[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 26 (Friday, February 12, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E231]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E231]]



                            PRESIDENTS' DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. STENY HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, February 12, 1999

  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, this long weekend millions of children will 
have a day off from school--and many of their parents will have a day 
off from work.
  How many children, and how many of their parents will pause over this 
long weekend to reflect on the two great Presidents whose birthdays we 
will celebrate?
  George Washington translated a fragile, untested document--our 
Constitution--into a working system of government in which no branch 
appropriated unto itself powers beyond what the framers of our 
Constitution envisaged.
  Where George Washington could easily have chosen to be a monarch or a 
despot unaccountable to no one but himself, he, instead, devoted his 
twin terms as President to putting into practice the ideals of the 
American Revolution.
  President Washington never lost sight of a basic tenant of the 
Revolution that Government's power ultimately resides in the people, 
and that public officials are the servants of the public.
  Assuming office at a time of great peril and uncertainty, President 
Washington returned to Mount Vernon eight years later having proven 
through his example of restraint and leadership that the great American 
experiment had succeeded.
  But unfortunately, seven decades later, our country was wracked by 
division, anger and, eventually, a bitter civil war. The American 
experiment was suddenly imperiled.
  At times of great crisis, the American people have had the genius of 
entrusting the Nation's fate to great leaders.
  Abraham Lincoln, by navigating our country through the crucible of 
civil war, preserved the nation and extended Washington's vision of the 
American experiment. By bringing those previously enslaved under the 
protection of the Constitution and Bill of Rights, Lincoln promoted the 
concept that for democratic government to truly succeed, all Americans 
must be able to participate. Just last week we underscored the 
significance of full citizen participation by commemorating the 35th 
anniversary of the ratification of the 24th Amendment to the 
Constitution, which finally put an end to the poll tax.
  President Lincoln himself so eloquently described the American 
experiment as a ``government of the people, by the people, for the 
people''.
  On this holiday weekend, I urge all Americans to reflect on the 
wisdom, courage and leadership of Presidents Washington and Lincoln.

                          ____________________