[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10959]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             BILL OF RIGHTS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Case) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CASE. Mr. Speaker, our Federal budget and taxes are heavy on all 
of our minds tonight, but I stand today in defense of that most basic 
expression of our fundamental freedoms, our Bill of Rights, and I rise 
in doing so with incredible pride in my State of Hawaii, which does not 
just talk about the Bill of Rights, we live it.
  For generations now we have understood, not just in our heads but in 
our hearts, in our bones, the very essence of the Bill of Rights, which 
is that it protects minorities against the will of the majority. We 
have understood it not just because it was handed down to us from the 
cultural heritage of our indigenous peoples, the native Hawaiians, but 
because in Hawaii we are all minorities. Ethnically, no race is a 
majority. My own Caucasian race, no more than 25 percent. Americans of 
Asian descent, no more than 40 percent. Native Hawaiians, little over 
10 percent. None of us is in the majority. We have to take care of each 
other, and similarly with the religions we have in Hawaii.
  Our predominant Christian tradition in the rest of our country, no 
more than a third of the people in Hawaii, perhaps another third 
practicing religions that come primarily from Asia, Buddhist, Shinto, 
Hindu, and the rest of them an assortment of religions.
  So in my Hawaii tolerance of diversity is not a matter just of 
civility. It is a matter of basic necessity.
  In this tradition I am especially proud that my Hawaii State 
legislature has become the first legislative body in our country to 
officially call upon this Congress to alter those portions of the so-
called PATRIOT Act and related Bush administration executive orders 
which run counter to this foundation rock of our democracy and rather 
than summarize what my legislature did, let me just read Senate 
Concurrent Resolution 18 passed just a few days ago by overwhelming 
majorities and reaffirming our commitment in Hawaii to civil liberties 
in the Bill of Rights.
  ``Whereas, the Hawaii State legislature is committed to upholding the 
United States Constitution and its Bill of Rights, and the Hawaii State 
Constitution and our Bill of Rights; and
  ``Whereas, the State of Hawaii has a distinguished history of 
safeguarding the freedoms of its residents; and
  ``Whereas, the State of Hawaii is comprised of a diverse and multi-
ethnic population, and has experienced firsthand the value of 
immigration to the American way of life; and
  ``Whereas, the residents of Hawaii during World War II experienced 
firsthand the dangers of unbalanced pursuit of security without 
appropriate checks and balances for the protection of basic liberties; 
and
  ``Whereas, the recent adoption of the U.S. PATRIOT Act and several 
executive orders may unconstitutionally authorize the Federal 
Government to infringe upon fundamental liberties in violation of due 
process, the right to privacy, the right to counsel, protection against 
unreasonable searches and seizures, and basic first amendment freedoms, 
all of which are guaranteed by the Constitutions of Hawaii and the 
United States; and
  ``Whereas, the citizens of Hawaii are concerned that the actions of 
the Attorney General of the United States and the United States Justice 
Department pose significant threats to Constitutional protections; now, 
therefore,
  ``BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate'' and House of the State of Hawaii 
``that the State of Hawaii urges its Congressional delegation to work 
to repeal any sections of the USA PATRIOT Act or recent executive 
orders that limit or violate fundamental rights and liberties protected 
by the Constitutions of Hawaii and the United States; and
  ``BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that to the extent legally possible, no 
State resources, including law enforcement funds and educational 
administrative resources, may be used for unconstitutional activities, 
including but not limited to the following under the USA PATRIOT Act:
  ``Monitoring political and religious gatherings exercising their 
first amendment rights;
  ``Obtaining library records, bookstore records and website activities 
without proper authorization and without notification;
  ``Issuing subpoenas through the United States Attorney's Office 
without a court's approval or knowledge;
  ``Requesting nonconsensual releases of student and faculty records 
from public schools and institutions of higher learning; and
  ``Eavesdropping on confidential communications between lawyers and 
their clients.
  ``Be it further resolved that this resolution be forwarded to this 
U.S. Congress.''
  Mr. Speaker, powerful words from my State legislature, and I have 
heard it said that those who oppose any provision of the PATRIOT Act 
are not patriotic. For my State and myself personally, I categorically 
reject that view. We in Hawaii give nothing away to any other part of 
our great country and our patriotism. We are proud of our country and 
our place in it. We are proud of the military service of our own sons 
and daughters in defense of this country, and we are proud that we in 
Hawaii are the center of our Nation's defense efforts in half of our 
world stretching from the mainland United States to the coasts of 
Africa.
  To quote my State legislature in passing this resolution, our United 
States can be both safe and free. We must revisit the PATRIOT Act and 
accomplish the basic protection of our Bill of Rights.

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