohio arise material on the record thereof that objection the gentlewoman from ohio is recognized for five minutes thank you mr speaker tomorrow friday president bush will visit saudi arabia to meet with king abdullah and other key saudi leaders according to the white house the president's visit will commemorate the seventy fifth anniversary of the formal establishment of u s saudi relations of course the underlying reason for the trip to riyadh is to beg the saudis to produce more oil faced four dollars a gallon gasoline it was three ninety nine this week in ohio and already exceeding four dollars over four dollars in many parts of our country a prospect which the president recently question would even happen now the president is reduced to begging the saudis who literally have us over a barrel record high gasoline prices are hurting american families american truckers and american businesses the average price of gasoline has more than doubled since this president was placed in office fuel costs now account for ten percent of the average family's budget it's especially hard for people who have to drive to work such people in rural areas it's hard for farmers and truckers who have seen diesel prices spiral way out of control and still we have no real leadership on a new energy policy from this white house no policy for making our great nation less dependent on undemocratic the accuracies such as saudi arabia no policy to move away from the carbon based economy an ease the pressure on our fragile planet under george w bush america has gone backwards last year the united states imported one point four five million barrels of crude oil from saudi arabia every single day of the year can you imagine that five hundred and thirty million barrels in one year in fact since this president has taken office we as a country are importing a billion more barrels a year a billion more barrels a year less independent more dependent it just so happens america is the world's number one importer of crude and saudi arabia is the world's number one export or fourteen percent of our nation's oil addiction is supplied just by dealers in saudi arabia that doesn't count kuwait and all of the surrounding countries like bahrain etc last year we imported two hundred thirty seven billion dollars worth of crude oil a third of a trillion dollars that's when the average price per barrel was sixty four dollars this year that number will probably top three hundred billion and rising for the first three months of this year  crude oil imports totaled seventy six billion dollars which is sixty three percent above where it was a year ago how much longer can this continue i think the american people know how to answer that question no more they're saying no more this week we will see another episode of this pitiful drama of the vice grip relationship between saudi arabia and the united states the house of bush represented by our president will beg the house of sowed represented by king  abdullah to increase production as a short term fix for america's growing energy deficit we ought to be bringing those dollars back here at home and have the same kind of commitment as we did when we landed a man on the moon we can do this is a country we just need better leadership at every step this democratic congress has tried to make a difference in the price gouging preven connect the renewable energy act the strategic petroleum reserve bill suspension act the consumer protection act and of course h r six to try to help launch energy independence for this country but yesterday our house passed a farm belt with a billion dollar title to bring in bio energy is an important part of the solution for the future at this as this lame duck presidency fades hopefully the next president of the united states will negotiate in earnest and help america develop an agenda for our own independence not continued subservience to human rights violators and there's afternoon an extraordinary thing did happen when we had a vote on a supplemental with all kinds of strings attached to it to fund our troops in harm's way the democrats have the majority they have the ability to pass that funding without a bit of help from the republicans many of us on the republican side of the hour quite concerned however with the strings with the linkage that were made to this bill to help our troops do their job one for example was that in the second amendment which we knew would pass the  existed to create hard and fast deadlines for pulling our troops out of iraq we all want to see our troops home we all want to see our troops back with us and those of us who go over to iraq and see them in harm's way we long for the time of having them home completely but the vast majority of those guys in record numbers re enlist because they know they are doing you know they are making a difference and when you go over there you see it in kurdistan in december in the northern area of iraq construction booming things going well we have made a difference with the sarge it is a profound difference we have al qaida on the rhine there given last ditch efforts to try to stop what's going on we have the iraqi people that are there working for themselves more soldiers more police trained in ever there's real good things going on and were we to pass a supplemental that were linked was linked to that second amendment with the time deadlines the message would be a message of hope for all those who hate us and want to destroy us and that is if you'll just hold on a little bit longer we will have the americans put their heads between their legs and go cowering away as they did from vietnam we could have won vietnam we can succeed in iraq the the great state of iraq is so close to governing itself just like john adams wrote to abigail you know what people have only dreamed of governing themselves is so close within our reach we can't give it up now it's so close iraq is there we cannot hand our enemies in the iraqi the enemies the enemies of liberty this kind of win so we voted present if the democrats a enough votes then they would have passed the supplemental by itself and it would have been linked to the second amendment that would have required