[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3477 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3477
To direct the Architect of the Capitol to acquire and place a
historical plaque to be permanently displayed in National Statuary Hall
recognizing the seven decades of Christian church services being held
in the Capitol from 1800 to 1868, which included attendees James
Madison and Thomas Jefferson.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 31, 2009
Mr. Gohmert (for himself, Mr. Broun of Georgia, Mr. Aderholt, Mr.
Lamborn, Mr. Miller of Florida, Mr. Forbes, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Pence,
Mrs. Bachmann, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. Conaway, Mr. Jordan of Ohio,
Mr. Franks of Arizona, and Mr. King of Iowa) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Architect of the Capitol to acquire and place a
historical plaque to be permanently displayed in National Statuary Hall
recognizing the seven decades of Christian church services being held
in the Capitol from 1800 to 1868, which included attendees James
Madison and Thomas Jefferson.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Congressional Hope for Uniform
Recognition of Christian Heritage (CHURCH) Act of 2009''.
SEC. 2. ACQUISITION AND DISPLAY OF HISTORICAL PLAQUE RECOGNIZING THE
SEVEN DECADES OF CHRISTIAN CHURCH SERVICES BEING HELD IN
THE CAPITOL.
(a) Acquisition.--The Architect of the Capitol shall enter into an
agreement with a private entity for the design and fabrication of a
historical plaque to be permanently displayed in National Statuary Hall
recognizing the seven decades of Christian church services being held
in the Capitol from 1800 to 1868.
(b) Design.--The plaque designed and fabricated pursuant to the
agreement entered into under subsection (a) shall be of such size and
design as may be provided under the terms of the agreement, except that
the plaque shall contain the following statement:
``The first Christian church services in the Capitol were
held when the Government moved to Washington in the fall of
1800. They were conducted in the Hall of the House in the north
wing of the building. In 1801, the House moved the church
services to temporary quarters in the south wing, called the
`Oven', which it vacated in 1804, returning services to the
north wing for 3 years. During church services, the Speaker's
podium was used as the preacher's pulpit.
``Within a year of his inauguration, President Thomas
Jefferson began attending church services in the Chamber of the
House of Representatives. Throughout his administration (1801-
1809), Thomas Jefferson permitted and encouraged church
services in executive branch buildings. Sermons regarding the
Old and New Testaments of the Bible were even conducted in the
Supreme Court chambers while the judicial branch was located in
the old north wing of the Capitol.
``The term `separation of church and state', not found in
the Constitution, was rather first used by Thomas Jefferson in
a letter to the Danbury Baptists. Though Jefferson saw no
problem with having nondenominational Christian services in
government buildings, he affirmed that the Government should
not choose an official Christian denomination. The worship
services in the Government-owned House Chamber--a practice that
continued until after the Civil War--were acceptable to
Jefferson because they were nondiscriminatory and voluntary.
``President James Madison, the recognized author of the
Constitution, followed Jefferson's example. In keeping with
Madison's understanding of the first amendment, church services
were permitted in the halls of State on Sundays during his
administration (1809-1817). However, unlike Jefferson, who rode
on horseback to attend church in the Capitol, Madison traveled
in a coach pulled by four horses. The services were interrupted
in 1814 after the interior was burned by the British and had to
be repaired.
``Preachers of every Christian denomination preached
Christian doctrine in this Chamber. On January 8, 1826, Bishop
John England (1786-1842) of Charleston, South Carolina, became
the first Catholic clergyman to preach in the House of
Representatives. The first woman to preach before the House,
and likely the first woman to speak officially in Congress
under any circumstances, was the English evangelist, Dorothy
Ripley (1767-1832), who conducted a service on January 12,
1806.''.
(c) Presentation Ceremony.--The Architect of the Capitol is
authorized to use National Statuary Hall for a presentation ceremony
for the plaque on a date determined by the Architect. The Architect of
the Capitol and the Capitol Police Board shall take such action as may
be necessary with respect to physical preparations and security for the
ceremony.
(d) Display.--Upon receiving the plaque designed and fabricated
pursuant to the agreement entered into under this section, the
Architect of the Capitol shall display the plaque permanently in a
place of prominence in National Statuary Hall.
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Architect of the
Capitol such sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act.
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