Enumerated Powers Act

Madam Speaker, to honor the request of a group of citizens from Burleson, Texas in my district, I rise today to enter into the Record the following resolution:

The Burleson Declaration

When, in the course of human events it becomes necessary

for ``we the people'' of the United States to remind our

federal government of it's constitutional limits, duty

demands that we communicate our grievances and petition for

redress under the First Amendment of the United States

Constitution.

We begin by reaffirming the core values on which our

forefathers founded this Constitutional Republic.

We hold these truths to be self evident--that all men are

created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with

certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life,

Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

That to secure these rights our forefathers instituted a

limited federal government which derives its just powers from

the consent of the governed--but the history of our Federal

government is one of continual over-reaching beyond it's

constitutional mandate to secure domestic tranquility,

provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare

and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our

posterity.

We are therefore peaceably assembled here in Burleson,

Texas on this April 15th, 2009 to demand that the Federal

government immediately cease it's abridgement of the People's

rights, and the state's rights.

We call on our District 17 U.S. Representative Chet Edwards

to read this our petition for redress on the House floor so

that it may be entered into the official record of the House.

We call on our U.S. Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and John

Cornyn to enter our petition into the Senate record. We call

on President Barak Hussein Obama to veto all legislation and

desist from Executive Orders which contravene the will of the

people herein expressed.

Whereas, the encouragement of private and public debt by

the federal government has brought America to the brink of

financial devastation, and has made us a debtor nation;

Whereas, history proves government spending has never

succeeded in curing an economic downturn, but rather serves

only to deepen and prolong it, snowballing debt for future

calamity;

Whereas, government takeovers of banks and financial

institutions move America ever further from the free-

enterprise principles that have brought the nation prosperity

for 233 years, and bring it closer to Socialism;

Whereas, bailouts of private corporations represent a

counterproductive response to what is, essentially, a

government-induced crisis, and effectively make the President

the CEO of private corporations;

Whereas, the current level of irresponsible government

spending is bankrupting this country, burdening our children

and great-grandchildren with never-ending debt, and making

the United States a servant to lender nations such as

Communist China;

Whereas, redistribution of wealth by government for the

purpose of achieving ``social justice'' is immoral and a

proven failure:

We hereby demand an end to all further ``stimulus''

spending, corporate bailouts, ``earmarks,'' pork projects,

welfare programs, higher tax rates and attempts to

nationalize industries. We reject socialism, no matter how it

is packaged. And we pledge to hold accountable any and all

elected officials who continue to pursue this course that is

rapidly leading America to ruin. We remind the government

that we are guaranteed a Republican form of Government in the

constitution. (Article 4, Section 4)

We hereby petition Congress to repeal the Emergency

Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 which unconstitutionally

delegated to the Executive Branch the spending decision of

700 Billion dollars. We call on the government to immediately

divest itself of GM, AIG, and all private corporations, and

to provide an exact accounting of all TARP funds spent to

date. We demand the repeal of H.R. 1106, which forces

American families pay the mortgage for those who received

loans they did not qualify for.

We petition Congress to repeal the Omnibus Appropriations

Act of 2009 (H.R. 1105), and that the budget bill under

consideration be killed which has a net tax hike of $1.35

trillion.

We petition Congress for passage of H.R. 450 the Enumerated

Powers Act, to require Congress to specify the source of

authority under the United States Constitution for the

enactment of laws, and for other purposes.

We petition Congress for a final end to the death tax which

effectively double taxes every citizen's income and usurps

our right to transfer wealth to our posterity. This abridges

our constitutional right to be safe in our effects, papers

and property.

We reject the cap-and-trade energy tax, which Candidate

Obama admitted would ``cause electricity rates to

skyrocket.''

We reject the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 which

will force onerous certification and inspection requirements

on family farms and could make private vegetable gardens

unlawful and turn the farmers market into a black market.

(H.R. 875)

We reject the deceptively named Employee Free Choice Act

which takes from the American worker the right to privately

ballot whether to organize labor, or not, and makes them

subject to union intimidation and bullying. (H.R. 800)

We reject the so called ``Ted Kennedy Serve America Act''

which forces our youth into involuntary servitude and

subjects them to years of indoctrination. This is a violation

of the 13th Amendment to our constitution which abolished

slavery and involuntary servitude except when duly convicted

of a crime. (H.R. 1388)

We reject all encroachment upon our 2nd Amendment right to

keep and bear arms. An armed populace is the greatest

preservative of the Republic against tyrants. We reject all

attempts to limit access to ammunition. We reject the

reinstatement of the Failed 1994 Gun and Magazine ban.

As Ronald Wilson Reagan has said: ``There are those in

America today who have come to depend absolutely on

government for their security. And when government fails they

seek to rectify that failure [by giving] government more

power . . . at the expense of the Constitution. . . . in

their willingness to give up their arms in the name of

safety, they are really giving up their protection from what

has always been the chief source of despotism--government.''

We reject government run Health Care which would give

bureaucrats the power to ration health care. This leads to an

Orwellian society where government ultimately decides the

time and circumstance of every citizen's death.

Finally, we reject the current `Create a Crisis' method of

controlling the people of the United States. As Texas

Congressman Ron Paul correctly stated, ``Whenever something

terrible happens, people reflexively demand that government

do something. This impulse almost always leads to bad laws

and the loss of liberty.''

We say that we do not trust in the Nanny-state, we choose

instead to believe in the Constitution, in our fellow

Americans, in the free enterprise system, and in our God.

To these principles we pledge our lives, our fortunes, and

our sacred honor, and witness our determination by our

signature affixed below. We demand that our elected

representatives make it their highest priority to address

these grievances or face certain expulsion from office, and

we strongly suggest they add their signature to ours.

Signed in Burleson, Texas, April 15th, 2009 by WE THE