the time deadlines for withdrawal and would have given hope as it was we couldn't vote against our troops many of us but we voted present the first amendment that we took up this afternoon failed so now we have got to come back with a clean supplemental to help our troops and let's get the crowd in there about the fifty two billion dollar tax hike at a time when the economy certainly can't afford that let's get the linkage out to middling and saying oh we're defeated we can't win given our enemies a victory get all that stuff out of there no more linkages like that no more tax hikes just clean supplemental to give our troops the wherewithal to do what they need to succeed that the message we needed coming out of today and that's why so many of us voted as we did we voted for victory for our troops and i'll never forget the words  mother travis was killed over in iraq and as i stood near his coffin with his mother was an emotional time and i said is there anything i can do she gritted her teeth and she said tell the congress to shut up and let the military do their job that's what we need to do let the military had the wherewithal to succeed as they can without the to failure so that we can keep our head held high and what's more perhaps go seven more years without being attacked here thank you gentleman yields back mr mcdermott from washington  for what purpose does mr ensley from washington rise without objection the gentleman from washington is recognized for five minutes thank you misspeak before i start i want to express my honor for the gentleman in the chair today from colorado who did extraordinary work in leading the congress to green building standards and introduction of a building a bill today and i appreciate his leadership on this thank you for leading on this issue i would come today to address my concerns about this misbegotten decision by the u s air force to ignore great work by americans with a consortium building the boeing seven sixty seven aerial refueling tanker in fact sending american tax dollars in american jobs to europe and i want to express the five reasons why this decision does not add up that there is a particular odor about this decision and needs to be revisited one way or another we need to have an american tanker built by american workers to be fair to american service personnel and taxpayers both and i want to go through the five reasons why this decision does not add up reason number one if there is no sense on this green earth is why american government has sued the airbus corporation asserting that they have violated international trade laws because they received illegal billion dollar subsidies and at the same time another agency of the federal government the air force turn around and give that same corporation that our own government has declared is acting illegally contrary to international and american law and turn around and give him a forty billion dollar contract it is most unfortunate that at least one person in the other chamber specifically said that we can't take into consideration these subsidies it is absolutely ludicrous for the american government to sue this company and one court saying they violated the law and turn around and give him a forty billion dollar contract that's exactly what has happened here it makes no sense this does not add up reason number two boeing has been building these tankers successfully hundreds of tankers without difficulty and instead of going with a proven tried and true american contractor the air force decided to accept the risk of a company that's never made an aerial tanker building it in a way that has never been built in factories that do not exist in multiple countries with a supply chain that has never been proven we cannot and should not tolerate that risk of this risky decision reason number three this does not add up does not add up because all estimates have concluded that the boeing seven sixty seven is twenty four percent more fuel efficient overall looking at all the mission statements twenty four percent more fuel efficient well for anyone is going to the pump recently let me suggest that it doesn't make sense to be buying a product that is a gas guzzler when we know that fuel prices are going only in one direction a study performed by the conklin and decker analysts company concluded that by going with boeing instead of this airbus a monstrosity we would save the american taxpayers thirty billion dollars in fuel costs and at the same time when we're trying to wring efficiencies to deal with global warming and reduce fuel costs this decision is buying the gas guzzler right rather than the fuel efficient aircraft this does not add up reason number for this plane the air force basically decided bigger is better bigger is not always better they said they told boeing that they wanted in their press a medium sized plane boeing provided a medium sized plane in the middle of this process they decided they wanted a bigger airplane bigger is not all better i'll tell you why it's going to cost the american taxpayers over two billion dollars to remodel all of these hangars all across america to try to fit this large airplane in this is real money out of real taxpayers it was not considered in the lifecycle costs it does not add up in the fifth reason is lifecycle costs you know the air force what they did is they looked at original acquisition costs and downplayed the lifecycle costs associated with fuel costs maintenance costs hangar remodelling and all the other things associated with these airplanes when you make an acquisition for the american taxpayers you need to look at the entire lifecycle cost not just the upper upfront acquisition costs it does not add up so here are five reasons that this congress ought to get up on our hind legs and blow the whistle on this thank you mr speaker earlier today the california supreme court tourists add the voice in the express will of millions of california voters but overturning california's state law that banned same sex marriage effectively this rule allowed all same sex couples in our nation's most populous states the right to marry and affords them all the privileges that go along with this sacred union