On the recordJanuary 23, 2019
Mr. Speaker, I thank the Chair for the opportunity to address the House today as we come together as Members of the House and read our U.S. Constitution. Long-time British Prime Minister William Gladstone in 1878 said: ``The most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by brain and purpose of man.'' That is how he described the U.S. Constitution. For 2 centuries the Constitution has dedicated the structure of our remarkable Republic and created the operation of the consent of the governed and the protection of a free people's individual rights. All of us who work here in the people's House marvel at its daily majesty, of James Madison's checks and balances, separation of powers, and the institutional hybrid of Federalism. Today, we gather at the heart of the Capitol, the heart of Article I, the first branch, to read our governing document: ``We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, 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.''
