Richard B. Nugent: “I need to go back to when I first took the oath of office as a police officer outside of Chicago and then as a deputy…”

“I need to go back to when I first took the oath of office as a police officer outside of Chicago and then as a deputy sheriff in Florida and then a sheriff in Florida and then here in this body and also when I joined the military. It was to support and defend the Constitution, not to ignore the Constitution, not to utilize it when we think it is okay or when it is necessary, not to just skip over article I and say: Do you know what? Forget about it because our Congresses have done that. My good friend from Massachusetts pointed that out. They have done it for 30 years, but that doesn't make it right. At some point in time, we have got to set the record straight. Somebody has got to step up and say: Do you know what? The Constitution matters, what we do here matters, and that all of us--the three branches of government--need to work, and they are coequal, not one above the other. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Duncan).”