[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 73 (Thursday, May 15, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E956]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 REGARDING LEGISLATIVE WALKOUT (TEXAS STATE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES) 
                              MAY 14, 2003

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. SOLOMON P. ORTIZ

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 14, 2003

  Mr. ORTIZ. Mr. Speaker I rise to commend the Texas Legislators who 
staked their political careers on demanding the legislature cease work 
on a national Republican Party map that would override voters' choices 
in Congress, re-mapping the state by congressional district just one 
year after a federal court did the job for them.
  Redistricting is a serious constitutional matter; it is not a 
childish ``do-over'' when it does not meet your partisan whims. I 
appreciate the leadership of Jim Solis (D-Brownsville), Rene Oliveira 
(D-Brownsville), Jaime Capelo (D-Corpus Christi), and Juan Escobar (D-
Kingsville) and thank them for their unique patriotism. They are doing 
a very hard thing and the good people of South Texas appreciate their 
position.
  In a democracy, voters should choose their representatives; 
representatives should never choose voters. Drawing congressional 
district lines is an exercise that is mandated once a decade by our 
constitution. We did this last year; a federal court drew new lines for 
Congressional districts, and each member of this body from Texas ran in 
those districts and won elections. To redistrict again, one year later, 
is unconscionable.
  These members of the Texas State Legislature have done an incredibly 
courageous thing by leaving the state to force the House Republicans to 
abandon their plans to gerrymander the state of Texas' in Washington's 
Republican-driven redistricting effort. This effort is part of a 
national effort across the country, with Colorado also being a target 
of national meddling in the business of State Legislatures.
  I commend these legislators, particularly my South Texas friends, who 
have the commitment and bravery to take the politically dangerous 
position of leaving the state Capitol in the midst of the session, a 
highly extraordinary move borne of a highly extraordinary national 
political grab. By denying the quorum, they are protecting the rights 
guaranteed to Texans in the Constitution.
  These legislators are being criticized for their actions, yet it is 
the national Republican leadership that put these events in motion and 
they are the ones who can end it so Texans can get back to the urgent 
business of balancing our budget, reforming insurance rates, re-
financing education reform, and economic development around the state.
  Were it not for high-level, unapologetic tinkering in the state's 
business, the state legislators would now be working on the issues upon 
which they were elected to pursue. As it is, the only members now hard 
at work on substantive budgetary matters are the Democrats working out 
of Oklahoma trying to persuade the national republican leadership to 
pull the redistricting bill so they can proceed.
  The legislators are fighting for open participation in government and 
redistricting, which is precisely the vision our forefathers had when 
they founded this country.
  I commend the political courage of the legislators who staked their 
careers on the principle of democratic process and one person-one vote.

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