[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 161 (Monday, November 2, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H12175-H12177]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            HONORING PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S GETTYSBURG ADDRESS

  Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 736) honoring President Lincoln's Gettysburg 
Address on ``Dedication Day'', November 19, 2009.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 736

       Whereas, on November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln dedicated 
     the Soldiers' National Cemetery on the battlefield at 
     Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, with the Gettysburg Address, which 
     harkened back to the promises of the Declaration of 
     Independence in the first sentence, ``Four score and seven 
     years ago, our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a 
     new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the 
     proposition that all men are created equal'', and which 
     called upon people of the United States to dedicate 
     themselves to the principles of democracy so that government 
     ``of the people, by the people, for the people shall not 
     perish from the earth'';
       Whereas Congress adopted a joint resolution on August 7, 
     1946, declaring the Gettysburg Address to be ``the 
     outstanding classic of the ages'', designating November 19 as 
     ``Dedication Day'' in honor of the Gettysburg Address, and 
     suggesting that the Gettysburg Address ``be read on that day 
     in public assemblages throughout the United States and its 
     possessions, on our ships at sea, and wherever the American 
     flag flies''; and
       Whereas 2009 is the 200th anniversary of the birth of 
     Abraham Lincoln and bicentennial tributes to his birth are 
     expected throughout the United States: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) honors President Lincoln's greatest speech, the 
     Gettysburg Address; and
       (2) encourages people in the United States to read the 
     Gettysburg Address on ``Dedication Day'' in public places 
     across the Nation.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch) and the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. 
McHenry) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Massachusetts.


                             General Leave

  Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and add any extraneous materials.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Massachusetts?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.
  On behalf of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, I am 
proud to present House Resolution 736 for consideration. This 
resolution pays tribute to the historic Gettysburg Address delivered by 
President Abraham Lincoln in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on November 19, 
1863.

                              {time}  1645

  House Resolution 736 was introduced on September 10, 2009, by my 
great friend and colleague, Representative Todd Platts, Republican of 
the 19th District of Pennsylvania. In addition, this resolution was 
favorably reported out of the Oversight Committee by unanimous consent 
on October 29, 2009, and enjoys the support of over 50 Members of 
Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 736 honors one of the most remarkable 
and significant political contributions in terms of speeches made by 
one of our greatest Presidents, the Gettysburg Address delivered by 
President Abraham Lincoln at the dedication of the Soldiers' National 
Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, November 19, 1863. 
This resolution is not only fitting but also timely, as earlier this 
year we celebrated the bicentennial anniversary of the birth of 
President Lincoln, and on November 19 we will mark the 146th 
anniversary of Dedication Day and the Gettysburg Address.
  In his invitation letter to President Lincoln, dated November 2, 
1863, Gettysburg attorney David Wills requested that President Lincoln 
participate in the dedication ceremony by delivering ``a few 
appropriate remarks,'' as Wills noted that former Senator Edward 
Everett of Massachusetts was already scheduled to deliver the central 
oration. Accordingly, the dedication address delivered by President 
Lincoln more than 4 months following the pivotal battle of Gettysburg 
is not remembered for its length, but rather for the depth of its 
content.
  In less than 3 minutes and in only 10 sentences, President Lincoln 
eloquently commemorated the lives of those who had fallen on the 
hallowed battlefield, reaffirmed the founding principles of the then-
divided United States of America, and set forth the impetus behind the 
continuation of the shared struggle to unify the Nation amidst a deadly 
Civil War.
  As noted by President Lincoln at the conclusion his historic address: 
``It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the 
unfinished work which they who fought here have thus so far nobly 
advanced . . . that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not 
have died in vain; that this Nation, under God, shall have a new birth 
of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, and for 
the people shall not perish from this Earth.''
  The elegance of President Lincoln's brief words was noted by Senator 
Everett, whose oration at Gettysburg preceded the President's address 
and lasted approximately 2 hours. In a letter that he sent to President 
Lincoln following the dedication ceremony, Senator Everett wrote: ``I 
should be glad if I could flatter myself that I

