[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 128 (Wednesday, September 17, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H8288]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     CELEBRATING CONSTITUTION WEEK

  (Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, this is Constitution Week. 
What should we celebrate?
  The purpose of America's Constitution is to establish a government 
based upon the rule of law, a republic.
  Our Constitution was designed to secure the rights and liberties of 
the people by specifically defining what the Federal Government can and 
cannot do.
  I always carry a copy of the Constitution. It is a short document. 
Read the Constitution and you will search in vain for most of what the 
Federal Government does. Activities not in the Constitution are 
supposed to be reserved to the States and to the people.
  Estimates by the Congressional Budget Office predict that the 
amortized budget deficit this year will exceed $500 billion. The actual 
deficit is about $200 billion higher because under the unified budget 
we are spending the trust fund surpluses.
  My bill, H.R. 1725, would increase the accountability of the Federal 
Government and encourage more Americans to vote. H.R. 1725 would move 
the IRS filing deadline to the first Monday in November. That is the 
day before elections. I believe that Americans would choose smaller 
government as specified in the Constitution if they filed their tax 
return on Monday and voted on Tuesday.

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