Walter B. Jones: “I want to start my brief comments with a quote by Patrick Henry: The Constitution is not an instrument for the…”

“I want to start my brief comments with a quote by Patrick Henry: The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people. It is an instrument for the people to restrain the government, lest it come to dominate our lives and interests. Mr. Chairman, the reason I am speaking in behalf of the gentleman from California's amendment is that I visited his district in June and I had a chance to meet these people. I can honestly tell Members that there is something wrong with the Federal Government when the Federal Government is trying to put people out of business who are trying to make a living and paying their taxes. Down in my district of North Carolina, we have an issue with the piping plover. The piping plover is a bird that the Federal Government is going to make a decision that will have a tremendous economic impact in a negative way on many States in the southeastern part of the United States. I wanted to say and the reason I want to be a small part of this debate is it is a shame when a suckerfish has more influence on the Federal Government than the people who have been promised land and promised water years and years ago.”