[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 172 (Tuesday, December 21, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H8923-H8925]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  2100
       PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS ABOUT OUR DEMOCRACY AND OUR COUNTRY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 6, 2009, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Edwards) is recognized 
for 30 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Madam Speaker, as I leave Congress after 20 
years, I would just like to share a few personal observations about our 
democracy and our country.
  First and foremost, I believe we still live in the greatest country 
in the world. We are a blessed Nation, and we have more freedoms and 
opportunities than most citizens of the world could ever imagine. The 
proof that all is not wrong in our country today is that our 
immigration challenge is not that people are trying to leave our 
country; it is that millions of people from all parts of the globe 
would do almost anything, including risking their lives, to come here.
  Several years ago, I learned a lot about our country from a D.C. 
taxicab driver. In hearing his accented English late one night when I 
arrived at National Airport, I asked him when he first came to our 
country. He answered 20 years earlier. Then I asked him if he had a 
family, and he answered, yes, a wife, two sons and a daughter. I asked 
if they had come with him when he came here 20 years ago, and he said, 
no, they came 3 years earlier. He went on to explain. Imagine this:
  For 17 years he came to our country for 10 months out of every year, 
working two jobs at a time, washing dishes and any other minimum-wage 
job he could find here. He said he would save a little bit every year 
for his family nest egg and enough to return to his home to be with his 
family for 2 months each year.
  As the father of two young sons, I was floored, and said he could put 
millions of dollars in the back seat of that taxicab that night for me 
if I only would agree to be away from my wife and sons as much as he 
had been from his family, and it would not even be a temptation.
  I asked him why he did it, and I will never forget his answer. He 
said, I had a hope and a dream that some day I might be able to raise 
my three children in a country where they could have just two things--
religious freedom and the opportunity to be whatever they wanted to be.
  Now, he said, my family is together here. I am a U.S. citizen. My 
sons are studying to become engineers and my daughter will be a doctor.
  This hardworking immigrant taught me a lot that night in his taxicab 
about the American Dream and what is so special about our country.
  I realize our democracy is not perfect, and I am well aware of the 
imperfections of those of us who serve in it. But sometimes in the 
midst of our daily lives, we Americans need to stop and think about our 
many blessings as citizens of this great country. In a time of 
widespread cynicism toward government, I believe it is also worthwhile 
to ask ourselves what is the role of our Federal Government. There can 
be no better foundation for that answer than the Preamble to our 
Constitution:
  ``We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect 
union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the 
common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings 
of liberty to ourselves and to our posterity, do ordain and establish 
this Constitution for the United States of America.''
  As with any statement of principle, our Founding Fathers left honest 
room for disagreement on the specifics of interpretation, but I would 
like to make several personal observations.
  The preamble first begins with the words ``We the people.'' Those 
words make it clear that the cornerstone of our democracy is the 
people--not politicians, not Presidents, not any institution or special 
interest.
  I believe one of the frustrations toward government today is that 
``we the people'' don't feel government is listening to or working for 
us. There is a sense that the voice of the special interest is too 
often drowning out the voice of everyday citizens.
  There is much truth in that observation, and I have concerns that the 
recent Supreme Court decision to let corporations and unions spend 
unlimited, unaccountable, untraceable amounts of money in campaigns 
will make the voice of everyday citizens even less audible. If outright 
bans don't meet the limits of a flawed judicial decision, that at the 
very least transparency must be required. ``We the people'' have a 
fundamental right to know who is spending millions of dollars to 
influence who is elected to our Congress.
  ``In order to form a more perfect union.'' I believe the greatness 
and goodness of our country is that ours is a history of each 
generation trying to reach ever-closer toward the ideals of liberty and 
justice for all. Rights that were once just the domain of white male 
landowners have slowly but surely been expanded to more and more 
Americans. The barriers of race, religion, gender and sexual 
preferences have with great pain and sacrifice slowly been knocked 
down. This road of progress has been paved with detours and roadblocks 
along the way, but it has inevitably been a road of progress toward a 
more perfect Union.

