[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 4114]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL BY JESSICA HUANG

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. PETE OLSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 12, 2016

  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 from across the political spectrum that 
sheds a light on the concerns of our younger constituents. Giving voice 
to their priorities will hopefully instill 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 them with my House colleagues.
  Jessica Huang attends Dawson High School in Sugar Land, Texas. The 
essay topic is: With Liberty and Justice for all.

       ``You will never be a part of Congress.'' To this day, this 
     statement by a past mentor is one of the main motivators that 
     pushes me to strive towards my vocational goal of working in 
     the government, and working my way up to become a state 
     representative or senator someday. To any rational person, 
     one could see that the numbers are against me--only about a 
     fifth of Congress is women, and 11 members are Asian. Thus, 
     being an Asian female, the overwhelming tide of numbers is 
     clearly not in favor of my aspirations. Nevertheless, these 
     numbers and my fifth grade teacher, who did not believe I had 
     a chance simply due to my ethnicity and background, did not 
     phase me. Through passion, empathy, and commitment, I 
     strongly believe that I will one day be able to sit on 
     Capitol Hill, in spite of my race, my gender, or others who 
     believe I do not have a chance to make it as an Asian female 
     politician.
       I have always been interested in how government functions; 
     it amazes me how much influence one person or representative 
     can have over millions of people. I realize how necessary 
     government is, and we need a government not only to protect 
     us, but to represent us, to make life fair and equal for all. 
     Yet, I have always found something quite contradictory in the 
     above statement that, if a democratic government such as ours 
     was meant to `represent' its people, why are our 
     representatives mostly Anglo-Saxon? Mostly male? Mostly of 
     the upper class? It seems as if only a small portion of the 
     American population even has a say or a position; yet 
     Americans believe they are all `free' and `equal.' That may 
     be true on paper, but when observing whole group or crowds of 
     people, skepticism can set in.
       This is what makes the political process so challenging in 
     my opinion--the lack of representation in Congress of 
     minority groups can make many feel oppressed, and students 
     like me feel like we don't have a chance to achieve our 
     dreams and goals. Regardless, I hope to be a part of the 
     change--to become a Congresswoman and be an example to 
     younger minority Americans who aspire to be government 
     officials, too. After all, if we wish to be world leaders in 
     the international community, we must first figure out 
     internal politics to truly give ``liberty and justice for 
     all.''

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