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“SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING NATIONAL MOTTO FOR GOVERNMENT OF A RELIGIOUS PEOPLE” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Labor was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H6747-H6750 on July 24, 2000.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING NATIONAL MOTTO FOR GOVERNMENT OF A
RELIGIOUS PEOPLE
Mr. BARR of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H.Res. 548) expressing the sense of Congress regarding the national motto for the government of a religious people, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
Whereas the national motto of the United States is ``In God we trust'';
Whereas the national motto was adopted in 1956 and is codified in the laws of the United States at section 302 of title 36, United States Code;
Whereas the national motto is a reference to the Nation's
``religious heritage'' (Lynch v. Donnelly, 465 U.S. 668, 676
(1984));
Whereas the national motto recognizes the religious beliefs and practices of the American people as an aspect of our national history and culture;
Whereas nearly every criminal law on the books can be traced to some religious principle or inspiration;
Whereas the national motto is deeply interwoven into the fabric of our civil polity;
Whereas the national motto recognizes the historical fact that our Nation was believed to have been founded ``under God'';
Whereas the content of the national motto is as old as the Republic itself and has always been as integral a part of the first amendment as the very words of that charter of religious liberty;
Whereas the display and teaching of the national motto to public school children has a valid secular purpose, such secular purpose being to foster patriotism, symbolize the historical role of religion in our society, express confidence in the future, inculcate hope, and instruct in humility;
Whereas there is a long tradition of government acknowledgment of religion in mottoes, oaths, and anthems;
Whereas the national motto serves ``the legitimate secular purposes of solemnizing public occasions, expressing confidence in the future, and encouraging the recognition of what is worthy of appreciation in society'' (Lynch v. Donnelly, 465 U.S. at 693 (O'Connor, J., concurring));
Whereas the national motto reflects the sentiment that
``[w]e are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being'' (Zorach v. Clauson, 343 U.S. 306, 313
(1952));
Whereas President George Washington, in his Farewell Address, stated, ``[o]f all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports,'' and ``[w]hatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle,'' and ``let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle'';
Whereas President John Adams wrote that ``it is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand'';
Whereas the role of religion in public life is an important one which deserves the public's attention;
Whereas the signers of the Declaration of Independence appealed to the Supreme Judge of the World for the rectitude of their intentions, and avowed a firm reliance of the protection of Divine Providence;
Whereas President George Washington, in his First Inaugural Address, said that ``it would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official act my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States a Government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes'';
Whereas the First Congress urged President George Washington to proclaim ``a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many single favours of Almighty God'';
Whereas the First Congress reenacted the Northwest Ordinance, which stated that ``[r]eligion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged'';
Whereas the Declaration of Independence demonstrates this Nation was founded on transcendent values which flow from a belief in a Supreme Being;
Whereas the Founding Fathers believed devotedly that there was a God and that the unalienable rights of man were rooted in Him, is clearly evidenced in their writings, from the Mayflower Compact to the Constitution itself;
Whereas religion has been closely identified with the history and Government of the United States;
Whereas our national life reflects a religious people who earnestly pray that the Supreme Lawgiver guide them in every measure which may be worthy of His blessing; and
Whereas the national motto is prominently engraved in the wall above the Speaker's dais in the Chamber of the House of Representatives, appears over the entrance to the Chamber of the Senate, and is depicted on all United States coins and currency: Now therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives encourages the display of the national motto of the United States in public buildings throughout the Nation.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Barr) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Barr).
General Leave
Mr. BARR of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H. Res. 548.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Georgia?
There was no objection.
Mr. BARR of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Schaffer) and I ask unanimous consent that he be permitted to control that time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Georgia?
There was no objection.
Mr. SCHAFFER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I ask the House to review favorably and pass favorably H. Res. 548. This is a resolution that expresses the sense of Congress that the national motto ``In God We Trust'' should be posted and made public in all public buildings across the country.
This is an important resolution, one which is inspired for me by Members of the Colorado State Board of Education, who just a few weeks ago adopted a State resolution encouraging the public display of the national motto ``In God We Trust'' in public schools throughout the State of Colorado.
The State Board of Education in my State recognized the following, that during the Civil War, in response to a public desire for recognition of the Almighty God in some form on our coins, President Abraham Lincoln signed in law on April 22, 1864, a law which introduced the motto ``In God We Trust'' to our national coinage.
It was on July 30, 1956, that President Dwight Eisenhower signed a law stating that the national motto of the United States is hereby declared to be ``In God We Trust.'' The Federal courts have repeatedly upheld the constitutionality of the national motto and its uses.
It is in the public interest that the State of Colorado's Board of Education affirmed to uphold, affirm and celebrate the national heritage and the traditions and values which have been the foundation and the sustenance of our Nation as well as the elements vital to its future preservation.
