[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 39 (Wednesday, March 7, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E481]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CONGRESSIONAL CONSTITUTION CAUCUS' WEEKLY ``CONSTITUTION HALF HOUR''

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                           HON. SCOTT GARRETT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 7, 2007

  Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, we are here today to 
announce our support of the Enumerated Powers Act authored by our good 
friend from Arizona, Mr. Shadegg. As the founder and chairman of the 
Congressional Constitution Caucus, I urge my fellow Members to 
cosponsor this legislation.
  Article VI, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution states: ``The Senators 
and Representatives before mentioned . . . shall be bound by Oath or 
Affirmation, to support this Constitution.'' On January 4, each of us 
followed this constitutional mandate and swore such an oath. Yet in the 
past two months, we have passed legislation without first considering 
the very document that grants us legislative authority. As a result, 
taxpayer dollars are being wasted on programs and projects that 
overstep the constitutional jurisdiction of the Federal Government. And 
personal freedoms and State priorities are being overshadowed or even 
forgotten.
  Unfortunately, this trend is not new to the 110th Congress. In recent 
decades, there has been a sharp escalation of funding for existing 
Federal programs and creation of new ones. The bloated bureaucracy we 
have today is certainly not the type of central government envisioned 
by our forefathers. As Thomas Jefferson wrote in an 1808 letter, ``The 
same prudence which in private life would forbid our paying our own 
money for unexplained projects, forbids it in the dispensation of the 
public moneys.''
  It is time for us to explain our distribution of taxpayer dollars. 
Our constituents should be assured that we are upholding the document 
that protects their freedoms. Otherwise, the Federal Government will 
continue to overstep its boundaries, encroaching on the freedom of the 
people.
  Our Founding Fathers deliberately wrote a constitution of enumerated 
powers. While some countries have attempted to limit government by 
writing constitutions that specify every single area in which the 
Federal Government does not have jurisdiction, the framers knew that 
such a constitution would be unnecessarily tedious. Therefore, in 
Article I, Section 8, the founders specifically listed congressional 
powers. The 10th Amendment grants all other legislative powers to the 
states.

  It makes sense that Congress should perform only the duties 
prescribed by the Constitution. The United States has thrived as a 
nation precisely because the freedom of the people has been protected 
by a limited government. The Constitution is the anchor that protects 
American citizens from the storms of a controlling central government.
  James Madison assured early Americans in The Federalist No. 45 that 
``the powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the Federal 
Government are few and defined.'' Madison continued to operate under 
that belief even after the Constitution was ratified. In fact, his last 
act as president was to veto the Bonus Bill, which authorized federal 
funds for public works projects.
  Today, Members justify passing legislation that is even more 
expansive than the Bonus Bill. They argue that Article 1, Section 8 
allows us to pass any legislation, as long as it provides for the 
``general Welfare'' or is ``necessary and proper.'' Madison would have 
been appalled by our liberal interpretation of these terms. In The 
Federalist No. 41 he asked, ``For what purpose could the enumeration of 
particular powers be inserted, if these and all others were meant to be 
included in the preceding general power?''
  James Wilson, the author of the General Welfare clause explained to 
the Pennsylvania ratification convention that the words ``necessary and 
proper'' are ``limited, and defined by the following, 'for carrying 
into execution the foregoing powers.' It is saying no more than that 
the powers we have already particularly given, shall be effectually 
carried into execution.''
  For these reasons, Madison explained that he could not sign the Bonus 
Bill unless an amendment allowing such an expenditure were first added 
to the Constitution.
  Mr. Shadegg's commonsense legislation follows Madison's logic by 
ensuring that every bill introduced in the u.s. Congress include a 
statement declaring the specific constitutional authority under which 
the law is proposed to be enacted. Following such a guideline would 
help return our nation to the principles of limited government, 
Federalism, and the 10th Amendment. And, such a principle is not only 
consistent with our oath, but it is also a smarter use of our 
constituents' tax dollars.
  The Enumerated Powers Act will stem the flow of unconstitutional 
legislation by compelling Members to reconsider the intended role of 
the Federal Government. I strongly urge all members of the Constitution 
Caucus to co-sponsor this legislation. Congress must begin to justify 
its actions to the states, local governments, and, ultimately, the 
people themselves.

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