[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 38 (Tuesday, March 16, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H1470-H1471]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           HEALTH CARE REFORM

  (Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California asked and was given permission 
to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Madam Speaker, oftentimes on 
this floor this document becomes the inconvenient truth. It's called 
the Constitution of the United States. It tells us what we can and what 
we cannot do.
  Not too many years ago, the House of Representatives and the United 
States Senate decided they would pass something called the line item 
veto. Sounded like a great idea. The only problem? It's 
unconstitutional.
  The court at that time said the Constitution makes it very clear. The 
House has to pass a certain text, the Senate has to pass the exact same 
text, the President has to review it and then sign the same text.
  You can't deem a law to be a law. The dictionary is over here. Deem 
doesn't mean it is. It means that it's not. It may be close. We'll 
pretend it is. That's not what the Constitution says.

[[Page H1471]]

  The court has told us it has to be the exact text. If you change one 
paragraph, it is unconstitutional. They want us to adopt a rule that 
includes the bill but a lot of other language. It's not the same text. 
It's unconstitutional.
  The inconvenient truth is we have to follow the law, and this is the 
supreme law of the land.

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