[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 58 (Tuesday, May 3, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H2940-H2941]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 THE NATIONAL CONSTITUTION COMPETITION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, it was my great privilege to spend a 
major portion of the weekend watching young constitutional scholars 
from Portland's Grant High School compete in the national Constitution 
competition here in our Nation's Capital.
  It was an amazing experience watching these young men and women 
debating the fine points of our Constitution. While I had a personal 
interest with one of the students there, it became clear, watching the 
competition, that everybody was a winner.
  As I was watching the finals, where they were one of the top 10 teams 
in the Nation, it was fascinating to contemplate what was going on in 
the much broader context in terms of what this represented. Everybody 
was a winner--the student constitutional scholars, their dedicated 
coaches and teachers. Most important, America was winning.
  They were part of tens of thousands of students across the country 
who dove into the intricacies of the Constitution over the past year. 
They

[[Page H2941]]

delved into its antecedents like the Magna Carta and the Articles of 
Confederation. They deal with the Civil War and the challenges to our 
constitutional ideals and the practicality of governance in a time of 
war. They pondered the struggle to give all Americans the promises 
embedded in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. They 
explored the conflict between the rule of law and its too often flawed 
implementation.
  It was really heartwarming to be able to witness the discussion 
between the judges, who were all skilled professionals--professors, 
lawyers, judges volunteering their time--and these terrific young 
citizens. Indeed, some of the exchanges were riveting. I found myself 
reflecting on how much easier would be our job in Congress if there 
were more Americans who were part of this extraordinary experience.
  These young people have been part of a program making a difference 
for a quarter century now. We've got data that show its effectiveness. 
These young people score a third higher than adult citizens on their 
knowledge of the Constitution and civic affairs. And good news for 
America: looking at this experience over a quarter century, they are 
five times more likely to run for public office.
  The bad news is that thousands of young people in every State, the 
District of Columbia, and some of the territories will lose as a result 
of the inability of Congress to figure out how to finance a small 
portion of the participation that comes from Federal money. They are a 
casualty this year of the inability of Congress to figure out how to 
provide that support. I find that ironic because these young people 
could give Congress lessons about the congressional power of the purse, 
the separations of power, to give us a roadmap to make sure that these 
programs are not sacrificed.
  It's particularly important because the flawed ``No Child Left 
Behind'' bill that's up for reauthorization doesn't place a premium on 
civic education. I see my good friend, Congresswoman Woolsey, a senior 
member of that committee, who has fought for years to redirect it.
  Well, the least we can do is to restore the money lost this year as 
we deal with the budget for the next year. Any Member of Congress who 
takes the time to meet with the outstanding young men and women from 
their State who are in our Nation's Capital today in the aftermath of 
that contest would be hard-pressed to explain to them why they wouldn't 
and, indeed, should be inspired to do all they could to make sure this 
outstanding program continues.

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