| Pro-Life Caucus |
June 6, 2013 |
|
Trent Franks, R-AZ
|
|
"He reminded those he called posterity—those, us—that when in the distant future some man, some faction, some interest should set up a doctrine that some were not entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that their posterity—that is us, ladies and gentlemen—might look up again to the Declaration of Independence and take courage to renew the battle which their fathers began."
|
|
| Brandon Pullig |
May 21, 2013 |
|
Pete Olson, R-TX
|
|
"Ever since the times of the philosopher John Locke to Revolutionary heroes such as Patrick Henry and Thomas Paine to the current President Barack Obama, people have had many different beliefs on how government should play a role in our lives. While there have been differing views since the start, there has been one thing in common; the explicit disagreement on the role of which government should follow. Yes, everyone believes their opinion is correct because that is the definition of a belief. However, I write today not to share why my beliefs are correct nor to express how the U.S. Government should be leading the nation, but to tell my Congress, the most powerful body of our government, what not to do. Now, I digress momentarily to inform you that I am not a writer. I am not a literary mastermind who can reach into thin air, pick out the perfect sentence, and transfer it onto paper for all to read. No; I am but a worried 17 year-old, frightened for the future of our country. Thus being said, I apologize for my lack of professionalism and formality. When asked to write this, I saw it as an opportunity to directly communicate with Congress and not as an assignment to write about my feelings whilst hiding behind fancy words causing a lack of personality. Ergo, I plead with you to listen to what I have to say and to take it to heart. As a young man on the verge of becoming part of the “real world,” leaving high school behind, I find it crucial that I involve myself into the world of government, trying to find what makes it tick. By doing so, I have found that our government is fantastic. The system our founding fathers established is the only reason we, as a nation, have survived the past 236 years. We have evolved the governmental process commendably as well. These facts do not, unfortunately, make up for the horrendous damage politics have caused. The concept of politics has torn apart our government. The lack of cooperation between the two major parties in the last decade and a half has been detrimental to the well being of our nation. Of course our government should tax, regulate trade, deal with foreign nations, create laws to protect the rights of the people, etc. Yet, we have fixated our beliefs so heavily on the ideals of one party or the other and I, as a concerned citizen, am tired of the gridlock that has been hopefully unintentionally created. I urge you to remember the prosperous years in which our nation’s leaders, Congress, set aside their party and worked for the better good of all people. This may be hard to do because our minds have been corrupted into thinking black and white, but remember the generation—my generation—that must live with the mistakes made by the Republican and Democratic leaders who were too ignorant to look past their parties’ beliefs and to accept what will benefit all. I write to defend my generation and for you to remember the true role of our government, which is to “establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.”"
|
|
| Making Life Work For American Families |
April 23, 2013 |
|
Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-WA
|
|
"Unfair. As Republicans, we do often look at posterity. We’re talking about the next generation. And we should. But I will argue that it’s actually unfair to today’s generation, to the 67-year-old who just retired with the private-sector job and has a 401(k). The inflation that’s coming from this debt is going to hit him and his wife, who were savers. It’s unfair to the teacher in a public school classroom when the Federal Government makes promises it cannot keep. It overspends, overspends, and then it’s going to cut her hours, add to her class sizes."
|
|
| Marketplace Fairness Act 0F 2013—Motion To Proceed |
April 22, 2013 |
|
Al Franken, D-MN
|
|
"We need to start by having a conversation about climate change. It would be irresponsible to avoid the issue because it is uncomfortable to talk about. The stakes are too high and we would be shirking our responsibility to our constituents, to our children, to our grandchildren, and to posterity. The discussion is not going to be easy because there are going to be painful tradeoffs. I certainly don’t have all the answers. I do know we need to have the conversation. We cannot leave this issue to future generations. I have a grandchild on the way—my first. I don’t want to look back and tell him that when his grandfather was in a position to do something about climate change, he chose not to because it involved some politically difficult choices. I don’t want to tell him that we compromised our moral integrity for political expediency."
|
|