Political Quotes

“Madam President, our Founders designed a constitutional government powerful enough to defend against all threats, foreign and domestic, yet safe enough itself not to threaten our liberty. The separation of powers is a primary feature of our Constitution. Our Founders knew that encroachment by the executive onto the legislature, or vice versa, isn't only a political dispute but ultimately a threat to the freedom of all Americans. Thus they provided both branches with checks and balances to prevent such encroachment. Late last week, we learned shocking news. Armed agents of the executive violated the law to intimidate a Congressman from doing his job. This is exactly the kind of encroachment against which our Founders warned. The executive hasn't yet acted with anything like the gravity this matter deserves. Until it does, I intend to use the powers of my office to demand action and to protect our constitutional order. Let me say more about the shocking news. In an inspector general report issued last week, we learned that dozens of Secret Service employees illegally accessed the personnel file of Representative Jason Chaffetz. More than a decade ago, Congressman Chaffetz applied to the Secret Service; he was not hired. Now he is the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. In late March of this year, the committee held an important oversight hearing into a serious misconduct by Secret Service agents.…”