[[Page H12176]]

came as near to the central idea of the occasion in 2 hours as you did 
in 2 minutes.''
  And the profound impact of President Lincoln's address on our 
national history has been evident for generations. In addition to its 
prominence on the south wall of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, 
D.C., the Gettysburg Address has served as a timeless source of 
inspiration in our eternal commitment as a Nation to achieve equality 
among all citizens. Notably, President Lincoln's address was referenced 
in the equally historic ``I Have a Dream'' speech delivered by the 
Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial 
in August of 1963.
  Mr. Speaker, in acknowledgement of the lasting impact of President 
Lincoln's words, the 79th Congress approved House Joint Resolution 35 
on August 7, 1946, thereby designating the day of November 19 as 
Dedication Day. The 79th Congress additionally characterized the 
Gettysburg Address as ``the outstanding classic of the ages'' and 
recognized that ``it will touch the hearts of men and inspire faith in 
our matchless democracy as long as time endures.''
  Mr. Speaker, let us pay further tribute to President Lincoln in the 
year of his bicentennial birthday celebration and in anticipation of 
the 146th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address through our support of 
Representative Todd Platts of Pennsylvania's resolution, 736.
  I would like to thank my colleague Mr. Platts for introducing this 
legislation, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this 
resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as I said in the two previous resolutions that have come 
forth from the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, while I do 
support the legislation at hand and the motivation behind it, I do 
think that Congress should be focusing instead on higher-priority 
initiatives.
  We're facing record unemployment, deficits that threaten to bankrupt 
the country, and a stimulus that is failing to help our people and 
create new jobs. Congress should be considering legislation providing 
real and immediate economic solutions for the American people before 
naming and commemorating resolutions.
  I certainly appreciate the initiative of my colleagues to acknowledge 
the Gettysburg Address and the anniversary that we are fast 
approaching. I do find it quite interesting as a Congressman from a 
Southern State that my colleague that controls the majority's time is 
from a Northern State. It's kind of interesting that actually those 
dynamics still persist of both Southerners and Yankees alike, or New 
Englanders. But we can have an honest debate in this country, which is 
certainly worthwhile, and I think that Lincoln's Gettysburg Address 
certainly is a wonderful and enormous milestone for all Americans. 
Whether or not your State was in the Union at that point, whether it 
even existed at that point, it's certainly important.
  On November 19, 1863, President Lincoln delivered a carefully crafted 
address that was assumed by many to be overshadowed by Senator Edward 
Everett's 2-hour oration. So unsuspecting was the crowd and so swift 
was the speech that no pictures were taken while the address was given. 
If the crowd had known that they were witnessing the defining speech of 
the War Between the States, I'm confident that many more would have 
been better prepared for the occasion.
  In 10 lines and 272 words, the President redefined the war as an 
effort to solidify the American political system, our Republic, calling 
upon the Nation to dedicate themselves to a new birth of freedom so 
that government ``of the people, by the people, and for the people 
shall not perish from the Earth.''
  We all know these words, Mr. Speaker. We all care about these words. 
Though brief, his oration was powerful. In these few appropriate 
remarks, Lincoln honored the fallen but also paid homage to the 
Founding Fathers and their commitment to a Nation led by its people.
  Mr. Speaker, I would say in closing on a larger issue for the 
American people that this commemorating resolution, while certainly 
it's important to honor the Gettysburg Address, and though delivered in 
1863, I think today we are at an anniversary of the 146th year for the 
Gettysburg Address, and it's important that we remember and commemorate 