and i say that rulings like this one of the reasons why the institution of marriage is crumbling before our very eyes and i for one am very sad to see this happen the main issue is whether the status of marriage will be determined by judges or by the american people i'm extremely concerned about how activists use the courts to legislate on something that has been fatal in american law for more than two hundred years furthermore the people of california made it abundantly clear back in two thousand that they reject same sex marriage then it comes that comes along four judges who apparently believe that there was or than over four and a half million voters in their state proposition twenty two got over sixty one percent of the vote yet it was dismissed by four lone dictators history or with common sense this lunacy is precisely the reason why federal constitutional amendment is needed to protect traditional marriage this decision will undoubtedly become the platform for spreading this unfounded ruling across the nation on the federal stage there's a constitutional remedy for federal judges that involve volved in this type of activists behavior and legislating from the bench every single federal judge takes an oath to uphold the constitution when they fail to do so and let their own wilma's an ideological positions in a fear with applying the constitution not interpret ing but applying these judges have failed to fulfill their term of good behavior and they should be fired by pietschmann likewise california's that are outraged like i am and they should be up in arms and should take action to initiate a referendum to pass a state constitutional amendment to enforce their will and overturn these judges despicable opinions and these judges  under the speaker's announced policy of january eighteenth two thousand and seven the gentleman from california mr lundgren is recognized for sixty minutes as the designee of the minority leader gentleman's recognized thank you very much mr speaker mr speaker today i rise to speak about the role of government in our collective political lives and of the relationship between such government and civil society it has been two hundred nineteen years since the beginning of this new constitutional republic formally entering the international stage in two thousand and eight i'm privileged to stand in this is story chamber of the united states house of representatives and the second session of the one hundred tenth congress we should representative and citizen alive take great pride i didn't our collective perseverance our longevity and survival as the numeri geographically largest and most prosperous republican form of government in recorded human history is a testimony to the strength of this polity an important part of that proud history has been our commitment to seriously debating the contours of any entity which we constitute to exercise power over the source and content of self government that is we the people in other words we must continue to ask ourselves what is the proper of governmental powers in and around our lives my colleagues subsidiarity is a word not often used on this floor yet it is a word and concept which is foundational to much of what we do as representatives of the system of government under which we operate and the presuppositions upon which much policy is debated in this chamber as well as that in the other body subsidiarity has been defined as the belief that a community of a higher order should not interfere with the life of a community of a lord or lower order thereby taking over its function subsidiarity holds that nothing should be done by a larger and more complex organization which can be done as well by a smaller and simpler organization in other words any activity which can be performed by a more easy centralized entity should be this principle as a bulwark of limited government and personal freedom other intellectual and philosophic traditions have spoken to spare sovereignty principle pluralism and federalism but behind all of these complex sounding terms is a simple basic fact understandable by each of us that there should a proportional correlation between the proximity to the individual and the amount of power any government entity be it local county state or federal may possess in relation to them and the words that government which is closest to us is usually the best government for which we should give function let me give the analogy of a human body if we would say the body politic is like a human body we would say that a healthy your body politic is one which like the human body is infused with activity energy in other words if you had a human body and you had oxygenated blood that only went to ninety percent of it that ten percent might very well die and be considered unhealthy if you would have one hundred percent of the actually needed blood go to the brain the rest of the body could float could not function and the body would therefore die similarly with the body politic if all the power if all the energy is visited here in washington d c the rest of the bali body politic tends to wither it loses its energy it loses its enthusiasm and ultimately it withers and dies thus as citizens we do not or should not think it wise nor reasonable to immediately ask the federal government the unity government that is most distant from our lives to solve each and every problem which our family our neighborhood our town our city our county our state where our region can address or as academics may describe it subsidiarity provides appropriate discernment for responses to respective needs and particular ways foundational to the glorious liberty document because of the principles contained within it and the antecedent rights which it protects we cannot quarrel with douglas's description is description it apt because the constitution enshrined a system of government based upon a moral foundation which thereby which thereby allows the people to rule through majorities and nonetheless simultaneously protect fundamental minority rights now well we ourselves have not always lived up to it subsidiarity requires in the constitution affirms that no citizens based upon arbitrary and