Political Quotes

“I also want to thank and recognize the leadership of the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Akin) for his determination in protecting the Pledge of Allegiance in this country. I wish to also express my support, as chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, for H.R. 2028, the Pledge Protection Act. When the issue of limiting Federal Court jurisdiction was raised during the discussions of the Marriage Protection Act, the Subcommittee on the Constitution held a hearing examining Congress' authority to do this. During the hearing, testimony was heard by a number of constitutional experts. While there was mixed opinion on whether Congress should exercise its authority, there was a consensus that Congress did in fact have the authority under Article III of the Constitution to determine what issues were heard by the Supreme Court under its appellate jurisdiction and by the lower Federal courts. This point was highlighted most recently by the Dean of Stanford Law School who wrote, ``The Constitution leaves room for countless political responses to an overly assertive court. Congress can strip it of jurisdiction.…”