Kika de la Garza Quotes

When requested to have the assembly remove items in the proposed constitution at the last minute:

The Constitution sets the majority of each house as a quorum in order to conduct any business. Minorities, in order to obstruct proceedings, would often refuse to answer their names when a quorum call would made even though they were present in the House, Therefore they claimed they could not be counted towards a quorum. In those days there were always absences due to illness, transportation, family emergencies and the like. So the majority had to have most of its members on the floor at all times if the minority wanted too obstruct. The minority claimed it was their right under the Constitution, Reed said that interpreting the Constitution that way was tantamount to suicide for the House. He then changed the rule, and simply counted as present any member who was observed to be present, whether he answered a quorum call or not.

This was one of the worst Congresses in American History and had the worst productivity record—passing very few bills, and none of any significance. The anti-government, Tea Party hyper-conservative Wing of the Republican Party intimidated the Speaker of the House and they were opposed to any compromise at all on anything.

While England was under attack by the Germans in World War II, Congress was debating Roosevelt's proposal for lend-lease. The president had set the passage of this legislation as his main priority, and a critical meeting between Churchill and Roosevelt was deferred until passage was obtained. Roosevelt dispatched Hopkins to London. Urging a prompt meeting, Hopkins cabled:

The "administrative state" was the term used for a government had had powers and used them to regulate things and areas of society without each specific regulation being voted upon by the legislature. In America sicne the New Deal there have been so many areas that have regulations that a single agency like the Environmental Protection Agency might issue in a year more regulations than the entire Congress considers in all areas put together. All these regulatory powers are delegated by Congress passing legislation authorizing it, and Congress can legislate any change in any regulation it wants, but the modern state is so complesx and areas so specialzied that Congress has preferred to delegate. There are a few who legal scholars and politicians who believe that it is unconstitutional for the legislature to delegate powers to the executive branch and no regulations have validity unless specifically passed by Comgress. There are some others who have not taken a position on this point but who believe that of an administrative state can regulate phases of citizens lives it is bound to circumscribe personal freedom as all legislation does to some extent. This quotation was used by opponents of Judge Gorsuch in arguing that he was unfit for the Supreme Court as he was out of touch with the Administrative State which America gradually became and rapidly in the New Deal and in the 80 years thereafter a very extensive administrative state. Gorsuch's views were based on classic political pholosophy but there were some ultra conservatives who did not want any regulation of business by Congress or Administrative Agencies and therefore supported Gorsuch and the few others with this view as if Agencies were not able to issue regulations there was no practical way that Congress could issue as many and regulation would be reduced which is what they desired.

The bills and legislative processes in Congress had become so large and convoluted that literally members of Congress either voted on bills that were so lage that they rarely read the entire bill or on procedures so arcane that the members could not determine ehate they were voting for. As a result most just followed the lead of their party's Congrssional Leadership.