[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 5160-5164]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             HEALTH REFORM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas may proceed.
  Mr. GOHMERT. That was what we were fixing to do. It's now done, and 
so are so many American jobs because of what we have passed this week.
  There's a line from a movie, ``Broadcast News,'' where Holly Hunter 
is telling an executive that he's making a wrong decision. And he says, 
in essence, It must be wonderful to always know what should happen. She 
says, basically, No, it's horrible.
  The fact is, it must be wonderful for those who don't realize the 
human suffering that's going to come out of this bill--the people that 
lose their jobs, who don't realize that down the road we are going to 
devastate this thing that we used to call the free market system as 
government approaches taking control and, in some cases, ownership of 
50 percent or so of the American economy. Who would have thought? When 
you can see where this goes, it's horrible, just like she said. It's 
horrible.
  Community health centers have done wonderful jobs. They have helped 
so many people that needed it, but now they're being appropriated money 
that can be used for abortions. And there's nothing that can stop that; 
certainly not a flimsy Executive order that cannot impound money that's 
dedicated for something else. Besides that, an Executive order can also 
be changed on a whim. It happens all the time.
  So, as I struggled and thought about how did we get to this point in 
history, because there was a time if you went against the will of the 
State and you went against what you were sent up here to do, and that 
is serve and defend the Constitution, then your legislature, your State 
legislature that elected you, could yank you back. Because there's an 
amendment, number nine, that says: The enumeration in the Constitution 
of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others 
retained by the people.
  This is the Tenth Amendment: The powers not delegated to the United 
States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are 
reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. If it's not 
specifically enumerated in the Constitution, it's reserved to the State 
and the people. It's probably the most violated provision in the 
Constitution.
  As some Justices have pointed out in speeches before, in 1913, we had 
the 17th Amendment. Because, apparently, some State legislatures had 
actually abused that system, sending State individuals up here to be 
U.S. Senators with an agenda that wasn't necessarily helpful to the 
country. So the 17th Amendment changed the ability of the State 
legislature to select a U.S. Senator, and it became a popular vote.
  All week as I have talked about Article V of the Constitution, I've 
been very careful not to ever say that we should repeal the 17th 
Amendment, because I'm not sure that's a good idea.

[[Page 5161]]

It needs more study, more looking. It needs the collective 
concentration of 50 States' best thinkers. We have heard other 
potential solutions to what happened when the elimination occurred of 
the only real check to this body and the Senate body usurping rights 
reserved to the States and the people. Once that was eliminated, then 
you began to have real unfunded mandates. States come up with money and 
do this. States come up with money and do that.
  It was not supposed to be that way. This Federal Government was never 
supposed to be able to dictate unfunded mandates to States. It was 
never supposed to be allowed to usurp authority reserved to the States 
and the people by the 10th Amendment. But that's what has occurred 
because there was no check and balance to do that.

