On the recordMarch 8, 2011
As a new Congressman back in January, I was never prouder than when I took this floor to take part in reading the United States Constitution. That day, I brought with me to the podium a copy of the Constitution that I carry in my pocket every day. Ronald Reagan, in his farewell address to the American people in January 1989, said: Ours was the first revolution in the history of mankind that truly reversed the course of government, and with three little words, ``We the people.'' We tell the government what to do, President Reagan stated, it does not tell us. A simple phrase, ``We the people . . . '' put down by our Founding Fathers who defined self-government. Self-government. Those words ring true. I think daily about that government that they formed--a limited government, one with powers for each branch that are clearly spelled out in this document, clearly defined. And, you know, we are a long ways from the limited government and enumerated powers that they strived to corral. I am concerned that we don't read and study the United States Constitution enough in our public schools like we used to when I grew up.
