[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 67 (Wednesday, May 7, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E881]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 AUTHORIZING PRINTING OF BROCHURES ENTITLED ``HOW OUR LAWS ARE MADE'' 
AND ``OUR AMERICAN GOVERNMENT,'' THE PUBLICATION ENTITLED ``OUR FLAG,'' 
THE DOCUMENT-SIZED ANNOTATED VERSION OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION, 
        AND THE POCKET VERSION OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION

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                               speech of

                         HON. SOLOMON P. ORTIZ

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 6, 2003

  Mr. ORTIZ. Madam Speaker, I rise to thank Chairman Ney and Rep. 
Larson for their appreciation of need to help Americans understand 
their most basic rights under this government.
  One of the most popular House publications among my constituents is 
the pocket-size Constitution of the United States. Nothing is more 
important to this nation than the fundamental ideas set forth in this 
grand document that lays out our government, our rights and our 
responsibilities. Yet, time and time again, it appears that the 
citizens of this great nation are fundamentally unaware of those rights 
and responsibilities as established in the Constitution.
  For instance, in May 2002, a Columbia Law School nationwide survey 
found that a shocking number of voting age Americans have serious 
misconceptions about the Constitution. The survey included a question 
revealing that two-thirds of Americans did not know that Karl Marx' 
foundation of Communism (``From each according to his ability, to each 
according to his needs.'') was NOT included in the United States 
Constitution.
  This government has gone some distance in trying to teach young 
people the importance of education and civics as they relate to our 
history and our Constitution. Last year, President Bush launched ``We 
the People,'' an initiative to encourage the education of United States 
history. Last fall, the House of Representatives passed a resolution 
recognizing the importance of history and civics in a child's 
curriculum.
  So far, however, the best instrument I have seen to teach children 
about the Constitution is a book called Constitution Translated for 
Kids. For those who want their children to understand our birthright as 
Americans--as laid out in the Constitution--this book is an excellent 
resource to see precisely what the Constitution says, at a fifth-grade 
level.
  Constitution Translated for Kids features the actual 1787 text of the 
United States Constitution on the left-hand side of the page and the 
translation appears on the right side in the first ever side-by-side, 
simple translation of the short, yet most supreme, legal and political 
document of the United States. The book also offers historical context 
and student exercises that approximate the decisions made in the name 
of democracy.
  Democracy demands that citizens be informed. Understanding our 
history will make tomorrow's citizens more aware of their government 
and their rights. I thank the House Administration Committee today for 
bringing this resolution to the floor; and I urge my colleagues to 
continue our outreach to young people in order to make them aware of 
what the Constitution says and what that means in our daily lives.

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