Our national motto is one of which we are all proud, Mr. Speaker. In fact, it is a motto that we will find posted in a number of sites right here in the United States Capitol Building.
Across from the Capitol above the doors of the opposite body we will find the motto ``In God We Trust'' emblazoned above the doors there. And here in this Chamber just a few feet above where the Speaker stands, we find those encouraging words in bronze and marble, which are front and center as Members of this body stand where I am and where my colleagues are on the House floor to make various presentations of all sorts every day that the United States Congress is in session.
This motto is one that in times of peril and in times of greatness Americans frequently resort to, both as a statement of thanks and also as a statement of reassurance that goes back to our early days, that goes back to our early days which our founders composed and to the Declaration of Independence, observing that all rights and liberties that Americans enjoy, those of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and other rights, are not secured by government, they are not secured by a constitution, they are not secured by a king, not given by some government authority or power of any kind.
No, in the United States, according to our Declaration, all rights that are enjoyed by the American citizens are given to us by the Almighty himself.
It was to that proposition that our Founders appealed for the rectitude of their intentions in securing that declaration and launching a great and mighty Nation.
Mr. Speaker, we have been troubled for too long a period of time with a certain amount of moral destruction and decay in our country, which results in violence from Americans against Americans, among children, among minorities, among all people who are wishing to thrive and be free and be safe and secure throughout the country.
As we struggle here in this Congress with all kinds of solutions, whether they are to try to curb violence or try to promote responsible behavior or to set the appropriate laws in place to help make our Nation more safe and secure, it is fitting that we look to our national motto, which is the most fundamental statement, in my estimation, of where the answer lies. And so, this motto is one that all Americans embrace, one that we enjoy and celebrate routinely.
But, on this day, I hope that the House will join me and the others that have cosponsored this bipartisan legislation in passing this resolution, which suggests that the motto should be prominently displayed in public buildings throughout the Nation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the resolution, which encourages States and localities to promote ``In God We Trust'' I guess in public buildings.
Mr. Speaker, we have had no hearings on this resolution. In fact, the final version of the resolution that I received has a date stamp on it, July 24, 5:11 p.m., which was just a few minutes ago the final version that we are considering now was produced. It was not even introduced until 2 weeks ago, and now here we are considering it.
This is a complicated issue when we start talking about religious freedoms. And my colleagues can notice by some of the recent Supreme Court cases, many of them 5-4, some going one way and then in the next case going the other way. We have had recent Supreme Court decisions on religious freedom, just the Texas case where they threw out the school prayer on football games on a 6-3 vote. This is a complicated issue. There are no easy answers to this. And here we are at a very short notice trying to consider this.
Mr. Speaker, I feel very sensitive to this because I come from Virginia. Virginia led the Nation in religious freedom. The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was the basis for the First Amendment Bill of Rights. And so, I do not take this casually.
Mr. Speaker, a few days ago we assumed the role of the United States Supreme Court when we declared that the Ohio statute, the Ohio motto which had religious implications, was constitutional. That was an interesting exercise in light of Marbury v. Madison, a case decided by the Supreme Court a couple of centuries ago which stated that it was the Supreme Court's responsibility to declare statutes constitutional or not constitutional, not Congress's.
But, in any case, with the emergency, no hearings, here we are on the floor. We are not trying to improve Medicare with prescription drugs. We are not trying to preserve Social Security. We are not doing anything about HMO reform or juvenile crime or background checks for firearm purchases. We are here with this emergency legislation, without any hearings here on the floor, no markup in committee so that these complicated Supreme Court decisions can be analyzed so that we will know what we are doing.
Mr. Speaker, this is not unusual for this Congress. We have shown a lot of disrespect for the Constitution. As a matter of fact, in the last 2 years or so, we have tried to amend the Constitution no less than nine separate times.
We had a prayer amendment that was given consideration, campaign finance, the flag amendment, balanced budget amendment, tax limitation amendment, term limits, electoral college, victims' rights. We even had a hearing on an amendment to make it easier to amend the Constitution.
The Constitution is a foundation of American law that we all have to live under. But, of course, some people seem so privileged that they do not have to live under the same laws and same Constitution as everybody else.
In fact, just this session, when we had a case where a bank lost a case filed by the Department of Labor, instead of being subjected to the law like everybody else, the Committee on Education and Workforce reported a bill to retroactively change the law to help that bank out.
A few years ago, we settled a complex child custody case with language found in a transportation appropriations conference report.
Mr. Speaker, the Committee on the Judiciary recently reported a bill to retroactively change the law so asbestos manufacturers will not have to pay the bills run up by victims of asbestos related lung disease.
Here we are, no hearing, 2 weeks after the introduction of the bill, pretending to give consideration to this complex issue involving our fundamental religious liberties.