amorphous demarcations like skin color are permitted to be excluded from the governed from which consent is required thus intrinsic to a proper understanding of and commitment to subsidiarity the rule of law imbedded embedded within the constitution requires a reasonable moral foundation upon which to anchor our commitment to law and the system of governments which we implicitly or explicitly support as robert george has written where reason has no sway in practical affairs the sole question is who has the power severance from a moral foundation we leave our belief in and carrying out of the rule of law without a means by which to be secure law itself becomes power arbitrary will becomes the corrupted lodestar of societal compromise and compromise and the entire depth of justice which now becomes a completely vacuous term to use an analogy from roy closer in his book the myth of religious neutrality even the most violently anarchistic organizations would quickly fall apart if it became devoid of all observance of norms of fairness or trust among its own members and while th unnoticed an unspoken in the day to day happenings of politics and life the rule of law constitutionalism and subsidiarity are vital guide rails of our collective republican lives as prefe robert george has said quote the obligations and purposes of law and government are to protect public health safety and morals and to advance the general welfare including preeminently protecting people's fundamental rights and basic liberties at first blush he says this classic formulation or combination of classic formulations seems to grant vast and sweeping powers to public authority yet in truth the general welfare of the common good requires that government be limited government's responsibility is primary when the questions involving defending the nation from attack and subversion protecting people from physical assaults and various other forms of of depth depredation and maintaining public order in other ways however its role is subsidiary to support the work of the families religious communities and other institutions of civil society that shoulder the primary burden of forming upright and decent citizens caring for those in need encouraging people to meet their responsibilities to one another while also discouraging them from harming themselves or others then is formed upon a commitment to the rule of law so that in our various fears of societal life anarchy and normal isness do not start to behave as if they have defined the rules of engagement in the field of activity once and for all the commitment to the rule of law makes plain while appropriate understanding of the limited judicial function is so important in democratic self government as judge andrew kleinfeld of the six circuit has written that a question is important does not imply that it is constitutional the founding fathers did not establish the united states as a democratic republic so that elected officials would decide trivia well all great questions would be decided by the judiciary the an issue is important does not mean that the people through their democratically elected representatives do not have the power to decide it one might suppose that the general rule in the democratic republic would be the opposite with a few exceptions thus when i hear from my friends on the other side of the aisle when i hear that my friends on the other side of the aisle asked supreme court justice nominees whether they in the course of their tenure are going to expand freedom or constrict freedom and when i hear current declamations that nominees need to understand it's their duty their job their purpose as judges to stand up for economic and social justice i am incredulous as to what these words in terms mean freedom for whom freedom to do what to whom whose interpretation of economic justice should be stood up whose interpretation of social justice how do these ends relate to the rule of a judge which is to rule on specific cases not engage in abstract roving philosophic speculations the rule of law our constitutional framework and an appreciation for the complexity of societies which genuine subsidiarity inherently takes for granted demand better now what i've outlined provides while what i've outlined provides a legal framework and structural timber for the division of power and cultivation of society we the citizens are nevertheless the most important factors in such a commitment to subsidiarity subsidiarity requires a commitment by the citizens of the republic to comport themselves with self restraint with virtue and with respect for one's fellow citizens as the father of our constitution james madison exclaimed to suppose that any form of government will secure liberty and happiness without virtue in the people is a comerica will we do not depend on or put confidence in our rulers but in the people who are to choose them amstetten evans points out that quote the reasoning of the founders in this area was identical to that provided by edmund burke contemporaneously in england self government required observance of the moral law respect for rights of others restraint upon the passions virtue was thus a necessary precondition to a regime of freedom and a nation that lost its religious moorings was considered right for tyranny converse lee since religious belief and ethical conduct were matters of volition the founders also believed that liberty was in for a goal two ideas of virtue thus in order for subsidiary remain viable we as citizens must work to cultivate the proper virtues within ourselves as well as strive to be meaningful in the lives of those around us usually starting with our families our friends our community neighbors and our fellow employees on the other hand society would not endure were each citizen to take upon himself or herself the maximum out of criminal activity possible rampant and widespread the stock destruction would lead to nihilistic physical and cultural chaos greater resources would then be needed to attempt to contain and mitigate such behavior the people's health safety and likelihood of perpetuating society by bringing future generations in the life would become severely constricted and