March Toward a More Perfect Union

Floor Speech

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Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Thank you very much, Congressman Jeffries. I
also thank in his absence the gentleman from Nevada, Congressman
Horsford. The two of you have been almost inseparable when it comes to
these Special Order hours. I want to compliment you on the outstanding
job that you have done.
I would also like to compliment Congressman Horsford for the
outstanding job that he has done on the Financial Services Committee.
He brought his talents. He brought his brilliance, and he has
represented his constituents exceedingly well, and I know that in the
annals of history, when they look back through the vista of time, it
will be said that he served us well in the Congress of the United
States of America.
With reference to the relevant question of the hour, as it relates to
a more perfect Union, as we ponder and query where we go from here, it
was appropriate, I think, that you introduced this topic by referencing
President Lincoln.
It was appropriate because you are eminently correct. It was a time
of great turmoil when he announced that he would issue the Emancipation
Proclamation, and in January of 1863, when he issued the Emancipation
Proclamation, the country was in the midst of a Civil War, being torn
apart.
There was much to be said about his announcement that he would issue
the Emancipation Proclamation. There was great debate, and there were many
people who said that it should not be done, that it was not worth the
paper it would be written on, to be quite candid with you, it was said,
because it would only free the slaves in the States that had left the
Union, States that, quite candidly, at the time, he had no control
over.
But he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, and I thank God that he
did, because by issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, he laid the
foundation for the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United
States of America that was in fact executed in December 1865.
But for the Emancipation Proclamation, I don't know that I would be
standing here in the Congress of the United States of America tonight.
By issuing that Emancipation Proclamation, he changed the course of
history.
Dr. King was right, ``The arc of the moral universe is long, but it
bends towards justice.'' However, it doesn't do it on its own accord.
It takes the hand of man and women to bend it, so I am pleased that he
did so.
I am also pleased that there was another opportunity for a President
to forge a more perfect Union. President Harry Truman had the
opportunity in 1948 to issue an executive order, as was the case with
Lincoln and the executive order for the Emancipation Proclamation. He
issued an executive order to desegregate the military.

There was much to be said about it. In fact, that executive order led
to the birth of the Dixiecrats. There was a split in the Democratic
Party because the Honorable Harry Truman decided that he would issue
Executive Order 9981, to desegregate the military.
He issued it, the military was desegregated, and I contend that this
was also one of the many reasons why the country itself moved along to
desegregation and integration.
These were two outstanding and well-noted executive orders issued by
Presidents of the United States. If President Lincoln could issue an
executive order--an Emancipation Proclamation--if Harry Truman could
issue an executive order--to desegregate the military--surely,
President Barack Obama can issue an executive order to liberate many
people who are living in the shadows of life, an immigration
declaration, if you will. I believe the President should issue this
order, notwithstanding all that is being said.
There was much being said and much being done when Lincoln issued his
executive order, much said and much being done when Truman issued his,
much said and much being done now, but I think the President should do
this, and I think he should be bold when he does it because he will be
lifting people out of the shadows of life.
I am confident that while many will be angry with him, God will not.
I think God will smile on the President for issuing this executive
order.
More than 15,000 executive orders have been issued. Not one President
has ever been impeached for issuing an executive order, not one. There
is talk of impeaching President Obama.
If we didn't impeach Lincoln and we didn't impeach Truman and we
didn't impeach Reagan and we didn't impeach many of the other
Presidents who have signed the more than 15,000 executive orders, I
don't think that we ought to impeach President Obama.
Finally this, as an aside: there is much talk about the President's
legacy and what he has done to form a more perfect Union while being
President, if you will, but all of this talk about his legacy misses
the mark, in my opinion, because there are many who think that the
Affordable Care Act will be the centerpiece of his legacy.
I think it is a great piece of legislation. I supported it. I still
support it. There are many who think that saving the auto industry
would be his legacy. I think this is significant, exceedingly so. I
supported what he did.
There are others who believe that his work in human rights and human
dignity, especially as it relates for equal pay for equal work for
women, will be his legacy. I think it is a great piece of work, and I
commend him for what he has done.
But the President's legacy in the eons to come will be that he became
President of the United States of America. The mere fact that the
Honorable Barack Obama was elected not once, but twice, speaks to our
efforts to form a more perfect Union.
I think that his greatest legacy will be his having served as
President of the United States of America. That fact alone will be
something that we will never, ever erase from history.
I thank you for the opportunity to visit with you, and I pray that
the President will be bold and sign the executive order, will lead with
the executive order that may lead to comprehensive immigration reform
and a pathway to citizenship for those who are living in the shadows of
life. God bless you.

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