[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 161 (Thursday, December 15, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2546-E2547]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF A RESOLUTION URGING THE OBSERVANCE OF GLOBAL FAMILY DAY 
                          OF PEACE AND SHARING

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 15, 2005

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to introduce a resolution 
calling for the observance of Global Family Day, One Day of Peace and 
Sharing.
  Everyone in this body is concerned with finding a way to achieve 
peace. Peace in Iraq, peace in every corner of the world. Many of us 
have widely divergent views about how to achieve that peace--but I am 
confident--we all want peace.
  We all have families back home who are longing for peace in the world 
and an end to the suffering caused by poverty, disease and hunger. Our 
friends, our neighbors, our parents and our children, all are hoping 
that this holiday season can bring more understanding, more generosity, 
more genuine friendship and caring among people of all faiths and 
cultures.
  Perhaps we can't agree on military strategies, or budgets. Perhaps we 
will remain at odds on many matters when we come back after the holiday 
recess. But there's one matter on which the Congress agreed in 2000 and 
which I believe a unanimous Congress can agree upon now.
  Mr. Speaker, I am today introducing a concurrent resolution which 
calls upon all Americans to observe Global Family Day, One Day of Peace 
and Sharing every January 1st. It asks that we use the first day of 
every year as a time to reach out to others in the spirit of peace, to 
share a meal, to help the needy at home and around the world.
  This is a matter that once agreed on by Congress, can lead to greater 
understanding

[[Page E2547]]

and cooperation among political parties, faith groups, people of 
different races and economic class. In other words, it's something that 
can help us all--and that positive effect can begin during this holiday 
season.
  In the year 2000, the Congress adopted a similar resolution asking 
the president to issue an annual proclamation recognizing this special 
day, and in 2001, following the tragedy of 9/11, the United Nations 
General Assembly followed suit. Heads of state in more than 20 
countries have personally endorsed the initiative. However, there is 
little public knowledge that this important tool for peace already 
exists. Members of Congress can remedy that.
  We all know how powerful an influence holidays have in our lives. Our 
earliest memories are often of family gatherings at Thanksgiving, or 
parades on the Fourth of July. Holidays teach us about the beliefs that 
our families hold, they inspire us, they reunite us and remind us 
annually about the ways in which we ought to behave.
  As we approach the 20th anniversary next year of our national 
celebration of the life and teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, I ask 
that the Congress take the time to ratify once again its recommendation 
that our increasingly interdependent world celebrate each year with a 
holiday of peace and sharing that belongs equally to all our human 
family.
  Mr. Speaker, many Americans are troubled by our deteriorating image 
in the world, by the growing disputes among our elected leaders, by the 
dangers of terrorism and by the suffering of others, both at home and 
abroad. Yet they feel helpless to do anything about it.
  Global Family Day provides a way in which every man, woman and child 
in the United States can help to reduce suffering at home, repair our 
damaged image abroad, and help us remember that in the end, all peoples 
belong to the same family.
  I urge immediate action on this resolution.

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