I would hope, Mr. Speaker, that instead of this kind of drive-by consideration that we would show more respect for our Constitution and our religious liberties by voting no on this resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SCHAFFER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, as to the complexity of this legislation, I would differ with the description of the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) that this is a complex matter. In fact, it is nothing close to that, unless we try to read items such as we just heard about asbestos and banking and Medicare and drug abuse and these kinds of things into that resolution.
None of these items appear here. This is strictly on the motto that we read in front of us here on the House floor and whether it is suitable for the Congress to suggest that it be displayed in public buildings around the country.
I think as far as whether individuals need hearings to understand the importance of whether ``In God We Trust'' is still a useful motto for the country, I would suggest that most Members probably have a firm opinion about that at the moment. But I will concede that the date that we find on the bottom of the bill suggests it might have been introduced just a few minutes ago.
Actually, the bill has been introduced a few weeks now. This version that is in front of us now and that was moved by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Barr) is a corrected version. There were some errors in the legal citations of the Supreme Court references, as well as a couple erroneous dates that were mentioned here. So the version in front of us has no substantive difference from the version which has been before the House now for more than a couple of weeks.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Shows).
Mr. SHOWS. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my friend the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Schaffer) yielding me the time to speak on the bill and on behalf of the bill.
It is not many times I get up here and talk on the opposite side of my friend, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott). But in this I believe.
``In God We Trust'' is our motto. We can see it above the Speaker's head right here. And it should be engraved into our national conscience. The values we teach at home and church are universal and should not be left outside the schoolhouse door or outside of where we work and play every day.
I am not afraid to say ``In God We Trust'' whenever and wherever I want. All Americans should have that right. However, I have long been concerned about the decline of moral values and freedoms in our society.
Recently I introduced H. Res. 551, which encourages ``In God We Trust'' to be posted prominently in all public and government buildings, just like it is in my own office, right next to the Ten Commandments.
I wrote H. Res. 551 with the direct assistance of Reverend Donald Wildman of the American Family Association. It is a bipartisan measure with 23 cosponsors on the bill. However, today we have H. Res. 548, the bill on the floor today.
This is an issue too important to let partisan politics get in the way, so I have added my name as a cosponsor of this bill, H. Res. 548, as a gesture of unity and bipartisanship.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleagues making ``In God We Trust'' our priority in Congress. Let us adopt the ``In God We Trust'' resolution today for our families, for our Nation, and let us encourage a public display of ``In God We Trust.''
Mr. SCHAFFER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I just want to make a comment about the complexity of this particular issue.
{time} 1745
A simple question as to whether or not you can have a religious display during Christmas season. We have had 5-4 Supreme Court decisions saying in some cases you can, in some cases you cannot.
When and how you can pray in school. We have had cases that say sometimes you can, sometimes you cannot. The Department of Education in that case has published a pamphlet to show localities exactly what the state of the law is and how you can have certain prayers in schools, under what conditions, so that there is some guidance.
We are inviting localities and States into this quagmire without any guidance at all, just inviting lawsuits. That is why we should show more respect for our Constitution and the Bill of Rights by voting ``no'' on this resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SCHAFFER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Right here on our American currency, we find the motto we are debating here today, ``In God We Trust.'' There is nothing controversial about it. This is the motto that is on all American currency. It is something we live with routinely in the United States. In fact, it is one of the reasons I submit, the meaning of it, that we are the great and mighty Nation that we are today. This is not something to be afraid of or ashamed of. This is a motto we should be quite proud of and be proud to display it around the country.
As to whether the Supreme Court has come close to even ruling on ``In God We Trust,'' the reality is they have considered the national motto and its relevance and its constitutionality, and that is the basis of many of the findings in the resolution itself. There are several cases that I would refer the gentleman to and other Members who are interested in the Supreme Court's record on the national motto.
There is Lynch v. Donnelly from 1984. There is also Engel v. Vitale, which is a more recent case. There is Abington v. Schempp; Gaylor v. The United States, a more recent Supreme Court decision about displaying and teaching of the motto to public school children has a valid secular purpose.
And so our Supreme Court has ruled on this question over and over and over again. It has no relationship whatsoever to the examples that my good friend and colleague had cited. This is our national motto, not a prayer, not promotion of some religion. This is a motto about the same God, the same sentiment, the same beliefs that our Founders incorporated in the Declaration of Independence, ultimately our Constitution, that is incorporated into the prayer that we open up the House Chamber with every day and the motto which we see right before us in bronze lettering embedded in the marble right here in front of us,
``In God We Trust.''
I concede that there may be some who do not, but as a Nation, as a whole, this is not a controversial statement of any kind. This is one of the key mottos, the key phrases and statements and motto that unites us as a people and has made us the greatest country on the planet. We should not run from it. We should endorse it and embrace it and suggest that the same motto that is on the currency we spend every day is one that we are greeted with in every public building across the country.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Kuykendall). The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Barr) that the House suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, House Resolution 548, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor thereof) the rules were suspended and the resolution, as amended, was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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