diminished george will and his masterful work statecraft is soul craft explain it is obvious that the restraining strength of individual habits and social conventions must be inversely proportional to the strength of restraints and forced by law in addition to these individual consequences the collective unsequenced of our view of government as one people would be tarnished as well again tells us regardless of democratic forms when people are taught by philosophy in the social climate that they need not govern their actions by calculations of public good they will come to blame all social shortcomings on the agency of collective considerations the government and will absolve themselves now in stark contrast subsidiarity not only respects the various institutions and complexities laden throughout the collective society it also allows time for a proper and respective maturation to take place as george will writes in regard to the bloodshed of mid eighteenth century america what the nation learned in lincoln's lifetime was that the social cohesion which proceeds from shared adherents to a public philosophy and shared emulat is not the result of spontaneous combustion it takes work but by whom and with what such work is done with laws and other institutions it is a citizenry working on itself on itself collectively on its selves individually it is applied political philosophy it is important to reemphasize here that subsidiarity offers no congratulatory pat on the back for its citizens as genuine humility and an honest appraisal of humanity a test we are all here works in progress aristotle observed that man is the best of all man animals when perfected so he is the worst of all one sundered from law and justice because man is born possessing weapons for the use of wisdom and virtue which is possible to employ entirely for the opposite ends the dry wit of that great english parliamentarian and political  when he notes that the effect of liberty to individuals is that they may do what they please we are to see what it will what it will please them to do before we risk congratulations  madison and lincoln two of our most pressing american statesman might explain because men are not angels government is necessary yet we must constantly appeal to the better angels of our nature for failure to do so would result in the crushing of our intrinsic nature and the invaluable and incomparable dignity of our fellow man my friends that city year it is an important some would say indispensable philosophy not only for the reasons i've already cited but also because of the flexibility it allows the leaders the statesman of such a multifaceted republic such statesmen do understand the nature of law we know that law is much more than a mere ness s and a necessary evil or a clever contrivance or potent payback mechanism for partisan games no law is nurturing laws conforming law is in as j but to in ski has written we know at least that the law cannot be neutral everything a government does is founded on some understanding of what is good moreover no law that has effect at all can fail to have effect on character furthermore true statesmen and women and leaders are discerning wise and prudent again george will is observed that statesmen who are unaware of the ideas that shape the institutions currently in their custody and an interested in the ideas that shape the expectations and tolerances of the citizenry are statesman governed by forces they cannot comprehend such statement statesm are apt to think they have more range for effective action than they actually have and they are apt to have less than they would have were they more of the where the a more aware of the connections between the life of the mind and the life of society twenty seven years ago senator daniel porter patrick moynihan wrote that he had served in the cabinet or sub cabinet of four presidents he said i do not believe i have ever heard at a cabinet meeting a serious discussion of political ideas one concerned with how man rather than markets behave these are the necessary first questions of government the constitution of the united states is an immensely intricate judgment as to how man will behave given the circumstances of the time in which it was written it is not at all clear that it is working well given the circumstances of the present a judge but this is never discussed a commitment to subsidiarity requires much greater responsibility from our leaders our policy makers and our representatives as a speaker my goal today is not to spell out precise policy prescriptions for every foreign and domestic issue before us after all that is most of what we do here these are without a doubt important but they do not comprise the whole of human endeavors nor the scope of activity within our policy we must never lose sight of the importance of culture in our deliberations one example of strengthen the bonds of social capital and communities while also working within reasonable budget considerations is the partnering of private and charitable entities within the faith based initiative some pouncing on the first word as if it represented a perverse combination of a belief in unicorns with a draconian ism of state mandated many evil and dull indulgences have ridiculed this endeavor as a corrupt forward divine power grab giving patronage and power to theocratic institutions in our society but nothing is further from the truth the faith based initiative is merely an endeavor to  charitable entities that provide social services as equal partners partners on equal footing with non faith based charitable entities in our society you know if a person is starving as the source from where the food that quenches is hunger matter if a person is without clothes does it matter where the clothes come from that cover their nakedness i don't think so in reality the faith based initiative is about enlisting greater public and private support for the smaller and often faith based organizations which play a vital role in meeting human needs everywhere in our country a true appreciation for subsidiarity may encourage parishioners so situated to kindly and gently admonish and encourage our various theological traditions