Paul Coverdell: “As a coauthor, I rise in support of S. 1, and like my good colleague from New Hampshire join in expressing thanks to the…”

“As a coauthor, I rise in support of S. 1, and like my good colleague from New Hampshire join in expressing thanks to the Senator from Idaho for the extended, longstanding pursuit of this fundamental change that he proposes along with others in the governance of this Republic. The good Senator from Idaho comes with a very appropriate background, I might add, to deal with the subject because he is a former mayor of Boise, ID. In my part of the country, we say that is where the rubber hits the road, where you are dealing with the day-to-day issues of managing the citizens' lives of our Nation. And so no one could come with a more personal knowledge of the issue embraced in unfunded mandates. From my perspective, we are engaged in a debate between two very different fundamental views about this Republic. Are we a Federal republic or are we a central republic? I believe any student of the Constitution of the United States would understand very quickly that, indeed, the forefathers saw us as a Federal republic, and the Constitution very clearly delineates that there are certain powers for the central government but they are limited, and those powers not delineated to the central government are left to the Federal Governments'--the States, the cities, the counties, the school districts.”