[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 18403-18404]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


              CONSTITUTION DAY AND DEMOCRATIC OBSTRUCTION

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, yesterday, September 17, marked the 219th 
anniversary of one of the most significant events in U.S. history. On 
September 17, 1787, 219 years ago, 39 brave men signed the U.S. 
Constitution.
  We are all familiar with the Preamble of the 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 defence, promote the 
     general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to 
     ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this 
     Constitution for the United States of America.

  Today across the nation, children in each and every classroom are 
celebrating the birthday of our Constitution. Very likely, they are 
reciting this very same Preamble. Many are, no doubt, struggling 
through this seemingly archaic syntax to come to distill its purpose. 
These children are asking themselves the same questions we in the 
Senate face each day on the Senate floor: What does it mean to 
establish justice? What does it mean to ensure domestic tranquility; to 
provide for the common defense; to promote the general welfare; to 
secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity?
  In the midst of debate, it is temptingly easy to mire ourselves in 
the intricacies of legislation, and we spend hours in committees 
negotiating a phrase or a single word. But let's not forget the purpose 
behind our debates. Mr. President, 219 years ago, 39 men fulfilled the 
promise, fulfilled the vision of the Declaration of Independence by 
signing the Constitution. Today, the legacy depends on us. As citizens 
and as Senators, it is our duty to ensure that the values and purposes 
embodied by the Constitution continue to be the values that define our 
daily life.
  Over the past few months, we have had many opportunities to do just 
that: the PATRIOT Act, Defense appropriations, border security, the 
Voting Rights Act, the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, pension 
reform, and just last week, port security.
  But too often my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have 
inhibited the fulfillment of our duty. They have

[[Page 18404]]

relied on obstruction and thrown up roadblocks at every opportunity. 
They have let politics get in the way of sound policy and purpose. That 
is unacceptable.
  We have only a few days left in this session. This week, we will vote 
on the nomination of Alice Fisher to be an Assistant Attorney General 
for the Criminal Division at the Department of Justice. But it has 
taken months and months to get to this point--months and months of 
obstruction. We have other key national security nominees who need to 
be confirmed. These are positions vital to our continued safety and 
security, but at every turn we find obstruction instead of 
confirmation.
  As we move forward, I urge my colleagues to review our Constitution's 
Preamble, to consider anew our purpose here in the Senate, and to let 
that purpose guide our debate and action here on the Senate floor.
  I yield the floor.

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