[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 74 (Thursday, May 23, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E755]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO JENNIFER ELLEFSON

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. PETE OLSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 23, 2013

  Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to interact with some of the 
brightest students in the 22nd Congressional District who serve on my 
Congressional Youth Advisory Council. I have gained much by listening 
to the high school students who are the future of this great nation. 
They provide important insight into the concerns of our younger 
constituents and hopefully get a better sense of the importance of 
being an active participant in the political process. Many of the 
students have written short essays on a variety of topics and I am 
pleased to share these with my House colleagues.
  Jennifer Ellefson is a junior at George Ranch High School in Fort 
Bend County, Texas. Her essay topic is: In your opinion, what role 
should government play in our lives?

       Government should be nothing more than a regulatory force. 
     Too often people see the Government as a great power, but the 
     government should only be given the power it is deemed worthy 
     of by the people. That is the principle of popular 
     sovereignty, the people rule. Without that principle, 
     governments lose balance and forget their purpose. Our 
     government's purposes are in protection, business regulation, 
     law enforcement, and medicine among other things. The 
     government's job is not to be a part of your life, but to 
     keep your life from becoming anarchy, and provide ease for 
     certain things. An oppressive form of government is one that 
     is invasive in day to day life; the American government 
     should play scarcely a role in your life outside of 
     organization and providing order. Our police officers are 
     given their power by the people. They are not above us, but 
     they regulate us due to the right we give them through our 
     government, the people's government. Law enforcement ensures 
     that we are not victimized by the masses daily, without the 
     government to regulate our protection, anarchy would ensue, 
     and violence and murder would ravage the land. Business 
     regulation insures that employees cannot be mistreated, and 
     that customers are kept safe through standard requirements of 
     cleanliness and durability. Before the FDA, thousands of 
     people would die a year from food poisoning. While some still 
     slip through the cracks, the government has all but 
     eliminated business corruption at the production and 
     employment levels. Standardized medical procedure has saved 
     millions of lives in the last century; if it were not 
     government regulated there would still be frequent abortions 
     in truck beds and household remedies killing people all over. 
     Now the government is attempting to regulate medicine even 
     further; socialized medicine, in my view, is a must. Part of 
     government regularity is protection; is it not protection to 
     ensure that even a homeless man should not die from a disease 
     because he cannot afford the surgery? Some people say it is 
     invasive, but further taxation for the better of you and all 
     is not an invasion of life, it is a regulation of order. 
     Regulation and facilitation is the government role and 
     nothing further.

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