[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 80 (Tuesday, June 4, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H5766]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    THE WARNING BY DR. BILLY GRAHAM

  (Mr. DUNCAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago, Dr. Billy Graham received a 
well-deserved Congressional Medal of Honor here in the Capitol.
  In his acceptance speech, he said that our Nation had ``confused 
liberty with license'' and that we are now ``a society poised on the 
brink of self-destruction.''
  I am a little more optimistic than Dr. Graham, but unfortunately, 
almost no one would say that he had no reason or justification for his 
statements.
  Let me quickly note three recent incidents which would cause Dr. 
Graham further concern.
  First, a Federal judge ruled yesterday that a rural Mississippi 
school had violated the Constitution by allowing prayers over the 
intercom and classes about the Bible.
  Second, the top legal adviser for the Governor of Florida said a 
school prayer bill was illegal because ``we are officially now mandated 
to be a country with no formal recognition of God.''
  Third, a Maryland school superintendent revoked an invitation to U.S. 
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas because he happens to be both 
black and conservative.
  Another high official in Prince George's County, where this occurred, 
called it ``the epitome of intolerance and bigotry.''
  These things would not have happened in this country just a few years 
ago.
  We should think very seriously about the warning by Dr. Billy Graham.

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