[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 252 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 252

 Celebrating the 246th anniversary of the creation of the flag of the 
   United States and expressing support for the Pledge of Allegiance.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 14, 2023

Mr. Braun (for himself, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Lee, Mr. Risch, Mr. 
Hagerty, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Scott of Florida, Mr. Rounds, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, 
   Ms. Collins, Mr. Schmitt, Mr. Young, Mr. Boozman, Mrs. Britt, Mr. 
Wicker, Mr. Hoeven, Mr. Graham, Mr. Vance, Mr. Budd, Mrs. Fischer, Mr. 
Tuberville, Ms. Lummis, Mr. Mullin, Mr. Kennedy, and Mr. Scott of South 
Carolina) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and 
                               agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Celebrating the 246th anniversary of the creation of the flag of the 
   United States and expressing support for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Whereas, on June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress approved the design of a 
        flag of the United States;
Whereas, over the years, the flag of the United States has preserved the 
        standards of the original design comprised of alternating red and white 
        stripes accompanied by a union consisting of white stars on a field of 
        blue;
Whereas, on May 30, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued Presidential 
        Proclamation 1335, an announcement asking the people of the United 
        States to observe June 14 as Flag Day;
Whereas, on August 3, 1949, President Harry Truman signed into law House Joint 
        Resolution 170, 81st Congress, a joint resolution designating June 14 of 
        each year as Flag Day;
Whereas, on August 21, 1959, President Dwight Eisenhower issued Executive Order 
        10834 (24 Fed. Reg. 6865), an order establishing the most recent design 
        of the flag of the United States;
Whereas the Pledge of Allegiance was written by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist 
        minister, and first published in the September 8, 1892, issue of The 
        Youth's Companion;
Whereas, in 1954, Congress added the words ``under God'' to the Pledge of 
        Allegiance;
Whereas, for more than 60 years, the Pledge of Allegiance has included 
        references to the United States flag, to the United States having been 
        established as a union ``under God'', and to the United States being 
        dedicated to securing ``liberty and justice for all'';
Whereas, in 1954, Congress believed it was acting constitutionally when it 
        revised the Pledge of Allegiance;
Whereas the United States was founded on principles of religious freedom by the 
        Founders, many of whom were deeply religious;
Whereas the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States embodies 
        principles intended to guarantee freedom of religion through the free 
        exercise thereof and by prohibiting the Government from establishing a 
        religion;
Whereas patriotic songs, engravings on United States legal tender, and 
        engravings on Federal buildings also contain general references to 
        ``God'';
Whereas, in Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow, 542 U.S. 1 (2004), the 
        Supreme Court of the United States overturned the decision of the United 
        States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Newdow v. U.S. 
        Congress, 328 F.3d 466 (9th Cir. 2003), a case in which the Ninth 
        Circuit concluded that recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance by a 
        public school teacher violated the Establishment Clause of the First 
        Amendment to the Constitution of the United States;
Whereas the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit subsequently 
        concluded that--

    (1) the previous opinion of that court in Newdow v. U.S. Congress, 328 
F.3d 466 (9th Cir. 2003) was no longer binding precedent;

    (2) case law from the Supreme Court of the United States concerning the 
Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the 
United States had subsequently changed after the decision in Elk Grove 
Unified School District v. Newdow, 542 U.S. 1 (2004); and

    (3) Congress, in passing the new version of the Pledge of Allegiance, 
had established a secular purpose for the use of the term ``under God''; 
and

Whereas, in light of those conclusions, the United States Court of Appeals for 
        the Ninth Circuit upheld the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance by 
        public school teachers: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) celebrates the 246th anniversary of the creation of the 
        flag of the United States;
            (2) recognizes that the Pledge of Allegiance has been a 
        valuable part of life for the people of the United States for 
        generations; and
            (3) affirms that the Pledge of Allegiance is a 
        constitutional expression of patriotism and strongly defends 
        the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance.
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