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January 19, 2011 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE, Vol. 157, Pt. 1 473 By misinterpreting the general wel- Will only gold and silver be called lege it was to serve under his leader- fare clause, the interstate commerce legal tender? ship. clause, and the ‘‘necessary and proper’’ Will we end all of the unconstitu- With the Peace Corps, Sargent Shriv- clause, Congress has justified every tional Federal departments, including er took President Kennedy’s vision of conceivable expansion of the Federal the Department of Energy, Education, service and optimism and built it into Government. Congress also has mis- Agriculture, Commerce, Health and one of America’s best institutions. interpreted the 14th Amendment and Human Services, Homeland Security, After 3 years as Director of the agency, legislated as though it had repealed the and Labor? the Peace Corps had more than 6,500 10th Amendment. Sadly, Congress has Will the Patriot Act be repealed and volunteers serving in more than 50 de- also systematically abdicated its pre- all of the warrantless searches stopped? veloping countries. He once told me the rogatives and responsibilities to the ex- Will TSA be restrained or abolished? story that in those days, with the ecutive branch over many decades. Will the IRS’s unconstitutional col- President’s own budgeting, they were Too many people, in and out of Con- lection powers end? able to place Peace Corps volunteers in gress, grew up being taught that the Will executive and judicial quasi-leg- Latin America and Africa before Con- Constitution was malleable. This has islative powers be ended? gress ever got around to authorizing allowed judicial, legislative, and execu- Will we end the Federal war on the program. tive flexibility to make the Constitu- drugs? These volunteers showed the world tion ‘‘a modern living document.’’ Will we end the Federal Govern- the true American values of peace, Though the authors allowed for ‘‘flexi- ment’s involvement in medical care? prosperity, and opportunity that had bility’’ through the amendment proc- Will we end all of the Federal Gov- been eclipsed by the Cold War. ess, this process has been ignored for ernment’s illusionary insurance pro- Over the past 50 years, through war the sake of speed and convenience. grams? and conflict, Sarge’s foundational work Will we ban secret prisons, trials of the Peace Corps has enabled volun- b 1820 without due process, and assassina- teers to show the world a hopeful, up- As a result, the Constitution now has tions? lifting side of America that reflects our little meaning since most Members pay Will we end our foreign policy of in- fundamental values of service and tol- only lip service when taking their oath vasion and occupation? erance. to obey it. For America to once again become Today, Sarge’s legacy lives on in a But I am encouraged by our growing the standard for a free society, our love quarter million Americans who have grassroots interest in the Constitution, of liberty and desire for peace must far served as Peace Corps volunteers in 139 especially among the younger genera- surpass any public display of fidelity to countries around the world, all in the tion. I am glad Congress is becoming the Constitution. We must first look to name of peace and goodwill. aware of it. strong moral character, respect for the Beyond the Peace Corps, Sargent Our Constitution should be viewed as rule of law, and an understanding of Shriver was actively engaged in civic law, and Members of Congress should the proper role of government in a free society. He served as Ambassador to be expected to follow the rule of law. society. France; leader of the War on Poverty But a document is just that, and it is f as the first Director of the Office of only as good as the character of those Economic Opportunity, which began who represent us and promise to obey REMEMBERING SARGENT SHRIVER the Head Start program, which began it. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a VISTA, Volunteers in Service to Amer- Distorted interpretations come easily previous order of the House, the gen- ica; and as a Vice Presidential can- when the goal is opposite of what the tleman from California (Mr. FARR) is didate. His touch can be found on some original authors intended and what the recognized for 5 minutes. of our Nation’s finest efforts, including plain text provides. Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to- the Special Olympics and racial inte- If true liberty is not our goal, per- night very sadly to talk a little bit gration. sistent efforts to rationalize misinter- about one of the greatest Americans of But above all, Sarge’s devotion to pretations and circumvent the Con- our generation, a true American hero, public service was beyond reproach. stitution will continue. in my view, Sargent Shriver. Like his wife, Eunice, who really start- Without men and women of character I really have to say I am also very ed the Special Olympics—and I might in Congress, respect for the rule of law upset that the Republican leadership add that the Special Olympics is now and a love of liberty, the Constitution wouldn’t allow for a moment of silence in more countries than is the Peace becomes but a worthless piece of paper. in today’s session for such a distin- Corps—I can’t think of a married cou- Celebrating the Constitution without guished American. ple in America who have done more this understanding will do nothing to I rise today in honor of his life and worldwide than Eunice Shriver and restore the greatness of America. legacy. Sargent Shriver to help people in need. Simply praising the document dis- I got to meet Sargent Shriver when I I will always hold my special memo- tracts from the need for Members to was a Peace Corps trainee in 1963, ries of sharing Peace Corps stories with gain the courage to resist special inter- about 22 years old in a small, little Sargent Shriver—or Sarge, as we called ests; political self-interests; emergency town in New Mexico, Questa, New Mex- him. At various events that honored needs in times of crisis; fear-based eco- ico, and I was in awe that I, as a train- the agency, we both got to speak. And nomic myths; and the persistent temp- ee, could meet the first Director of the one of my most significant moments of tation to seek security over liberty Peace Corps. my life was the privilege of being pre- while ignoring personal responsibility He embodied the relentless spirit of sented with a Peace Corps Public Serv- and self-reliance. public service that makes America ice Award in 2006 by Sargent Shriver. Providing instruction in the Con- great. He will forever hold a special To all who knew him, Sargent Shriv- stitution for staff and/or Members begs place in our country’s history. I re- er was a man of tremendous heart and the question: Who will be the teacher? member just the vitality and spirit vision who leaves behind a living leg- I wonder, will this welcomed renewed that he had that drove me to want to acy of service and hope. That legacy of interest in the Constitution lead to a be a Peace Corps volunteer at a time public service lives on in the lives of healthy reassessment of all of our poli- when nobody really knew what they his children. Their mother died in 2009, cies? did because they hadn’t come home but today we have daughter Maria, who Will there be no more wars without yet. It was a risk, an adventure, and I is the first lady of California. We have an actual congressional declaration? was really not sure that it was the best their four other children: son Robert Will the Federal Reserve Act be re- thing to do. And yet I look back with Shriver of Santa Monica, who is an ac- pealed? pride and admiration and what a privi- tivist in California; former Maryland VerDate Mar 15 2010 12:19 Jan 09, 2014 Jkt 099102 PO 00000 Frm 00073 Fmt 0688 Sfmt 0634 J:\BR_BACKUP\H19JA1.002 H19JA1 WREIER-AVILES on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with BOUND RECORD 474 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE, Vol. 157, Pt. 1 January 19, 2011 delegate, Mark Shriver of Bethesda, ‘‘this building I just bought in Chicago’’—it public. He emerged in one instance to attend Maryland; Tim Perry Shriver of Chevy was the Merchandise Mart, the largest com- the funeral of his wife of 56 years, Eunice Chase—both involved in Special Olym- mercial building in the world at the time. By Kennedy Shriver, a sister of John F. Ken- pics; and Anthony Paul Shriver of then he had met the forceful Eunice Ken- nedy; she died in 2009 in Hyannis, Mass., at nedy, one of Joe’s nine children, by whom he the age of 88. Miami. Most of all, they have 19 chil- had been immediately smitten, but she gave As a Kennedy brother-in-law, Mr. Shriver dren. him a hard time for years before they finally was bound inextricably to one of the nation’s Sargent Shriver’s life reminds us of the married, in 1953. most powerful political dynasties. It was an value of distinguished public service, and that There wasn’t a tough job that Sarge did association with enormous advantages, it is incumbent upon all of us to renew his vi- not do well. When John F. Kennedy asked thrusting him to prominence in a series of sion of a better America for future generations.

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