[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 4794]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING ERIKA GARZA

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. PETE OLSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 16, 2012

  Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to interact with some of the 
brightest students in the 22nd Congressional District who serve on my 
Congressional Youth Advisory Council. I have gained much by listening 
to the high school students who are the future of this great nation. 
They provide important insight into the concerns of our younger 
constituents and hopefully get a better sense of the importance of 
being an active participant in the political process. Many of the 
students have written short essays on a variety of topics and I am 
pleased to share these with my House colleagues.
  Erika Garza is a senior at Pasadena Memorial High School in Harris 
County, Texas. Her essay topic is: In your opinion, what role should 
government play in our lives?

       The role of the government is to represent, help, and speak 
     out for its people. Specifically, when dealing with the 
     government of the United States, it is basically supposed to 
     be ruled by the people, for the people. The public, although 
     not everybody does it, participates in the government by 
     voting. We vote representatives into office, with the thought 
     that they have the intention to make a difference in our 
     country, dealing with specific issues that we believe need to 
     be changed. The government has many different levels to it, 
     yet it is composed of people who come from similar 
     backgrounds and wanted to be the voice for their fellow 
     people. This is not an easy task, as it takes a lot of hard 
     work and time to be elected into office. Once a person is 
     elected into office, their job becomes even more difficult. 
     They then have to try and do what is best for the people but 
     also have to deal with other representatives as well who have 
     the complete opposite opinions. Not all the elected think 
     alike, nor do they have the same goals, which makes making 
     laws or setting standards difficult. Yet, their main focus is 
     to represent the people who have chosen them to do what 
     others in the past have failed to do. That is basically the 
     role of the government and how people participate it in 
     daily.

                          ____________________