  I am proud that in 2008 our Nation broke the racial barrier for the 
highest office in our land. But I temper that pride in 2010 with the 
disappointment that the issue of race is still an issue for anyone over 
a century-and-a-half after the signing of the Emancipation 
Proclamation. Let us not, however, let the imperfections of our Union 
blind us from seeing our blessings and our progress toward becoming a 
more perfect Union.
  ``Establish justice.'' In a society that is often critical of our 
legal system, I am grateful that we live in a country that presumes 
innocence until guilt is proven and that offers the fundamental right 
to a jury trial. While frivolous lawsuits do occur and should be 
stopped whenever possible, reason should dictate that we not limit the 
constitutional right of the citizen to a jury trial and that that right 
should not be based on one's wealth. It is not fair to begin the work 
of Congress in this House on this floor with the words of our Pledge, 
``with liberty and justice for all,'' and then proceed on the House 
floor moments later to cut legal aid for low-income citizens.
  ``Insure domestic tranquility and provide for the common defense.'' 
In a world where evil and greed will always exist, defending our 
citizens' lives and property must always be a top responsibility of 
government. That is why I am so grateful for the noble calling of those 
who choose to serve our Nation in law enforcement and in military 
uniform. Those who defend us from criminals here at home or from 
threats from abroad have chosen a noble calling in life and should 
always be treated with our words and our deeds as the true heroes they 
are.
  The record will show that in the past 4 years under the Democratic 
leadership of Speaker Pelosi and with the leadership of Chairman Obey 
and Chairman Filner and others, this Congress has made unprecedented 
strides in our investments in better health care and benefits for our 
veterans. We did so while recognizing that we can

[[Page H8924]]

never fully repay our debt of gratitude that we owe those who have 
served our Nation in uniform and their families.
  ``Promote the general welfare.'' On this principle there can be much 
honest disagreement, and I respect that fact. Perhaps what is most 
important in this idea to me is that it underscores that we Americans 
are not just individuals separate from one another, but that our 
Founding Fathers recognized the welfare of one is not distinct from the 
welfare of all of us. ``We the people'' truly have common bonds as 
American citizens.
  My personal view is that government cannot ensure success for 
individuals. That requires hard work and solid values, and those come 
from our families and our faith, not from the government. Yet I do 
believe that the general welfare of ``we the people'' is enhanced if 
government and private enterprise work together to give those willing 
to work hard and play by the rules a fair opportunity for just a few 
things in life for themselves and their families.

