The Rule Of Law

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. You sure did, Judge. I want to thank you for bringing this up. It's just not who these folks are that we don't know; it's what they step on. I look at this as sort of the fourth or the stealth branch of government.

I came here, I know all my colleagues here, certainly the freshmen, we came knowing that we have a serious responsibility to fulfill on the different committees of jurisdiction that we're appointed to. I bring up just one example, the car czar, and what has happened to the auto industry in this country.

As I could tell, I expected when we had these issues, that we have a committee, I believe it's called Energy and Commerce, that would have dealt with the issues surrounding that industry. And yet everything that has happened in the car industry, of firing an executive from a private organization, to taking over ownership of General Motors, to dictating winners and losers in terms of the auto dealerships, all directed under the leadership of a czar.

Frankly, I know that that's the responsibility of Congress. We have a responsibility to approach that carefully and judiciously and make those types of decisions. The Constitution provided us that authority and that responsibility, and the czars are just stepping all over the Constitution.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source