this; but I think it's also important that we have a real debate about 
health care.
  I do appreciate my colleague saying earlier that we're going to have 
a debate. We have 72 hours to review the 1,990-page health care bill, 
which is good, and certainly we're grateful, as a minority party, to 
have that time to review such a massive piece of legislation.
  But I also think it's important that we have significant debate on 
this legislation. And rather than having just 2 or 3 hours, which has 
been the news this week that we will have to debate such a far-reaching 
piece of legislation on this House floor, that we would be able to 
spend more time, even on a Monday, debating health care and the 
importance of getting this approach right for the American people not 
just for today but for tomorrow.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I want to point out that the current 
resolution is offered by my dear friend and colleague who happens to be 
a Republican; so if I did not extend him the courtesy, Mr. Platts of 
Pennsylvania, to offer this resolution, I think it would not comport to 
the level of courtesy that this House requires.
  I do want to point out that of the last seven resolutions that we 
have taken up in the House today, five out of the seven were offered by 
Republican Members: Senate 475 by Senator Burr, House Resolution 773 by 
Representative Boozman, again 1168 by Representative Boozman. Those are 
all dealing with veterans' issues. Representative Cao of Veterans' 
Affairs, House Resolution 828; and H. Res. 398 by Representative 
Fortenberry, another one of my great Republican friends.
  So if the gentleman wanted to complain and restrain his own Members 
from offering what I think are meritorious and deserving resolutions 
with respect to veterans and to the people of their own districts, 
that's a courtesy that I fully and fairly recognize and choose to 
honor, but if the gentleman wants to press with his desire to curtail--
  Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. LYNCH. The gentleman has already exhausted his time to no 
apparent purpose. It would be an attack on common sense for me to yield 
to him at this time.
  With that being said, Mr. Speaker, I ask all Members to support Mr. 
Platts of Pennsylvania in his resolution, my Republican friend.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support H. 
Res. 736 ``Honoring President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address on 
Dedication Day.''
  Mr. Speaker, this resolution recognizes President Lincoln's speech 
during the November 19, 1863 dedication of the Soldiers' National 
Cemetery on the battlefield at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
  This speech, forever known as the Gettysburg Address, commemorated 
the sacrifices of the fallen during the Civil War, and called upon 
people of the United States to dedicate themselves to the principles of 
democracy so that ``government of the people, by the people, for the 
people shall not perish from the earth.'' Lincoln's words transcend the 
context of the Civil War and have served as an inspiration for visitors 
to the Lincoln Memorial, including the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., 
who chose the Memorial steps as the location to deliver his famous ``I 
Have a Dream'' speech. King started his speech by invoking Lincoln's 
Gettysburg Address and reminding those gathered before him of the 
importance of the Emancipation Proclamation.
  King's words remind us of the importance of President Lincoln, as 
well as how his legacy cannot be embodied by any one speech or action. 
This resolution is particularly timely given that, this year we 
celebrate the 200th anniversary of President Lincoln's birth. President 
Lincoln was a true champion of liberty for all Americans, and he led 
the nation during very turbulent political times from the Civil War. 
Abraham Lincoln was portrayed as a self-made man, the liberator of the 
slaves, and the savior of the Union who had given his life so that 
others could be free. President Lincoln became Father Abraham, a near 
mythological hero, ``lawgiver'' to African Americans, and a 
``Masterpiece of God'' sent to save the Union. His humor was presented 
as an example of his humanity; his numerous pardons demonstrated his 
``great soul''; and his sorrowful

