Political Quotes

“Today I have come to the House floor to call for an end to the unlimited power of Federal judges to legislate from the Federal bench and then send State and local taxpayers the bill. I want to make certain that Federal judges like some in Alabama, like Judge Ira DeMent, so they cannot use the people's hard-earned tax dollars for things like court-appointed prayer monitors and sensitivity training for teachers on how to keep prayer out of schools. In Dekalb County, Alabama, which I am privileged to represent, the Fourth Congressional District, Judge DeMent has been decided to be a legislator and appropriate from the Federal bench. He ordered county school funds that should be going to the classrooms to go to pay for court-appointed monitors who will go into the schools and to make sure that there is no prayer. Although I disagree with Judge DeMent's ruling, there may be some here today who agree with it, but when a Federal judge has free rein to take control and take local school funds away from local officials and then use them to pay for whatever he deems necessary, that is going too far. We need to have checks and balances. Our Nation was founded on this principle, and unfortunately we have drifted far away from this. Taxation without representation has been a cause for revolt in this country since the beginning of the American Revolution, and we are still fighting this battle today.”