                              {time}  2250

  You've got the Supreme Court, but they are appointed by the highest 
elected Federal official, the President. They're confirmed by high U.S. 
Federal elected officials. So why would anybody think they would be out 
to protect the rights reserved to the States and the people? They 
should. It's what the Constitution said. They have an obligation to 
uphold the Constitution. They should. But that's not what has been 
occurring.
  So what hit me was article V because I really believe, you know, that 
God can work things together for good. And through such a terrible 
thing, like this health care bill that's going to cause so many people 
to lose their jobs, many people to have their pay reduced, many people 
to not have the insurance they had before. We're already hearing tons 
of employers saying, Well, in this bill, it's actually cheaper for us 
to drop the health care insurance we're providing, let them go get the 
lesser government insurance, the Federal insurance exchange federal 
program, and we save money even though we're having to pay this extra 
tax. Well, somebody that designed this bill knew that would happen, and 
that's what they intended to do, drive them away from their better 
private insurance to the government's awaiting coverage.
  Did anybody really know all that was in here? Perhaps somebody did. I 
mean, in the bill, the staff of the leadership of the House and Senate 
were exempted so they don't have to participate. They can keep the good 
insurance they have right now, where all the rest of us in Congress on 
our staffs, we have to go under the Federal insurance exchange program. 
And ultimately, I lose what I think is the greatest hope for getting us 
off the road to socialized medicine because that's just the next step. 
This was the first. That's the next, just like President Obama--then-
Senator Obama laid out previously when he was running for the 
Presidency. This is the first step. Then you have the transition into 
the single payer, the socialized medicine. It's where it goes.
  So how do you go about stopping that? What in the world really good 
could come from such a bad bill where pharmaceutical companies--man, 
they're going to get rich out of this thing. Yeah, they're going to get 
back some billions. But my HSA, for the short time I may be able to 
keep it, for a little longer, I can't buy my hay fever pills for under 
$3 anymore with my HSA. I'll have to buy prescription drugs, which will 
help the pharmaceutical companies. Good job.
  And I remember the President saying, We're going to televise our 
debates on C-SPAN so you can see who's really looking out for the 
pharmaceuticals and who's looking out for the people. Well, you know 
what, it turns out we didn't need C-SPAN after all. When we read the 
bill and we see the sweetheart bills that were done for pharmaceutical 
companies, the massive number of new clients initially--until we go to 
a full government takeover, a short-sight on the part of insurance 
companies that bought in. But they're going to have a bunch more money. 
AARP, they're going to sell a lot more insurance because provisions in 
there are going to allow them to kill Medicare Advantage. So that means 
AARP, they don't care that they've lost so many members because they're 
going to make a lot more than that in the insurance that they'll get to 
sell. The plaintiffs' bar got a deal in here. There are just all kinds 
of deals for everybody.
  So we found out who's looking out for the little guy. It was nobody 
that was in those negotiations. But somebody was sure looking out for 
the pharmaceuticals. And since there wasn't any Republican in any of 
those negotiations where the deals were cut, we know there was nobody 
there looking out for the little guy. They were looking out for the 
pharmaceuticals, the big companies, the unions, plaintiffs' lawyers. 
They just came out great. Happy Easter. Somebody laid an egg.
  We look at article V. This is what it came back to. You look at 
article V. This may be the real good that could come out of the 
disaster that's gone on here lately and the abuses of the process, it 
seems. Article V has been used many times for the first part that says, 
``Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, 
shall propose Amendments to this Constitution.'' That's been used many 
times. And once they propose those amendments, passed by two-thirds of 
the House and the Senate, then it took three-fourths of the States to 
ratify. But here is the part that has not been used--I can't find that 
it's ever been used. It almost was for the repeal of the prohibition, 
but when the Congress saw that the States were about to get to 34, 
which is two-thirds or--there weren't that many then. When the States 
were about to get to two-thirds, then Congress acted quickly, jumped 
in, had two-thirds of the House and Senate and had a repeal of the 
prohibition.
  But here's the part, that Congress ``on the Application of the 
Legislatures of two-thirds of the several States, shall call a 
Convention for proposing Amendments, shall be valid to all Intents and 
Purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the 
Legislatures of three-fourths of the several States, or by Conventions 
in three-fourths.'' So the thing is, the legislatures, two-thirds of 
the States' legislatures can apply and say, Congress, we want a 
convention--not a Constitutional convention; it's not a Constitutional 
convention. That's what occurred in 1787. This is an amendment 
convention. That's what is called for. Not a rewrite of the 
Constitution. An amendment convention.
  And I know there are differences among some constitutional scholars 
who say, Well, Congress can actually limit the amendment convention, 
okay? You have asked for an amendment convention. Perhaps the States 
could say, We want a convention to fix the lack of checks and balances 
between the Federal Government and the State government. I think you 
could limit it to that. You know, just like the Constitution provides 
for impeachment, it doesn't provide the rules of procedure, right? You 
can't have a trial in the Senate for impeachment without promulgating 
rules of procedure. But the Supreme Court, as always, appropriately 
kept hands off when it comes to rules of procedure. You know, that's 
your guys' business in the legislature when it comes to setting up 
rules of procedure for impeachment. You decide how you're going to run 
the trial, and then we can review the overall result. Well, I think 
that's possible as well with an amendment convention.
  And think about it too. Even if those who say, Well, they could do 
amendments that might just rewrite most of the Constitution, think 
about it. It requires three-fourths of the States to ratify it. You're 
not going to have three-fourths of the States ratify, rewrite a 
Constitution. I mean, we may do some crazy things in this Congress, 
like we've done in the last week, but we're not going to rewrite the 
greatest document governing mankind in the history of the world. But it 
does need tweaking from time to time. And it's awfully tough for a 
Federal Government to see when it's being at its worst, most abusive of 
States' rights, and rein them in.
  But that's why there's this balance. That's the genius of this 
document. We can come in and fix when something gets abused too much. 
It's why the 17th Amendment came into being. But I have not once ever 
proposed that we