and establishment to meet the humanitarian and simple life needs of their fellow men and women perhaps larger and more elaborate parking lots gymnasiums multimedia screens are not of immediate concern to the poor the homeless those without clothing the hungry the starving or the the repentant prisoner about to enter society the principle of subsidiarity help such intermediate organizations and individuals make such determinations and meet such needs economically subsidiarity encourages us to  reaffirm the time tested virtue of the legitimate exchange of goods and services known as free market capitalism as well as the virtues of the industrious employee and diligent citizen subsidiarity requires us to not immediately seek a federal solution to every local county or state problem it teaches us to be ever cognizant of the fact that the laws of economics the laws of supply and demand cannot be suspended subsidiarity reminds us life is not easy and a fluence is not as abundant as the air we breathe that each of us has many of our four bearers and ancestors did must sacrifice strive delay gratifying our immediate wants and desires and develop our skills and attributes which most enable us to provide an honorable service or good to the rest of society in return for appropriate compensation over the years mr speaker many written about the creative destruction and the cultural contradictions of capitalism they've observed th capitalism aside causing societal anxiety and consternation by its capacity for ever changing technology innovation may also spawn the radical individual ism and consumerism which undercuts the moral ethical and altruistic branches upon which it sits but it need not be so we the people have the capacity to deny or control these destructive tendencies properly considered subsidiarity teaches us to probe for ways to provide the time and capital needed for creative inventions and products to germinate it teaches us to strive to provide for the needs of our own respective in concentric circles of responsibility while adjusting to ever changing demand and supply chains these lessons are especially apt today as ideas and energy have replaced capital and labor as the central pillars of economic thought and comparative advantage if our children and grandchildren are to compete successfully in this new world we must aggressively seek innovative ways to attract investors and manufacturers yet rather than harnessing the great potential it seems some believe that businesses markets and profits are by nature evils unto themselves recently we had a candidate for the of state threaten to take profits from private industry now i would suggest this is a dangerous bit of rhetoric to the contrary is becoming almost universal judgment that on the level of individual nations international relations the free market is the most efficient instrument for utilising service resources and effectively responding to needs we all recognize as father richard john newhouse has written that the state has an important ancillary role in providing a framework of law and order in which people can attend to the business that is properly theirs but note the word ancillary not primary it is thus an affront to human dignity to repress the human capacity to create to invent and to be enterprising as society and technology change as they always have it is up to each of us to help one another transition through the inevitable historical changes that bring excitement as well as much fear and advers or anxiety the principle of subsidiarity helps us to appreciate the fact that communities towns cities counties states they're often at the forefront of developing the changes needed to build sustainable and healthy communities in a constant changing world the concept of subsidiarity ultimately rests upon the strength of individuals and families and in that regard helps to remind us to protect the units of society which are at it most basic building blocks and bonds mere biology attests to the fact that the human race is perpetuated by the holistic union of men and women therefore societies have recognized the indispensable role families have played in the health of society marriage must be strengthened for the other levels of society the schools the neighborhoods the communities to flourish and although this concept has been drowned in the hot cauldron of partisan political soup and is timely today because of the decision of a supreme court in my home state i believe that robert george is properly addressed the issue in these words if we are to restore and secure the institution of marriage we must recover a sound understanding of what marriage is and why it is in the public interest for law and policy to take cognisance of it and support it marriage is a pre political form of association what might be called a natural institution it was not it is not created by law the law recognizes and regulates it in every culture nowhere is it treated as a purely private matter some toyed with the idea that marriage could be privatized and others wonder whether it might be the best solution to the controversy over same sex marriage there is a reason that all cultures treat marriage as a matter of public concern and even recognize it in law and regulate it the family is the fundamental unit of society governments rely on families to produce something that governments need but on their own they could not possibly produce upright decent people who make honest law abiding public spirited citizens and marriage is the industry sensible foundation of the family although all marriages in all cultures have their imperfections children flourish in an environment where they benefit from the love and care of both mother and father and from the committed an exclusive love of their parents for each other anyone who believes in limited government should strongly back government support for the family does sound paradoxical in the absence of a strong marriage culture families fail to form and when they do form their often unstable absentee fathers become a serious problem out of wedlock births are common and a train of social pathologies follow with families failing to perform their health education