Mr. Speaker, I will yield 2 minutes to the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. PAUL).
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas is recognized for 2 minutes.
1998 Ron Paul 77:1
Mr. PAUL.
I thank the gentlelady for yielding me time. I ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks.
1998 Ron Paul 77:3
Mr. PAUL.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the
rule but in opposition to H.R. 3682, the
Child Custody Protection Act, because
it is seriously flawed. Although well
motivated, the problem we are dealing
with is the breakdown of the American
family, respect for life and abortion,
not too much freedom to travel between
States.
1998 Ron Paul 77:4
Having delivered nearly 4,000 babies
in my three decades of medical practice
and having seen the destructiveness
of abortion, I strongly agree that
legalized abortion is the most egregious
of all current social policies. It
clearly symbolizes the moral decline
America has experienced in the last 30
years.
1998 Ron Paul 77:5
However, Federal law restricting
interstate travel, no matter how well
intended, will serve no useful purpose,
will not prevent abortions, and, indeed,
will have many unintended consequences.
1998 Ron Paul 77:6
It’s ironic that if this bill is passed
into law, it will go into effect at approximately
the same time that the
Department of Transportation will impose
a National I.D. card on all Americans. This bill only gives the Federal
Government and big government proponents
one more reason to impose the
National I.D. card on all of us. So be
prepared to show your papers as you
travel about the U.S. You may be
transporting a teenager.
1998 Ron Paul 77:7
There is already a legal vehicle for
dealing with this problem. Many States
currently prohibit adults from taking
underage teenagers across State lines
for the purpose of marriage. And States
have reciprocal agreements respecting
this approach. This is the proper way
to handle this problem.
1998 Ron Paul 77:8
Most importantly, this bill fails to
directly address the cause of the problem
we face regarding abortion, which
is the absurdity of our laws permitting
the killing of an infant 1 minute before
birth, or even during birth, and a doctor
getting paid for it, while calling
this same action murder 1 minute after
birth.
1998 Ron Paul 77:9
The solution will ultimately come
when the Federal Government and Federal
courts get out of the way and
allow States to protect the unborn. If
that were the case, we wouldn’t have
to consider dangerous legislation like
this with the many unforeseen circumstances.
1998 Ron Paul 77:11
Our federal government is, constitutionally,
a government of limited powers. Article one,
Section eight, enumerates the legislative areas
for which the U.S. Congress is allowed to act
or enact legislation. For every other issue, the
federal government lacks any authority or consent
of the governed and only the state governments,
their designees, or the people in
their private market actions enjoy such rights
to governance. The tenth amendment is brutally
clear in stating
“The powers not delegated
to the United States by the Constitution,
nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved
to the States respectively, or to the people.”
Our nation’s history makes clear that the U.S. Constitution is a document intended to limit
the power of central government. No serious
reading of historical events surrounding the
creation of the Constitution could reasonably
portray it differently.
1998 Ron Paul 77:12
Nevertheless, rather than abide by our constitutional
limits, Congress today will likely
pass H.R. 3682. H.R. 3682 amends title 18,
United States Code, to prohibit taking minors
across State lines to avoid laws requiring the
involvement of parents in abortion decisions. Should parents be involved in decisions regarding
the health of their children? Absolutely. Should the law respect parents rights to
not have their children taken across state lines
for contemptible purposes? Absolutely. Can a
state pass an enforceable statute to prohibit
taking minors across State lines to avoid laws
requiring the involvement of parents in abortion
decisions? Absolutely. But when asked if
there exists constitutional authority for the federal
criminalizing of just such an action the answer
is absolutely not.
1998 Ron Paul 77:13
This federalizing may have the effect of nationalizing
a law with criminal penalties which
may be less than those desired by some
states. To the extent the federal and state
laws could co-exist, the necessity for a federal
law is undermined and an important bill of
rights protection is virtually obliterated. Concurrent
jurisdiction crimes erode the right of
citizens to be free of double jeopardy. The fifth
amendment to the U.S. Constitution specifies
that no
“person be subject for the same offense
to be twice put in jeopardy of life or
limb . . . .”
In other words, no person shall be tried
twice for the same offense. However in United
States v. Lanza, the high court in 1922 sustained
a ruling that being tried by both the federal
government and a state government for
the same offense did not offend the doctrine
of double jeopardy. One danger of unconstitutionally
expanding the federal criminal justice
code is that it seriously increases the danger
that one will be subject to being tried twice for
the same offense. Despite the various pleas
for federal correction of societal wrongs, a national
police force is neither prudent nor constitutional.
1998 Ron Paul 77:14
The argument which springs from the criticism
of a federalized criminal code and a federal
police force is that states may be less effective
than a centralized federal government
in dealing with those who leave one state jurisdiction
for another. Fortunately, the Constitution
provides for the procedural means for
preserving the integrity of state sovereignty
over those issues delegated to it via the Tenth
Amendment. The privilege and immunities
clause as well as full faith and credit clause
allow states to exact judgments from those
who violate their state laws. The Constitution
even allows the federal government to legislatively
preserve the procedural mechanisms
which allow states to enforce their substantive
laws without the federal government imposing
its substantive edicts on the states. Article IV,
Section 2, Clause 2 makes provision for the
rendition of fugitives from one state to another.
1998 Ron Paul 77:15
While not self-enacting, in 1783 Congress
passed an act which did exactly this. There is,
of course, a cost imposed upon states in
working with one another rather than relying
on a national, unified police force. At the same
time, there is a greater cost to centralization of
police power.
1998 Ron Paul 77:16
It is important to be reminded of the benefits
of federalism as well as the costs. There are
sound reasons to maintain a system of smaller,
independent jurisdictions. An inadequate
federal law, or a “adequate” federal improperly
interpreted by the Supreme Court, preempts
states’ rights to adequately address
public health concerns. Roe v. Wade should
serve as a sad reminder of the danger of making
matters worse in all states by federalizing
an issue.
1998 Ron Paul 77:17
It is my erstwhile hope that parents will become
more involved in vigilantly monitoring
the activities of their own children rather than
shifting parental responsibility further upon the
federal government. There was a time when a
popular bumper sticker read
“It’s ten o’clock;
do you know where your children are?”
I suppose we have devolved to a point where it reads
“It’s ten o’clock; does the federal government
know where your children are.”
Further socializing and
burden-shifting of the responsibilities
of parenthood upon the federal government is simply not creating the proper
incentive for parents to be more involved.
1998 Ron Paul 77:18
For each of these reasons, among others, I
must oppose the further and unconstitutional
centralization of police power in the national
government and, accordingly, H.R. 3682.
Notes:
1998 Ron Paul Chapter 77
1998 Ron Paul 77:1 through 1998 Ron Paul 77:10 were spoken on the House floor. The rest
of this speech is an extension of remarks inserted into the Congressional Record.
1998 Ron Paul 77:1 I thank the gentlelady for yielding me time.
Here, Ron Paul thanks The Honorable Louise McIntosh Slaughter of New York.
