[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 27 (Thursday, February 13, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H675]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               WASHINGTON-LINCOLN RECOGNITION ACT OF 2003

  (Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, I am introducing legislation 
today that will honor America's greatest presidents, George Washington 
and Abraham Lincoln. The Washington-Lincoln Recognition Act of 2003 
will require Federal Government agencies to call the Federal holiday we 
will observe this coming Monday by its proper legal name, Washington's 
Birthday, not President's day.
  Second, the bill calls on the President to issue a proclamation each 
year on the anniversary of the birth of President Abraham Lincoln on 
February 12. Without this bill there will be no commemoration of 
Abraham Lincoln's birthday or his accomplishments in preserving the 
Union and issuing the Emancipation Proclamation.
  The big lie of Presidents' Day stems from the 1968 law which shifted 
the observance of most Federal holidays to Mondays. There would be no 
United States, no presidency at all without George Washington. What is 
everybody's business is nobody's business. A generic Presidents' Day 
diminishes the accomplishments of America's greatest presidents, George 
Washington and Abraham Lincoln, while rewarding the mediocrity of 
others.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues and the American people to support 
passage of the Washington-Lincoln Recognition Act of 2003.

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