00:00It is a high honor and a distinct privilege to be marked present today at the birthplace
00:05of our democracy, where 250 years ago, the Continental Congress ratified the Declaration
00:12of Independence, decreeing that all men are created equally and entitled to certain unalienable
00:20rights, such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
00:25The Declaration of Independence formally severed us from the tyrannical reign of King George
00:32III, who the signatories accused of obstructing the administration of justice, cutting off
00:40trade with the rest of the world, sending officers to harass the people, obstructing efforts to
00:47naturalize citizens, and trying to render the military superior to civilian authority.
00:56Independence Hall, right across the way, is the birthplace of the Constitution, where
01:03the framers decided that the Congress would be separate and co-equal, never subservient
01:10or co-opted.
01:13So let us never forget that we don't work for any other branch of government.
01:24Indeed, the House was set up to be the institution that the framers envisioned to be the closest
01:32to the people, to reflect the hopes, the dreams, the aspirations, the fears, the concerns, the
01:39anxieties, the life experiences, and the passions of the people.
01:46James Madison once observed that the House should be in intimate sympathy with the people that
01:55we are privileged to represent.
01:58Intimate sympathy.
02:01Let us use this moment to reflect on these principles and recommit to bringing them to
02:07life, not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans.
02:14We are not a perfect nation, and America has indeed struggled at times, beginning with the
02:20horrors of chattel slavery and the oppression of Native Americans, to live up to our highest
02:27ideals, but the high-minded principles upon which this great country was born, have served
02:36as an eternal lamppost for us to continue to strive and march toward a more perfect union.
02:46America is an exceptional nation, and to this day, as President Lincoln once observed, we remain
02:54the last best hope on earth.
02:59We are a country of citizens, not subjects, a nation of patriots, not patsies, and a republic
03:08whose fate will be determined by voters, not victims.
03:13We must never abandon the principles that have brought us this far.
03:19liberty and justice for all, equal protection under the law, free and fair elections, government
03:26of the people, by the people, and for the people, the land of the free, and the home of the
03:33brave.
03:35These are the values that define the best of who we are as a nation.
03:42Let us all recommit to them today, so we can ensure that the next 250 years are even better
03:50than the first.
03:52God bless all of you, God bless the Congress, and may God continue to bless the United States
03:58of America.
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