Jim Sensenbrenner: “Mr. Speaker, this debate here and now is not on the appropriation for the Department of Veterans Affairs; it is on…”

“Mr. Speaker, this debate here and now is not on the appropriation for the Department of Veterans Affairs; it is on whether or not the Congress can pass the constitutional amendment reversing two Supreme Court decisions and prohibiting the physical desecration of the American flag. The gentleman from California (Mr. Cunningham), who is a veteran, and I am not, stated the position of every veterans organization in the country: They are for this. The vote at hand is going to be on the Watts substitute amendment. As I stated in my earlier argument, what this substitute amendment does is constitutionally codify the Johnson and the Eichman decisions, which state that flag desecration is protected free speech under the first amendment of the United States Constitution.”