Sheila Jackson Lee: “I am pleased to join my colleagues of the Congressional Black Caucus to speak to the issues that members of the 113th…”

“I am pleased to join my colleagues of the Congressional Black Caucus to speak to the issues that members of the 113th Congress must address. I thank my colleagues Representatives Steven Horsford and Hakeem Jeffries for leading this evening's Congressional Black Caucus Special Order on ``The March toward a More Perfect Union: Where Do We Go from Here?'' We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our a Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. These words are powerful and unforgettable--they are the preamble of the Constitution of the United States of America. What is most striking about these words are the first 3, ``We the People.'' They remind us that we are here in the ``People's House'' to do the people's business. The Supreme Courts over the centuries looked to these words for guidance or evidence of what the founding fathers intended for the Constitution's meaning and its ultimate purpose. This places the preamble in a unique role as time has separated us from the words and thoughts of those who drafted the document, which governs our form of government today. The Supreme Court, in its decision in Ellis v. City of Grand Rapids, looked to the preamble in reaching its decision in this eminent domain case.…”