Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about our Constitution and the specific role that it grants this Congress. My constituents back in the Third Congressional District of South Carolina know that I carry a United States Constitution with me every day, and the first time I spoke on this floor, it was to read a portion of this great document. Specifically, I read the article that we're talking about today, Article I, section 8, clause 11, the enumerated power of Congress and of Congress, alone, to declare war. Our Founders did not give that right to the executive branch. They invested that responsibility with us. Now, previous Congresses have delegated some of that responsibility with the War Powers Resolution. That's what's being used by this President. But I think the time has come for us to have the debate about the wisdom of that and the constitutional obligation our Founders defined for Congress. Over the past few years, our country has seen a renewed appreciation for the Constitution, a recognition of the wisdom and divine guidance our Founding Fathers had when they crafted this sacred document. The Constitution lists our rights, these rights which were given us directly by God, but also contains the mechanisms to protect our rights from being trampled upon by man. Among the most important of these protections is the separation of powers.…”