[[Page 5162]]

eliminate the ability of the people of any State to elect a U.S. 
Senate, and yet that was a headline in one paper that that's what I was 
proposing because there were liberal blogs that were going nuts. They 
seem to do that from time to time without regard for the truth.
  But if you look at what I've said, it's very simple. We have got to 
put back some kind of check or balance on this runaway abuse of States' 
rights. Now I know there's some people in Texas or some other States 
that say, Well, we just need to secede. Give me a break. We do not need 
to secede. There is strength and power when we are the United States of 
America, and that's what we need to stay. But we need to get back to 
the common sense of the Founders that gave us the opportunity to have 
such a great country.
  I have article V blown up here. Here is article V from the 
Constitution. The Congress--skip to the second part after the ``or,'' 
the disjunctive, on the application of legislatures, two-thirds of the 
several States--that's what we're talking about--``shall call a 
Convention for proposing Amendments''--not a rewrite of the 
Constitution, because that's not going to happen, and it wouldn't be 
ratified. So get real. I know there are some who say, We're headed for 
a cliff. We're going to fall into the abyss. We have got to do 
something, and I think they're right.

                              {time}  2300

  Proposing a budget with $1.5 trillion deficit this year?
  Man, my first year here I was hearing all the screams and hollering 
about how abusive a $160 billion deficit was, how mean spirited could 
George W. Bush be.
  And by the way, I really appreciate the sensitivity of my colleagues 
on the other side of the aisle. We shouldn't be making death threats. 
I've had plenty of those as a judge. I know what that's like. It never 
bothered me until they started threatening my family. But I know what 
that's like.
  I know what it's like to be abused, as I was out here on Saturday, 
because of my position on the hate crimes bill. I don't go running to 
the media about it. But I appreciate the fact that we should all be 
able to agree there is no place for bigotry, there's no place for 
racism. We should be able to disagree without being extremely 
disagreeable. We can disagree, that is important. Unless one person in 
this body has a 100 percent lock on God's truth, all the time, we 
really ought to listen to each other. And yet today we had 10 minutes, 
5 minutes on either side, to debate the reconciliation, so-called 
misnomer regarding the health care plan.
  We've got to get back to some sanity before we ruin this place.
  Now, I know some people get scared when you talk about amending the 
Constitution and letting the States have a convention to propose an 
amendment. But that could be the thing that gets us back on track so 
this body and down the Hall can't continue to run up a $1.5 trillion 
deficit a year. I mean, good night. Ten times what I heard Bush getting 
beat up for? Give me a break. Goodness.
  We've got to get back to some fiscal sanity. I think this could do 
it. I think it could rein things in, get the check and balance in place 
so that we could look back one day and say, as bad as this was, as 
upset as most of Americans have been about this abusive process by 
which this disastrous health care ``deform'' bill was passed, it led to 
a greater good if we amend the Constitution, we preserve the check and 
balance so that this body and the Senate can't come together and a 
majority in the House or Senate, cram a bad bill down the minority's 
throat, say, tough, even though, in this case, you represent the will 
of the vast majority of the people in America, we don't care. We're 
smarter than you. We're going to do this anyway. You wouldn't be able 
to do it.
  One proposal is an amendment that might allow the States within, say, 
30 days, 45 days, something like that, after a bill that affected the 
States could come back in and three-fourths could vote to veto the bill 
and that would veto the bill. End of it. It's dead and it couldn't be 
overridden by the House and Senate. That would put a check and balance 
in place.
  Some, and I'm not sure I like this idea, but it may have 
possibilities if the right restraints were put on--some have said, 
well, we don't want to go back to the legislatures selecting, in some 
back-room deal, a U.S. Senator, because that just seems kind of tawdry. 
But perhaps, if a Senator was hurting their State, you could set some 
kind of recall system up so the State could recall a Senator that got 
too far afield and too far beyond the Constitution itself.
  There are all kinds of proposals. This country is composed of 
brilliant people who could come together and make something very, very 
special. That's how we were founded. We were founded as a special 
country.
  Going back to an act that had never occurred in the history of 
mankind, and I doubt will ever occur in the history of mankind again, 
and that was, in 1783, it's depicted in a huge painting down the Hall 
in the rotunda, of George Washington with his hand outstretched, as he 
tendered his resignation. He said, in effect, I did what you asked. 
I've won the revolution. Now I'm going home. Nobody had ever done that 
in the history of mankind. Never. When King George III was told that 
George Washington was going to, after having defeated the British, 
resign and go home, he just didn't believe it. He said, nobody would do 
that. In fact, he said if Washington were to do that, he would be the 
greatest man alive. He probably was. Nobody had ever done it before or 
done it since.
  At times, when the military, when the Articles of Confederation were 
falling apart, they were calling upon Washington, please, we'll let you 
be King if you'll just come rule. The country's falling apart. He 
wouldn't do it. But Washington, in tendering that resignation, ended it 
with something very special. He ended it with what appears to be a 
prayer. The whole resignation was so moving that it was printed and 
distributed all over the country. They loved George Washington.
  His resignation, at the end, and I quote, toward the end, said, ``I 
now make it my earnest prayer that God would have you and the state 
over which you preside in His holy protection. He'd incline the hearts 
of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to 
government to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another, 
for their fellow citizens of the United States, and particularly for 
their brethren who have served in the field.
  And, finally, that he would most graciously be pleased to dispose us 
all to do justice, to love mercy, to demean ourselves with that 
charity, humility and specific temper of mind which were the 
characteristics of the divine author of our blessed religion, and 
without a humble imitation of whose example in these things we can 
never hope to be a happy Nation.
  Then he signed it by saying, I have the honor to be with great 
respect and esteem, Your Excellency's most obedient and very humble 
servant, George Washington.
  That's how we get started. That kind of humility, that kind of 
selflessness. And yet we just passed a bill that exempts the leader's 
staff, White House, White House staff, except the President says he's 
going to go under it. But what happened to that kind of humility and 
selflessness by those in government? Well, I know what it is to sleep 
on an air mattress three or four nights a week for the honor of getting 
to serve here, and it's nothing compared to what those valiant Founders 
and those who fought over the years for our freedoms have given up.
  So article V, that's a possibility. Maybe that gets back some sanity. 
Maybe it does.
  What have we got to lose? We can't keep running up this kind of debt. 
We can't; we will lose this Nation. You know, you think it can't 
happen. Look at Greece, the way they're struggling. Go back to the 
Soviet Union. They spent so much in Afghanistan, so much on missile 
defense. They couldn't borrow enough, they couldn't print

