Political Quotes

“I reluctantly rise in opposition to this bill. The purpose of this bill is laudable. Unfortunately, there are real constitutional problems. This bill would provide direct cash grants to rebuild houses of worship. Direct government funding of churches, synagogues, and mosques has always been held to be unconstitutional, and the decisions of the Supreme Court establishing that principle remain good law to this day. While some recent decisions have raised questions of these prior decisions' validity, they remain binding precedent. Most legal authorities would hold this bill to be constitutional, although some would disagree. At the very least, given the serious constitutional questions raised by this legislation, I am deeply troubled that it has received no committee consideration and is being rushed to the floor just a few days after being introduced under a procedure that allows only 40 minutes of debate and no amendments. One would think that we were naming a post office rather than passing legislation with significant constitutional implications that could alter the relationship between government and religion. While I have serious reservations about this bill and the way it is being considered, I wanted to commend the sponsors, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) and my colleagues from New York, Ms. Meng and Mr. King, who have been outstanding champions of the people hard hit by Hurricane Sandy. So what is the concern? Let's start with the basics.…”