On the recordMarch 3, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Florida (Mr. DeSantis). Mr. DeSANTIS. Mr. Speaker, I hear that we just need to let the courts work their will to defend the Constitution, as if we don't have an independent obligation to do that. We took the oath that we would support it. We didn't say we would be in Congress, pass bills, and let the courts support and defend the Constitution. Here is the problem, though, beyond just that basic insight. If I were representing the Department of Justice in front of the fifth circuit to try to get this injunction overturned, the first sentence in my brief would be that the United States Congress has voted, knowing this program was in existence, to fully fund all operations. Courts, you should step out of this dispute. It is between the political branches, and they have settled it. It is not just waiting for the courts. In fact, the action today, if this bill were to pass, I believe it would actually harm the case in the courts, and I think it makes it more difficult for those States to make the case that what the President did was unconstitutional if the one branch whose powers were invaded decided that they were not going to bite back effectively.
