[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3148]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT

  (Mr. FARENTHOLD asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, on February 23, the Justice Department 
announced it would no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act. The 
Defense of Marriage Act was a bipartisan effort to preserve the 
sanctity of marriage that, among other things, defined marriage as a 
legal union between a man and a woman.
  The Attorney General and President have independently determined that 
this is unconstitutional. Anyone who's taken a civics class or a 
government course will tell you that's not the President's or the 
Justice Department's job. It's the Supreme Court's job. This is an 
express violation of the separation of powers principle found in the 
Constitution, and it presents a dangerous precedent for future 
administrations to follow.
  Regardless of where you stand on this issue, whether marriage is a 
biblically sanctioned union between a man and a woman or otherwise, 
there could be no doubt that this power grab by the President and the 
Justice Department is not what our Founding Fathers intended when they 
created the checks and balances system of our Constitution.
  The Obama administration, if it disagrees with a law passed by 
Congress and signed by a previous President, it should use the 
legislative process to change that law--not usurp the power of another 
branch of government.
  This is not a gay rights issue. This is a separation of powers issue.

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