[[Page 5163]]

enough, and they finally had to announce, We're broke. China wasn't 
buying their debt. They couldn't get anybody to buy enough debt, loan 
them enough money. They couldn't print it fast enough so they went out 
of business. It happens. There is no nation in the history of the world 
that has ever gone on indefinitely. Every nation comes to an end. It is 
up to the vigilance of those in government of that country to ensure 
that future generations are protected.
  I have the liberties and freedoms I do in this country, all of us 
here do, not because of something we did. I didn't deserve to be born 
here and have this kind of liberty. It was because of the generations 
that went before us, generations of people like George Washington and 
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson and John Hancock. So many of these guys 
that just were willing to sacrifice their lives, their fortunes, their 
sacred honor. I have been blessed because of their faithfulness in 
those prior generations.
  You want to read a beautiful theological monologue, read Lincoln's 
second inaugural address as he struggled to deal with how a just God 
could allow the kind of suffering that had gone on, and he deals with 
it beautifully.

                              {time}  2310

  In that second inaugural that's inscribed on the north wall inside 
the Lincoln Memorial, trying to deal with how this could happen, he 
said, you know, we all read the same Bible, we all pray to the same 
God, yet the prayers of both could not be answered. He struggled and he 
came through and he recognized that a wonderful God has blessed this 
country.
  You go back to the speech of Benjamin Franklin, to the Constitutional 
Convention, when he said, ``In the beginning contest with Great Britain 
when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room for 
divine protection. Our prayers, sir, were heard and they were 
graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must 
have observed frequent instances of a superintending Providence in our 
favor.'' By the way, that's not the words of a deist. ``To that kind 
Providence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the 
means of establishing our future national felicity. And have we now 
forgotten that powerful friend? Or do we imagine we no longer need His 
assistance? I have lived, sir, a long time and the longer I live the 
more convincing proofs I see of this truth--that God governs in the 
affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His 
notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have 
been assured, sir, in the sacred writings that 'except the Lord build 
the house, they labor in vain that build it.'''
  Franklin went on and said, ``I firmly believe this; and I also 
believe that without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this 
political building no better than the builders of Babel.''
  I want to finish, Madam Speaker, tonight with a radio address that 
was given on April 2, 1983, by Ronald Reagan. He has been talked about 
so much lately, and it seemed appropriate on this occasion as we wrap 
up before we recess and go home and see what our constituents have to 
say about us. He said:
  ``This week as American families draw together in worship, we join 
with millions upon millions of others around the world also celebrating 
the traditions of their faiths. During these days, at least, regardless 
of nationality, religion, or race, we are united by faith in God and 
the barriers between us seem less significant.
  ``Observing the rites of Passover and Easter, we're linked in time to 
the ancient origins of our values and to the unborn generations who 
will still celebrate them long after we're gone. As Paul explained in 
his Epistle to the Ephesians, `He came and preached peace to you who 
were far away and peace to those who were near. So then you were no 
longer strangers and aliens, but you were fellow citizens of God's 
household.'
  ``This is a time of hope and peace, when our spirits are filled and 
lifted. It's a time when we give thanks for our blessings--chief among 