and welfare functions the demand for government grows whether in the form of greater policing or as a provider of inexorably or provider of other social services bureaucracies must be created and they an extremely expand indeed they become powerful lobbyist for their own preservation and expansion everyone suffers with the poorest and most vulnerable suffering  that's why i've advocated a constitutional amendment on the federal level to enshrine the historic complimentary and definition of marriage all citizens must be afforded their civil rights and equal treatment under the law there should be and are avenues whereby privileges including visitation inheritance and other rights can be extended to any individual seeking to live together either through familial necessity or bonds of friendship however these extensions should never be based on a related to sexual behavior for to do so would thereby change our definition of what marriage is simultaneously turning the children of parents in this society into means other and as well as leaving marriage without definition in terms of numerics or norms let us debate this important issue and present this important question to the citizens of this republic and subsidiarity would require ravening unelected judges as they also did in one thousand nine hundred seventy three and as those judges in the california supreme court did today transform the norms and laws of this country through judicial fee on an issue like subsidiarity cannot and should not be shoved into partisan columns it is one of the philosophic foundations for our collective commitment a commitment much more important partisan a dennehy or loyalty to the more commonly known term federalism to abide by this commitment we must first acknowledge that there are no easy solutions to our individual collective ills faults shortcomings and hardships we must understand the concept of equal natural antecedent rights and their intrinsic corresponding duties as well as the indispensable belief in equal treatment before the law we must understand that a republican which citizens no longer look to build relationships between men and women meet the needs of friend and stranger and protect the child an orphan is a republic whose future is worth pondering w sunder stand that limited government does not mean in active government does not mean simply passive reactive government does not even given certain circumstances have to mean small government lest we forget during world war two spending our justly years military was exponentially higher than other times of non war times spending we must understand that limited government means a commitment to the constitution to constitutionalism and the rule of law not the rule of man we must understand that it comm ascertains it supposes community and communal aspects from what is dictated in and force through federal bonds and the greater dependence we have on the federal treasury is no authentic communitarianism at all we must understand that each  lose the sense of confiscation which occurs daily in our tax code when costs are dispersed when a few cents here and a few dollars there are ignored and thus all eyes turn to our nation's capital and if it were some as if it were some giant piggy bank or a money tree continuously sprouting new currency bills dropping seeds of instantly creative capital and supplying jobs as if such things were not the exchanges of goods and services we make of citizens but no easily dispensed commodities which exist to the brim barrel label jobs in the center of the capitol or the white house we must understand that cannot be more efficient to send all of our tax dollars to washington d c only to have them turn right around and sent back through a maze of confusion and delay meet the need that could have been met earlier and within closer and thus more efficient proximity we must understand that a republican which we policymakers demonstrate are supported compassion for constituents by promising to meet all the needs of each of them while their constituents demonstrate their compassion bible moaning how much of their earned income they do not give to such policy makers is a republic with a troubling future we must understand that a republican which is citizens are merely content to receive regular disbursements of entitlements from their government and the longer street strive to meet those same needs of their fellow citizens is a republican need of renewal we must understand the republic which insists on standing in the way of those who re t the right to merely delay their own gratification by saving for decades through slow and meticulous discipline their own earned income and assets in order to end the cycle of state assisted dependency is a republic with an uncertain future for policymakers to extol the virtues of the american people while denying them this chance to voluntarily delay their own gratification is the epitome of hypocrisy and double standard we must understand that a republican which those with greater wealth cease to seek ways to alleviate the basic needs of their fellow citizens less fortunate is a republic whose future is worth pondering we must understand the republican which local and state officials as well as citizens and community groups make their due to full marches to the halls of washington to request all important funds from the miraculously self generating federal treasury as if it were the only place such funds could be ascertained is a republican whose future is truly worth pondering we must understand that there are some things the federal government can and should do providing for the public safety and protecting the homeland are vital for nation states who exist and whose existence would be pointless where there are boundaries and territorial integrity to be compromised and ignored we must understand that a republican which the federal entity confiscates more and more income from its citizens so that they can no longer freely give to their houses of worship to their favorite charitable organizations to their family and friends and made to the strangers and persons close by them who they can most rapidly assist as a republic in need of