[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 87 (Monday, June 27, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H5218]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO REVEREND BILLY GRAHAM

  (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the Supreme Court acted today, 
but if any of us want to know what real religious freedom and religious 
liberty is all about, I rise today to pay tribute to the Reverend Billy 
Graham.
  Though many have said that the series of evangelistic sermons this 
past weekend in New York may be his last, he is a symbol of what 
America stands for and appreciates in freedom of religion. He spoke to 
all people.
  I understand that in the early 1960s when it was not appropriate, he 
invited Dr. Martin Luther King to open one of his evangelistic 
meetings. He came to Nashville, Tennessee when it was not popular to do 
so.
  In his audience of thousands and thousands over the weekend, we saw 
the faces of America, many colors, many different persons, many 
economic conditions. They came to hear the gospel said in an open and 
free society.
  He pushes no agenda. He does not ask for the Ten Commandments to be 
placed in any place; but, he says, if you believe, then you should 
accept. That is what true religious freedom and liberty are all about.
  That is why I am glad to be an American and believe in the first 
amendment. I salute the Reverend Billy Graham, a great American and a 
great patriot.

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