[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 52 (Tuesday, March 21, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H3330]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


             AMENDMENT PROHIBITING DESECRATION OF OLD GLORY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 4, 1995, the gentleman from New York [Mr. Solomon] is 
recognized during morning business for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SOLOMON. I would love to respond to the last statement, but I 
will wait.
  Mr. Speaker, today I will be introducing a resolution calling for a 
constitutional amendment prohibiting the physical desecration of the 
American flag. I am happy to say that this effort has received wide 
support from my friends and colleagues on both sides of the aisle in 
both Houses of Congress, including my good friend Sonny Montgomery 
standing over here, Senator Orrin Hatch over in the Senate, as well as 
Senator Howell Heflin on a bipartisan basis. In fact, over 240 
Representatives and 40 Senators have already answered the call to 
protect this our greatest national symbol, Old Glory.
  I would like to emphasize, Mr. Speaker, the surge of support to 
extend this needed protection for the flag comes not in response to 
changes which have occurred inside the beltway but in response to a 
massive grassroots movement from across this Nation, all as well it 
should have been. In fact, 46 State legislatures have already passed 
resolutions asking Congress to allow them the chance to ratify this 
amendment.
  Mr. Speaker, at 3 o'clock this afternoon, I will drop that 
constitutional amendment in the hopper over here and there will be a 
press conference out in the grassy triangle on the Senate side of the 
Capitol, where those of us who support this badly needed constitutional 
amendment will answer questions from the press.
  At this time, I would like to yield to a truly great American. He is 
a Democrat on that side of the aisle, but he stands up for America's 
veterans and for the armed services.
  Mr. MONTGOMERY. I thank very much the gentleman yielding to me. I 
certainly support very much the American flag amendment that the 
gentleman from New York will drop in the hopper at 3 o'clock. As the 
chairman of the Committee on Rules mentioned, we have 242 members who 
have signed up on the House side to sponsor this. We need 48 more 
Members to get the 290 when we do get the opportunity to bring this 
constitutional amendment resolution up that it will have a chance to 
pass.
  I would like to thank the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Gene Green, a 
Member of Congress, who has been getting Democrats on this side of the 
aisle to sign that resolution. As the gentleman from New York said, it 
is nonpartisan. It comes about that we did pass a simple law in the 
Congress and signed by President Bush that said you cannot hurt this 
great American flag. This was turned down by the U.S. Supreme Court who 
said Congress does not have that authority.
  So it becomes now to protect the flag. We have all the veterans 
organizations totally supporting this amendment. I stand right with the 
gentleman, side by side. We need to get this constitutional amendment. 
We need to get more signees on this side of the Capitol to be darned 
sure. We lost some of them last time as the gentleman remembers. We had 
over 290 signatures on the House side. When we brought the amendment 
up, we lost some and we did not pass it. We do not want that to happen 
this time.
  Mr. SOLOMON. The gentleman is so right. He always does stand up for 
America. It is a crime today to destroy this dollar bill, it is a crime 
today to desecrate the Washington Monument. It is not a crime to 
desecrate Old Glory. That is a crime in itself. We are going to change 
that. I thank the gentleman and urge everyone to sponsor this 
constitutional amendment. We will have 290 votes in the very near 
future and Members ought to be an original cosponsor of the 
legislation.
  You can be so if you sign on before 3 o'clock this afternoon.
  

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