renewal we must understand that when any meager attempt to limit or scale back a federal budget now totaling three till a trillion dollars in administrative state which has proven virtually impossible to shrink is met with accusations of cruelty disdain and charges of callousness we are on an unsustainable course we must understand that we are not out to mystic individuals utterly without the need of social capital we are not under and cumbered selves as men and women mothers and fathers brothers and sisters friends and acquaintances we know that families and communities should receive priority over larger more removed and adiz we know that the economic political and cultural aspects of society cannot be separated into distinct and separate spheres they are intertwined proper economic activity presupposes certain cultural assumptions political activity can enshrine the necessary and proper economic fundamentals of a capitalist capitalistic system we must understand that local state and federal governments are not omniscient repositories of unassailable wisdom all of the time that's why the voluntary an intermediate associations of society are so important the places of worship which can do so many acts of compassion the charitable organizations the community organization the little platoons of society daily helping feeding clothing assisting nurturing training developing and shaping the individuals of this land unfortunately some view all government as oppression possibly necessary oppression but oppression nonetheless this too is mistaken a commitment to subsidiary provides a useful antidote to such fundamentally flawed pessimistic and cynical thinking we as representatives and we as citizens should live an apology which is constantly probing analyzing imagining how to conserve what is good about the past and present well making the future a better more fulfilling place for those that come before us mr speaker the preamble to our constitution states we the people of the united states in order to form a more perfect union establish justice insure domestic tranquility provide for the five common defense promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity do ordain and establish this constitution for the united states of america establish justice insure domestic tranquility provide for the common defen promote the general welfare secure the blessings of liberty today the united states has well over three hundred million people living in fifty states over three thousand counties and thousands of other cities towns villages and local entities my own state of california alone is almost one hundred fifty six thousand square miles possesses over thirty six million people and contains over eight hundred thousand private non farm business establishment yet we know that our country is not a thing of mere physical locality it is so much more so how are we then to govern ourselves spread across this vast spacious and diverse republic it would do no harm to renew our commitment and endeavor to further understand the dimensions of subsidiarity as michael sandel has reminded us in great detail this self governing republic has constantly been asking itself what the good life the good society of a good citizen is should be and can be since its founding a time before automobiles telephones televisions or the internet let us never lose this perspective after all common sense and reason adamantly demonstrate that unlimited vice and on finding will virtue will lead to greater resources being needed greater unsustainable commitments being made and greater constrictions being placed on our individual liberty the strengthening  four subsidiarity will help us avoid such fate after many years of work ending the african slave trade throughout the british empire but he was also part of sixty nine various societal groups as part of his effort at a societal wide reformation of manners and morals in england it later became known as the victorian period but he saw thirteen and fourteen year old prostitutes on the streets of london not just in the poorest areas but all over and most of society walking by and just saying well that's the way it has been for some time that's the way it's going to be he said just as he did with slavery it doesn't have to be that way we can change it and when he did that he engaged these non governmental entities in his effort to make those changes because he understood the principle of subsidiarity as it expressed itself through so many different organizations and understood if he was going to change the government he had to change the culture he had to change the people's hearts and minds and that you just couldn't do it with government you had to do it in fact with all of these organisations from the families all the way up to government so let us today in a different century in a different country nonetheless think and knew how to encourage all citizens to view or selves not as just cogs in the federal wheel but as vibrant members as little platoons ourselves of our respective spheres of life whatever today may find us as americans mr speaker we have much of which to be proud it was recently written that the united states is creating the first universal nation made up of all colors races and creeds living and working together in considerable harmony let us hope that is true let us always be committed to living and working together in considerable harmony if we are concerned about liberty justice such schol or otherwise and the common good which awful lot fees of human interaction in political life no matter how libertarian or communitarian presuppose then we must commit ourselves to thinking with renewed vigor and energy the president's and possibilities of subsidiarity it is not an easy task for we are representatives at the federal level but i think if we exercise humility and a proper understanding of the organization of our society and the tremendous capacity of individuals to do good when properly directed and properly self directed then we can rise to that challenge and so mr speaker i thank you for the time and i yield back the balance of my time from california y the chair lays before the house the following enrolled bill