Political Quotes

“I come to the floor here to stand up for this Constitution. That is my oath as it is all of our oaths here. We all stand here on the floor of Congress and take an oath to this Constitution, Madam Speaker. And the language in this Constitution has been many times stated. It is utterly clear. But I want to draw a distinction here that has not been emphasized very much and that is that if you can rationalize that the District of Columbia can constitutionally be conferred a Member by this Congress, then you also have to rationalize that same rationale that two Senators can be conferred upon the District of Columbia as well. And I point your attention to, Madam Speaker, Article I, section 2 and the operative language: "The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second year by," and this is the distinct language, "by the people of the several States." In Article I, section 3, when you incorporate the 17th amendment into it, reads: "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State," just like a Member chosen by the State, but elected by the people thereof; elected by the people thereof in section 3; chosen by the people of the several States in section 2. They each reference "States." There is not a distinction.…”