Ron Paul Quotes.com 2003 Ron Paul Chapter 53 Ron Paul Quotes.com: Against $15 Billion To Fight AIDS In Africa 1 May 2003 Home Page   Contents Congressional Record (Page H3577)   Cached Not linked on Ron Paul’s Congressional website.

Against $15 Billion To Fight AIDS In Africa 1 May 2003 Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. PAUL). (Mr. PAUL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.) 2003 Ron Paul 53:1 Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, I want to call attention to something in the committee report that I consider an error, and I would like to make a suggestion so that it might not occur again. This particular legislation, not the rule as much as the legislation, I am not in support of for various reasons. 2003 Ron Paul 53:2 One, I think the odds are very slim that it is going to do a whole lot of good. It is very well-intended. I am a physician, and I cannot think of anything better than to wipe out AIDS in Africa, or in the United States, for that matter. But $15 billion going to Africa on a questionable program bothers me because at the same time, we are cutting benefits to our veterans and also the elderly have a hard time getting medical care here. So there is a practical argument against the legislation. 2003 Ron Paul 53:3 In the bill and in the amendments, there is a lot of social engineering going on. I think if we are going to do any social engineering or social suggestions, it ought to be here and we ought not be naive enough to think we can change habits that exist in Africa. 2003 Ron Paul 53:4 But the point I wanted to bring up is the authority for doing programs like this. We have a rule in the House that we have to cite the constitutional authority, for the legislation we’re dealing with. The committee report cites the authority from a very important section of the Constitution, article I, section 8, because literally we, the Congress, get our marching orders from article I, section 8, which is the section of the Constitution relating to making all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution the powers vested by the Constitution. 2003 Ron Paul 53:5 Well, that is where the shortcoming comes because if we read the Constitution, at the end of article I, section 8, it says, “To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers.” Therefore, the “necessary and proper” clause is explicitly designed to give the authority to write the laws for the foregoing powers. Believe me, we will not find any authority in article I, section 8 for dealing with medical care problems in Africa. 2003 Ron Paul 53:6 I find it interesting here because quite often one side of the aisle when they do not like legislation will use my argument in this case, and other times it is the other side of the aisle. So everybody makes my argument one time or the other. My suggestion is if the Constitution means anything, and if article I, section 8 means anything, it ought to be applied across the board or we ought to change the Constitution and say this is a mandate from the American people that we should pursue missionary work in Africa. 2003 Ron Paul 53:7 But most likely nobody is going to propose a change in the Constitution, the Constitution will not be changed, so the Congress chooses to ignore the Constitution when it feel like it; therefore, we have reduced the Constitution to something that has very little value anymore.

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