[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 93 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 93

Recognizing the opening of the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., 
the only museum of its size and scope in the world devoted exclusively 
                             to the Bible.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 13, 2017

Mr. Pittenger (for himself, Mr. LaMalfa, Mr. Aderholt, Mr. Walberg, Mr. 
 Jones, Mr. Flores, Mr. Hudson, Mr. Harper, Mr. Poliquin, Mr. Cleaver, 
  Mr. Johnson of Louisiana, and Mr. Lamborn) submitted the following 
 concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
                               Resources

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                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Recognizing the opening of the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., 
the only museum of its size and scope in the world devoted exclusively 
                             to the Bible.

Whereas the Bible has played a prominent role in the culture of the United 
        States and has been a central influence on the United States throughout 
        the history of the United States;
Whereas, on September 13, 1782, the Journals of the Continental Congress 
        document that businessman Robert Aitken had petitioned Congress in 1781 
        to approve the printing of an edition of the English Bible that he had 
        undertaken at great personal expense at a time of war, and that Congress 
        passed a resolution supporting those efforts of Robert Aitken in 1782;
Whereas many of the leaders of the United States have declared their deep 
        appreciation for the Bible and implored citizens to read it and 
        recognize the connection of the Bible with the ideals of the United 
        States;
Whereas the first President of the United States, George Washington, declared 
        that the rise of the United States was due to ``above all, the pure and 
        benign light of Revelation [the Bible]'';
Whereas the President of the United States and Founding Father, John Adams, 
        declared that ``the Bible is the best book in the world'';
Whereas the President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, declared the Bible 
        to be ``the best gift God has given to Man'' and invoked the words, 
        metaphors, and teachings of the Bible throughout the Civil War as a 
        source of comfort, inspiration, and wisdom;
Whereas the President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, declared 
        ``We cannot read the history of our rise and development as a Nation, 
        without reckoning with the place the Bible has occupied in shaping the 
        advances of the Republic'';
Whereas, in 1982, Congress passed the Joint Resolution entitled ``Joint 
        Resolution authorizing and requesting the President to proclaim 1983 as 
        the `Year of the Bible''' (Public Law 97-280), finding that the Bible 
        ``has made a unique contribution in shaping the United States as a 
        distinctive and blessed nation and people'';
Whereas the Museum of the Bible will aim to be the most technologically advanced 
        museum in the world;
Whereas, in 2014, the architectural concept submission for the Museum of the 
        Bible was approved by the Commission of Fine Arts, the local Washington, 
        D.C., Advisory Neighborhood Commission, and the Historic Preservation 
        Review Board, and the primary building of the Museum of the Bible was 
        awarded historical status by the Historic Preservation Review Board;
Whereas, on November 17, 2017, the Museum of the Bible will open a 430,000 
        square foot nonprofit museum in Washington, D.C., 3 blocks from the 
        Capitol, and will be free to all visitors;
Whereas the Museum of the Bible will have 3 primary exhibit floors focused on 
        the history, narrative, and impact of the Bible, featuring hundreds of 
        artifacts from the Museum Collections, including ancient biblical 
        fragments, Torah scrolls, medieval manuscripts, rare printed Bibles, and 
        Americana;
Whereas the entrance to the Museum of the Bible will feature two 40-foot-tall 
        bronze panels that contain the first lines of Genesis in Latin, as 
        originally printed in the Gutenberg Bible, and art glass panels 
        featuring a papyrus containing the 19th psalm; and
Whereas the Museum of the Bible is an innovative, global, educational 
        institution the purpose of which is to invite all people to engage with 
        the Bible: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) celebrates the opening of the Museum of the Bible in 
        Washington, D.C., the first museum of its kind in the capital 
        of the United States focused exclusively on the history, 
        narrative, and impact of the Bible;
            (2) commends the leadership, staff, scholars, designers, 
        construction workers, donors, and volunteers who worked 
        tirelessly to realize the goal of opening a museum, free to the 
        public, with the purpose of ``inviting all people to engage 
        with the Bible''; and
            (3) encourages all citizens and residents of, and visitors 
        to, the United States, when touring the capital of the United 
        States--
                    (A) to visit the Museum of the Bible; and
                    (B) to learn about the unique role of the Bible in 
                history and culture.
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