them, freedom, peace, and the promise of eternal life.
  ``This week Jewish families and friends have been celebrating 
Passover, a tradition rich in symbolism and meaning. Its observance 
reminds all of us that the struggle for freedom and the battle against 
oppression waged by Jews since ancient times is one shared by people 
everywhere. And Christians have been commemorating the last momentous 
days leading to the crucifixion of Jesus 1,950 years ago. Tomorrow, as 
morning spreads around the planet, we will celebrate the triumph of 
life over death, the resurrection of Jesus. Both observances tell of 
sacrifice and pain but also of hope and triumph.
  ``As we look around us today, we still find human pain and suffering, 
but we also see it answered with individual courage and spirit, 
strengthened by faith. For example, the brave Polish people, despite 
the oppression of a godless tyranny, still cling to their faith and 
their belief in freedom. Shortly after Palm Sunday mass this week, Lech 
Walesa faced a cheering crowd of workers outside a Gdansk church. He 
held up his hand in a sign of victory and predicted, `The time will 
come when we will win.'
  ``Recently, an East German professor, his wife, and two daughters 
climbed into a 7-foot rowboat and crossed the freezing, wind-whipped 
Baltic to escape from tyranny. Arriving in West Germany after a 
harrowing 7-hour, 31-mile journey past East German border patrols, the 
man said he and his family had risked everything so that the children 
would have the chance to grow up in freedom.
  ``In Central America, Communist-inspired revolution still spreads 
terror and instability, but it's no match for the much greater force of 
faith that runs so deep among the people. We saw this during Pope John 
Paul II's recent visit there. As he conducted a mass in Nicaragua, 
state police jeered and led organized heckling by Sandinista 
supporters. But the Pope lifted a crucifix above his head and waved it 
at the crowd before him, then turned and symbolically held it up before 
the massive painting of Sandinista soldiers that loomed behind. The 
symbol of good prevailed. In contrast, everywhere else the Holy Father 
went in the region, spreading a message that only love can build, he 
was met by throngs of enthusiastic believers, eager for Papal guidance 
and blessing.
  ``In this Easter season when so many of our young men and women in 
the Armed Forces are stationed so very far from their homes, I can't 
resist recounting at least one example of their sacrifice and heroism. 
Every day I receive reports that would make you very proud, and today I 
would like to share just one with you.
  ``While the San Diego-based USS Hoel was steaming toward Melbourne, 
Australia, on Ash Wednesday, its crew heard of terrible brush fires 
sweeping two Australian states. More than 70 people were killed and the 
destruction was great. Well, the crew of this American ship raised 
$4,000 from their pockets to help, but they felt that it wasn't enough. 
So, leaving only a skeleton crew aboard, the 100 American sailors gave 
up a day's shore leave, rolled up their sleeves, and set to work 
rebuilding a ruined community on the opposite end of the Earth. Just 
Americans being Americans, but something for all of us to be proud of.
  ``Stories like these--of men and women around the world who love God 
and freedom--bear a message of world hope and brotherhood like the 
rites of Passover and Easter that we celebrate this weekend.
  ``A grade school class in Somerville, Massachusetts, recently wrote 
me to say, `We studied about countries and found out that each country 
in our world is beautiful and we need each other. People may look a 
little different but we're still people who need the same things.' They 
said, `We want peace. We want to take care of one another. We want to 
be able to get along with one another. We want to be able to share. We 
want freedom and justice. We want to be friends. We want no wars. We 
want to be able to talk to one another. We want to be able to travel 
around the world without fear.'
  ``They then asked, `Do you think that we can have these things one

