James M. Jeffords: “I am very troubled by the Senate leadership's decision, with limited days remaining in the session, to spend valuable…”

“I am very troubled by the Senate leadership's decision, with limited days remaining in the session, to spend valuable time trying to amend the Constitution to define marriage. This issue should not be at the top of our priority list. Unfortunately, it is a recurring theme here in the Senate during election years, to concentrate on issues that fuel partisan politics, rather than addressing our country's important needs. For the reasons I will lay out, I will once again oppose a Federal marriage amendment. The Federal marriage amendment comes up at a time when many other critical issues face our Nation. We have soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan fighting wars with no end in sight. Veterans are still not granted adequate medical support, and now have also been exposed to the threat of identity theft. Millions of Americans still have no health insurance, and gas prices are too high. There are many pieces of pending legislation the Senate should be taking up other than the Federal marriage amendment, such as those addressing increased support for education, Head Start reauthorization, global warming, and a rapidly increasing deficit. Some of my colleagues insist that the institution of marriage is under attack by the courts, and, therefore, passage of this constitutional amendment is critical. This argument is questionable at best. In 1996, the Defense of Marriage Act was passed by the Congress and signed into law.…”