                              {time}  2110

  A good job, a decent home and a safe neighborhood, affordable health 
care, a quality education for their children, and retirement security. 
Government cannot guarantee these outcomes, but it should work to 
provide a fair opportunity to all willing and able to work hard for 
them. Government should provide a helping hand to those who are willing 
to help themselves.
  The general welfare, to me, really means opportunity. And it is my 
belief that the ultimate goal of government should be to provide every 
child in America--every child--a fair opportunity to reach his or her 
highest God-given potential. That is what Head Start, public school 
funding, college student financial aid, and many other Federal programs 
are all about. These programs are helping hands, not handouts. They're 
investments in opportunity for our citizens and our country's future.
  For those who cannot help themselves because of their physical or 
mental health care problems, we the people are a compassionate people, 
and the general welfare, along with our basic sense of decency and 
faith, dictate that we help those who cannot help themselves. That is a 
proper role of the Federal Government.
  For those who believe there's virtually no role for the Federal 
Government much beyond national defense, I would point out that our 
Founding Fathers realized over two centuries ago that the failure of 
the Articles of Confederation was that they committed ourselves to 
being a country of separate States, more than one union. That's why our 
Founding Fathers committed to adopting a new Constitution with stronger 
powers vested in a Federal Government. Our Founding Fathers so long ago 
understood that the general welfare of our citizens could not be 
effectively served by simply that loose association of States. There 
are some today who envision turning the clock back to a system that 
didn't work over two centuries ago and certainly would not work today 
in today's more complex society and economy.
  Despite its imperfections, I believe the Federal Government plays a 
vital role in providing for the general welfare of we the people. At 
the same time, I would say that the general welfare of our children and 
grandchildren demands that the Federal Government do a better job of 
living within its means.
  While deficits are to be expected in times of war and recession, 
long-term deficits must be brought down. This should be one of the 
highest national priorities in the years to come. After having turned 
serious deficits from the early 1990s into the surpluses of the late 
1990s, Congress, in my opinion, made an enormous mistake in letting 
expire the pay-as-you-go rules, passing massive unpaid-for tax cuts in 
2001 and 2003, and in expanding Medicare prescription drug programs in 
2003, with none of these being paid for. This is not rocket science. It 
is simple math. Massive tax cuts passed in 1981, in the face of a major 
defense buildup, led to historic, unprecedented deficits. Two decades 
later, the same mistake was repeated when Congress passed massive tax 
cuts, the first ever of their kind during a time of war. Those of us 
who opposed those tax cuts predicted they would lead to deficits. Those 
who supported the tax cuts, if you'll check the record, said they would 
not lead to deficits. We were right, unfortunately, and they were 
wrong.
  It is my hope that the free lunch philosophy of no-pain balanced 
budgets has been discredited enough by now so the next Congress can 
realistically make the tough choices needed to get our fiscal house 
back in order. Republicans in Congress need to stop peddling the 
disproven that tax cuts pay for themselves. They do not. Democrats in 
Congress need to understand that spending must be cut, that no cuts 
will be done without pain, but that ultimately uncontrolled deficits 
will harm low- and middle-income families even more through slower 
economic growth and the crowding out of education and health programs 
by increasing interest payments on the national debt.
  Most importantly, the partisan finger-pointing should stop and the 
bipartisan work should begin. It should begin to ensure the general 
welfare of we the people is served by a physically sustainable Federal 
debt level. The choices will be difficult, but if they are made on a 
bipartisan basis, the people of the country will understand the 
necessity of those tough choices, just as they did in 1983 when 
President Reagan and Speaker Tip O'Neill worked together to save Social 
Security.
  ``Secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.'' 
Our forefathers understood that freedom is God-given and should be 
protected as the divine gift it truly is. Our troops have, for over two 
centuries, protected our freedoms from threats from abroad. Here at 
home we must continue to be faithful stewards of the freedoms of 
religion, speech, press, and association.
  It is no coincidence that the first words of the Bill of Rights are 
dedicated to the principle of religious liberty built upon the 
foundation of what Thomas Jefferson called the sacred wall of 
separation between church and State. Congress shall make no law 
respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free 
exercise thereof. Religious freedom is the first freedom. It is the 
freedom upon which all other freedoms are built. Mr. Madison and Mr. 
Jefferson understood that religion should be based on a pedestal high 
above the reach of politicians.

  I believe America's model of religious liberty is perhaps the 
greatest contribution to the world from our experiment in democracy. It 
has been built upon the bedrock of church-State separation. And for 
those who misunderstand that principle, church-State separation does 
not mean keeping people of faith out of government. It does mean 
keeping government out of our faith. All of human history has proven 
that if politicians are allowed to regulate and get involved in 
religion, they cannot withstand the siren songs of using religion as a 
means to their own political ends and of stepping on the rights of 
religious minorities by trying to ingratiate themselves with the 
religious majority.
  If I could offer only one piece of advice to the press, the public, 
and to future Members who will serve in Congress, it would be to be 
aware of those who, whether motivated by good faith or by political 
gain, would try to help religion by chiseling away at the wall of 
separation between church and State. God doesn't need their help or 
government's help. If He chose to give each of us the right to believe 
or not to believe, it would be sacrilegious for politicians to limit 
that divine right.
  Government can make a lot of mistakes that can be corrected, but if 
the Pandora's box of intermingling government and religion is ever 
open, it will unleash divisions among us that we cannot even imagine. 
Human history has proven that lesson over and over again. Mr. Madison 
and Mr. Jefferson got it right in the first 16 words of the Bill of 
Rights, and it would be wrong to undo those words or the principle they 
represent.
  In the short run, I have some serious concerns about our democracy. 
Partisanship is too prevalent, especially since solving the major 
challenges facing our country--the deficit, health care, energy, 
immigration reform, and competing in the world economy--will require 
bipartisanship to not only pass effective legislation but to secure 
public support for those laws after their passage.
  Sound-bite politics of television and radio interviews and talk shows 
and

[[Page H8925]]

campaign ads make it difficult to develop responsible solutions to 
complex problems. Thirty-second campaign TV ads are seldom a template 
for responsible problem-solving. The stovepiping of news sources, where 
citizens are hearing the news they want to hear, reinforcing their 
already held views, is digging deeper the lines of political division 
in our country. The demonizing of those who think differently is 
creating coarseness in our political discourse that neither serves our 
democracy nor sets a positive example for our children. If adults don't 
treat each other with respect, can we expect any different from our 
children?

