Freedom is a Gift of God

Floor Speech

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, yesterday was a magnificent day: the coming together for the second inauguration of Barack Obama and the honoring of Dr. Martin Luther King. In his speech, President Obama said something potent and powerful, and that is that freedom is a gift from God, but it is one that is not self-executing. A gentleman that I know very well, Dr. Reverend Samuel Smith of the Mount Horeb Baptist Church, knows about fighting for freedom.

Today, I rise to again affirm Roe v. Wade, which speaks about individual freedom, and to indicate that even as we discuss budget talks and the debt ceiling, we must recognize the freedom of the vulnerable to be safe and secure and to have the support to be able to have food and clothing and a home. That is freedom as well, my friends.

And so as we debate the questions of the debt ceiling and whether we have a budget, let us be reminded that freedom is a gift of God and that it should not be denied to those who are most vulnerable, those who are the weak, those who cannot stand for themselves. And the President made it very clear that freedom is not to the powerful. It is for all of us. We all are created equal, with certain unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

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