[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 5893]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          PERSONAL EXPLANATION

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. XAVIER BECERRA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 6, 2005

  Mr. BECERRA. Mr. Speaker, on Monday, March 21, 2005, I did not cast 
my Floor vote on roll call number 90 on the motion to suspend the rules 
and pass S. 686, a private bill for the relief of the parents of 
Theresa Marie Schiavo. Had I been present, I would have voted nay.
  My personal beliefs on religious morality belong to me, in my home 
and in my church, with my family and with my God. The Schiavos deserved 
this same level of privacy and respect. The good people of the 31st 
Congressional District did not elect me to impose my religious mores 
upon them or the American people through legislative acts in Congress.
  Members of Congress should never have legislated on this very 
personal family matter--the Schiavos told us this and so even did the 
courts.
  The mere fact that we took up this legislation sets a dangerous 
precedent where if the Congress dislikes a court's decision we pursue a 
law to overturn our own constitutional system of checks and balances. 
In passing S. 686, this Congress complicated what has already been a 
long and difficult journey for the Schiavos these past 15 years. May 
Theresa Schiavo now rest in peace.

                          ____________________