                              {time}  2120

  The loss of centrists--Republicans and Democrats alike--in Congress 
will make it more difficult in the years ahead to find the common 
ground of compromise. A parliamentary government can work with one 
party on one end of the political spectrum and another on the other end 
with few in between, because the party in the majority in that type of 
government has the power to implement its programs. However, in our 
American democracy, built upon the principle of checks and balances, 
bipartisanship is needed to pass laws on major issues and then to earn 
acceptance of those laws from the public.
  The financial problems of major regional newspapers have reduced the 
impact of one of the key checks and balances of our democracy--a 
vigorous and free press.
  The financial power of corporations, unions and special interests, 
especially under the Citizens United Supreme Court case, to spend 
unlimited, nontransparent millions in congressional races without any 
accountability to the public who funds those races could seriously 
undermine the integrity of not just campaigns but of voting decisions 
made by Members of Congress.
  Despite all of these challenges in the short term, I am confident of 
America's long-term future. Our people and our democracy are resilient. 
When Americans face hardship, we find a way to endure and overcome 
those hardships. They always have. We always have and always will as a 
people. When our democracy gets off center, we the people find a way to 
bring it back in line.
  In every generation, including that of our Founding Fathers, there 
have been predictors of doom. In every generation, they have been 
wrong. Americans have faced a revolutionary war, a civil war, two world 
wars, and a great depression. In each case, we the people found a way 
to meet those challenges and overcome them.
  While I have met some famous people over the past 20 years of my 
public service, I have seen the soul and spirit of America through the 
lives of everyday citizens. It is they who give me faith in our future. 
It is the teacher who volunteers to help students after school; the 
military widow who asks how she can help other grieving widows; the 
soldier who misses the births of his two children while he is serving 
his country overseas; the veteran who continues giving back to country 
long after his or her service is completed; and the hardworking small 
business people--farmers and workers--who work hard every day just to 
provide a better life and hope for their families.
  I will never ever forget Erin Buenger--a beautiful, little, red-
headed girl from Bryan, Texas--in my district--who came to Washington 
to lobby me for better health care research for rare children's 
diseases. For 7 years, Erin fought bravely against a rare cancer, 
neuroblastoma. Yet you would never have known she had had a bad day in 
her life because she was so full of life. Erin won my heart. She won my 
heart before she died at the age of 12, but her spirit will always live 
on to inspire me and those blessed to know her--to inspire us to do 
better, to be better. As long as we have Americans with the courage, 
values, and heart of Erin Buenger, who personified the American spirit, 
our Nation's future will be bright.
  I would save the last words I will speak from this House Chamber for 
my family. Throughout my years in Congress, it was my wife, Lea Ann, 
and our two sons, J.T. and Garrison, who always kept me grounded. Every 
day of public service has truly been an honor, and I am grateful to the 
people of Central Texas for that privilege, but throughout the years, 
it was the love from my family and my love for my family that always 
meant the most to me. It was their love that reminded me what life and 
public service should be about.
  I can never say enough about the personal sacrifices and 
responsibilities that Lea Ann took on to make my work possible. She has 
been my personal hero throughout these years, and I love her with all 
my heart for who she is and what she has done as a wife, as a mother, 
as a USO cochair, and as a Boy Scout leader.
  To our sons J.T. and Garrison, it is my hope that somehow I have 
shown them that trying to make a positive difference for others is part 
of our mission here on Earth, and that that mission begins with loving 
our families.
  Serving the American family has been the privilege of my life, but 
the joy of my life has always been my family.
  We the people are fortunate to live in the greatest Nation in the 
world. God has truly blessed us, and now it is up to us to be good 
stewards of those blessings.
  Thank you.

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