CONGRESS And The Constitution

[Emery McClendon]

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The Honorable John Boehner, Speaker
United States House of Representatives
Office of the Speaker
H-232 The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Speaker Boehner:

The reading of our Constitution at the opening of the 112th Congress was certainly an historic event. Our Constitution is a remarkable document that contains the principles upon which this great country was founded, and upon which we have thrived for over 234 years. Our Founding Fathers were able to clearly and concisely articulate these principles in a single document of only 4400 words – the very words that were read on January 5, 2011, by our Representatives. 
We applaud the 112th Congress for going back to the Constitution as its starting point. With that said, we believe that our Constitution deserves a regular place in Congress and suggest that this document be read aloud often in its entirety with the entire Congress seated in the audience. We also suggest that in order to more fully convey its meaning and deliver its impact, it should be read in larger sections with less interruption. 
The reading conducted on January 5th, while historical and important, was not attended by the entire Congress and many of those that did attend only attended for a portion of the reading. What picture does this paint? Congressional sessions today are too often a single Representative talking to an empty room and the CSPAN cameras in one or two minute sound bites. Do we want to reduce the reading of the Constitution to this? We should revere our Constitution and give it the respect that it deserves. Surely, our Representatives have time to sit and listen to a reading of this document, the document that they swear to uphold, at least once a year. 
We humbly request that you give consideration to making the reading of our Constitution a regular and required part of each Congress. We suggest that the Constitution be read with minimum interruption by only four to six readers. Most importantly, we believe that all members of Congress should be required to attend the entire reading. 
With such a great start, we expect the 112th Congress to succeed in bringing us closer to our Constitutional roots, limiting the role of government, and making the House of Representatives truly the “People’s House.”

Sincerely;

 

YOUR NAME AND INFORMATION

 

[Sandra]

Very true Emery!

[Emery McClendon]

We must keep hammering them until they do.  Any action on our part is better than NO action.  That is the reason for the letter.

[Sandra]

Yes, it was good that they did it, but did they understand the Constitution?

[Emery McClendon]

Thanks!  Let them hear our VOICES by letter.

[PHILIP SCHNEIDER]

Thanks Emery. I'm going to do just that.