[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 45 (Thursday, March 15, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H2601]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 UPHOLD THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Price) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to 
speak to the House, and I rise today to alert my colleagues to a bill, 
H.R. 328. And I rise to alert them and to speak in disbelief, truly 
disbelief, at this bill that the majority is preparing to bring to the 
House floor.
  Now, it is hard to say, after some of the legislation that has been 
offered this year, but this is clearly the most egregious and 
unconstitutional bill that we have seen proposed to be brought to the 
floor of the House. In fact, some folks, some constitutional scholars, 
have said this is the most unconstitutional bill that they have ever 
seen.
  Article I, section 2 of the Constitution states unequivocally: ``The 
House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every 
second year by the people of the several States.''
  Now, the majority has held hearings on a bill and they have passed a 
bill out of committee that totally disregards this portion of the 
Constitution. It is a bill to give the District of Columbia a seat, and 
a voting seat, in the House of Representatives, a clear violation of 
the Constitution.
  The Democrats have apparently taken their majority to mean that they 
can run roughshod over the Constitution. Madam Speaker, this is a sad 
and distressing state of affairs.
  It is really a very simple issue. The Founders of our Nation wisely 
determined that the House of Representatives was to be composed by 
Members elected by the States. Now, the last time I looked, Washington, 
D.C. is not a State.
  Madam Speaker, we are the longest surviving democracy in the history 
of the world and on the face of the Earth for a reason. There is a 
reason for that.
  The Founders of our great Nation, the authors of our Constitution, 
were brilliant individuals. People around the world still marvel at 
what they created in our Constitution.
  Now, do Democrats think that Washington, D.C. was not given a seat in 
the House of Representatives as an oversight?
  Was the over-200-year history of our Federal city's place outside of 
statehood the result of a lapse in judgment?
  Constitutional scholars have repeatedly found that the Founders did 
not believe it to be appropriate for the site of the Federal Government 
to be a State. They never wanted the seat of the Federal Government to 
be considered a State, clearly, because of the conflicts that creates.
  Congress simply does not have the authority to grant a non-state full 
congressional representation. But why are they doing this now? Why is 
the Democrat majority doing this?
  Well, Madam Speaker, it is because they can, because they have got 
the votes. What an incredible abuse of power.
  The Constitution addresses House membership very clearly. The 
legislative branch and the House of Representatives was so important to 
our Founders that it is the first thing discussed in the Constitution.
  Article I, section 1, literally, the third sentence of the 
Constitution reads: ``The House of Representatives shall be composed of 
Members chosen every second year by people of the several States.'' The 
several States, Madam Speaker. It is clear. And Washington, D.C. is not 
a State.
  Now, some may try to construe that statement to mean that the United 
States is the whole Nation, but the Constitution goes further to make 
this point even more clear. It says: ``No person shall be a 
representative who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that 
State in which he shall be chosen.'' You must be a resident of a State.
  This isn't just my opinion. The Congressional Research Service, the 
nonpartisan research service of Congress, filled with constitutional 
and congressional scholars, released a report that affirms that this 
bill is unconstitutional. It violates the Constitution.
  Madam Speaker, this is a clear power grab. Now, I believe strongly 
that the citizens of the District should have representation. The right 
to vote is a sacred one, but so is the document that every one of us 
takes the oath to support, uphold and defend. We can't just disregard 
the Constitution. It is the supreme document of our land.
  The options are to pass a constitutional amendment identifying the 
District of Columbia as a State, or to cede the land of the District of 
Columbia that has residents back to the State of Maryland. It is what 
happened in 1846 when the land west of the Potomac was ceded back to 
the State of Virginia.
  Madam Speaker, the process that the majority is employing here is 
completely unfounded. We shouldn't be surprised, however. This new 
majority has taken the liberty to throw process out the door when they 
took over. Now they are tossing the Constitution out the door.
  Madam Speaker, I will continue to honor the oath to support and 
defend and uphold our Constitution. It is a sacred document, the 
bedrock of our Nation.
  This new majority claims to be the most open and honest and ethical 
government ever.
  Madam Speaker, what is open about trampling on the Constitution? What 
is honest about trampling on the Constitution? What is ethical about 
trampling on the Constitution?
  Madam Speaker, the American people are watching, and they don't like 
what they see.

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