On the recordJune 8, 2010
Well, I thank Mr. Bishop, the gentleman from Utah, for being in charge of this Special Order tonight and bringing to the American people what I think is one of the most critical issues facing us in this country, and that is the issue of federalism and the need for us to adhere to the 10th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. Too few people really understand the role of the Federal Government in our country. We've gotten away from the teaching of the Constitution. We've gotten away from the teaching of the role of government in our country. People have this notion that they have this right and that right, and if you press them to tell you whether they've read the Constitution or not, most of them will tell you they have not. And they really do not understand, again, what the roles of our respective governments are. In the last week, while we had a little bit of time away from Washington and I managed to squeeze out some quiet time, I had the chance to read a Joseph Ellis book called ``American Creation,'' which talks about the triumphs and the tragedies of the beginning of our country. And it's really important that we understand that there were a lot of conflicts that came about in the founding of the United States. It wasn't as smooth a thing as many of us think that it was. But one thing that was very clear to all of the Founders was the issue of federalism. The idea of the United States of America was a radical idea to begin with.…
