Political Quotes

“Madam President, earlier this week, the Supreme Court wrongly decided the case of Zivotofsky v. Kerry, an unprecedented decision which impairs Congress's role in foreign policy and which is an affront to our close ally Israel. The Zivotofsky case concerned the executive branch's refusal to implement a 2002 law passed by Congress and signed by the President. The law required State Department officials to offer U.S. persons born in Jerusalem the option of listing Israel as their location of birth on passports and other consular documents. The State Department's practice had been to list the place of birth only as Jerusalem, reflecting the President's policy of not recognizing any national sovereign authority over the Holy City. Despite the fact that a President signed the statute into law, the executive branch has fought tooth and nail for 13 years to free itself from what it viewed as the heavy burden of writing the word ``Israel'' on one line in a tiny number of U.S. passports, and it argued its case all the way to the Supreme Court. In litigating the Zivotofsky case, it is no surprise that the President outlined a maximalist vision for his power to steer the Nation's foreign policy, leaving little room for the people's representatives in Congress. But it was a surprise that the Supreme Court acquiesced to the President's position.…”