[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 70 (Tuesday, June 6, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1023]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    REPUBLICAN MISGUIDED PRIORITIES

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 6, 2006

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Senate Republican leadership 
renewed debate on whether the Constitution of the United States should 
limit marriage and any civil union to one man and one woman.
  It is distressing to me that we live in an age in which we still must 
fight to protect our civil rights as Americans, in which a hate crime 
perpetrated against someone based their sexual orientation can go 
unpunished, and in which discrimination is being written into our laws.
  If this amendment were to pass, we would rewrite discrimination into 
the Constitution, a practice I thought we had done away with in 1868, 
when the Fourteenth Amendment erased the Constitution's reference to 
``the whole number of free persons.'' It appears that some would 
condemn us to repeating history.
  The only saving grace for this measure is that it is doomed to 
failure, and the President knows that. This amendment is being 
considered merely to throw red meat at conservative voters in an 
election year. Just over a month before the 2004 election, when his 
poll numbers were slipping, the President stated his support for this 
discriminatory measure. He knew the amendment could not pass in 
Congress and that there was minimal public support for it. Republicans 
moved this discriminatory bill for the sole purpose of dividing voters 
and inciting anti-gay sentiment in a hotly-contested election year.

  Two years later, the Republicans are drowning in corruption and 
losing public support on a mass scale. The White House wants to drive 
its conservative base to the polls and has asked the Senate Majority 
Leader to bring this issue before the full Senate. Make no mistake 
about it, we will win this fight again.
  Then, hopefully we can turn to the issues that the American people 
want the government to address. We have yet to investigate the 
Administration's failed policy in Iraq that has led to the deaths of 
over 2,000 American soldiers. We need to know why there has been a 
steep rise in gas prices during a time of record oil industry profits. 
We need to craft a prescription drug bill for seniors that works 
instead of keeping one that confuses seniors and rewards large 
pharmaceutical companies. We need to stop borrowing money from foreign 
countries, cease deficit spending, and return our economy to the 
surpluses it had under President Clinton.
  With so many critical issues that need the immediate attention of the 
Congress, Republicans need to reevaluate their priorities. It is my 
hope that in the coming months we can focus our energies on the many 
important issues facing our country rather than on divisive and 
unproductive distractions.

                          ____________________