[[Page 5164]]

day?' Well, I do,'' Reagan said. ``I really do. Nearly 2,000 years 
after the coming of the Prince of Peace, such simple wishes may still 
seem far from fulfillment. But we can achieve them. We must never stop 
trying.
  ``The generations of Americans now growing up in schools across our 
country can make sure the United States will remain a force for good, 
the champion of peace and freedom as their parents and grandparents 
before them have done. And if we live our lives and dedicate our 
country to truth, to love, and to God, we will be a part of something 
much stronger and much more enduring than any negative power here on 
Earth. That's why this weekend is a celebration and why there is hope 
for us all.
  ``Thanks for listening, and God bless you.''
  That was Ronald Reagan, 1983. There is wisdom among the States. It 
all doesn't reside here in Washington, D.C. It can be found in 
brilliance, in schools, in workplaces, in coffee klatches, in places 
all over this God blessed country. Let's trust them. If we have 34 
States say, and next January would be a good time to work toward them 
and have momentum toward January of 2011 and in January of 2011, 34 
States say, you know what, Speaker of the House of Representatives, 
Leader of the Senate, it's time to have an amendment to the 
Constitution to preserve the rights reserved to the States under the 
9th and 10th amendment and the genius of this country as it has come 
together through the different amendments to ensure the rights and to 
ensure the ongoing of this blessed country can go on.
  That is the message I leave with you as I yield back, Madam Speaker.

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