[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16279-16280]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                WE ARE THE GREATEST NATION ON THE PLANET

  (Mr. CARDENAS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CARDENAS. Mr. Speaker, I feel compelled to take this opportunity 
to remind us how great we are as a country, but also to remind 
ourselves that we are as great as we are as individuals collectively 
that make our country so great, a country where anyone can practice 
whatever faith they choose to practice.
  You can come to this country from whatever part of the world and 
start anew and perhaps reach heights that you could never dream of in 
other places. We still are the greatest nation on the planet.
  I am compelled to say these words because far too often I see, almost 
everywhere I turn, where people want to leave this country. They talk 
about how we are not great and how we need to get back to greatness.
  We have never lost that greatness. I think it is really important for 
us to understand, as Members of Congress, that our responsibility is to 
guide this country and to legislate and to make decisions, but to 
always keep in mind those fundamental responsibilities that we have 
held true for so many hundreds of years in this country and that we are 
blessed to be the greatest nation on the planet. The only way that we 
can do that is if we take our personal

[[Page 16280]]

responsibilities to heart and exercise that every single day.

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