[[Page H12177]]

demeanor reflected the burdens of his lonely journey as the leader of a 
``blundering and sinful'' people.
  Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, to Thomas Lincoln and 
Nancy Hanks, two uneducated farmers, in a one-room log cabin on the 
348-acre Sinking Spring Farm, in southeast Hardin County, Kentucky. 
Lincoln began his political career in 1832, at age 23, with an 
unsuccessful campaign for the Illinois General Assembly, as a member of 
the Whig Party.
  Lincoln was a true opponent of injustice. In 1837, he made his first 
protest against slavery in the Illinois House, stating that 
the institution was ``founded on both injustice and bad policy.

  Opposed to the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act, Lincoln spoke to a crowd in 
Peoria, Illinois, on October 16, 1854, outlining the moral, political 
and economic arguments against slavery that he would continue to uphold 
throughout his career.
  His ``Western'' origins also appealed to the newer states: other 
contenders, especially those with more governmental experience, had 
acquired enemies within the party and were weak in the critical western 
states, while Lincoln was perceived as a moderate who could win the 
West.
  On November 6, 1860, Lincoln was elected as the 16th President of the 
United States. In his First Inaugural Address, Lincoln declared, ``I 
hold that in contemplation of universal law and of the Constitution the 
Union of these States is perpetual. Perpetuity is implied, if not 
expressed, in the fundamental law of all national governments,'' 
arguing further that the purpose of the United States Constitution was 
``to form a more perfect union.''
  Lincoln possessed a keen understanding of strategic points and 
understood the importance of defeating the enemy's army, rather than 
simply capturing cities. He had, however, limited success in motivating 
his commanders to adopt his strategies until late 1863, when he found a 
man who shared his vision of the war in Ulysses S. Grant. Only then 
could he insist on using African American troops and relentlessly 
pursue a series of coordinated offensives in multiple theaters.
  Throughout the war, Lincoln showed a keen curiosity with the military 
campaigns. He spent hours at the War Department telegraph office, 
reading dispatches from his generals. He visited battle sites 
frequently, and seemed fascinated by scenes of war.
  The Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in territories not already 
under Union control. Lincoln later said: ``I never, in my life, felt 
more certain that I was doing right, than I do in signing this paper.''
  As the war was drawing to a close, Lincoln became the first American 
president to be assassinated. On April 14, 1865, as a lone bodyguard 
wandered, and Lincoln sat in his state box, John Wilkes Booth crept up 
behind the President and fired a single fatal shot into the President. 
However, his triumphs live on far past this date.
  In 1982, forty-nine historians and political scientists were asked by 
the Chicago Tribune to rate all the Presidents through Jimmy Carter in 
five categories: leadership qualities, accomplishments/crisis 
management, political skills, appointments, and character/integrity. At 
the top of the list stood Abraham Lincoln. The judgment of historians 
and the public tells us that Abraham Lincoln was the nation's greatest 
President by every measure applied.
  Because he was committed to preserving the Union and thus vindicating 
democracy no matter what the consequences to himself, the Union was 
indeed saved. Because he understood that ending slavery required 
patience, careful timing, shrewd calculations, and an iron resolve, 
slavery was indeed killed. Lincoln managed in the process of saving the 
Union and killing slavery to define the creation of a more perfect 
Union in terms of liberty and economic equality that rallied the 
citizenry behind him. Because he understood that victory in both great 
causes depended upon purposeful and visionary presidential leadership 
as well as the exercise of politically acceptable means, he left as his 
legacy a United States that was both whole and free. His great 
achievement, historians tell us, was his ability to energize and 
mobilize the nation by appealing to its best ideals while acting ``with 
malice towards none'' in the pursuit of a more perfect, more just, and 
more enduring Union.

  Mr. Speaker, President Lincoln has paved the way for people of color 
such as me to serve in Congress and represent the people of the 18th 
District of Texas proudly. He has been a trailblazer, opening the door 
for our first African American President, President Barack Obama.
  This year, we celebrate the life of President Abraham Lincoln. He has 
given America many victories. Importantly, his presidency opened the 
door to ensure that all Americans would be assured their constitutional 
freedoms and that all Americans would enjoy the triumph against 
oppression and injustice. President Lincoln has lit the candle, let us 
today continue to carry it and make sure that it will never go out.
  One hundred and forty six years after the Gettysburg Address, 
Lincoln's words continue to inspire people and governments not only in 
America, but throughout the world. In 1958, France adopted the 
constitution of its' fifth--and current--republic. Under Title 1, 
Section 2, the constitution states that ``the principle of the Republic 
shall be: government of the people, by the people and for the people.'' 
This is one of many examples of other nations viewing our great country 
as a beacon of democracy.
  I thank my colleague, Rep. Todd Platts, of Pennsylvania, for 
introducing this important legislation, to ensure that we celebrate, 
treasure and recognize the impact of President Abraham Lincoln's most 
famous speech and I urge my colleagues to honor President Lincoln not 
only by joining me in supporting this resolution, but also by promoting 
the reading and examining of this speech on November 19th.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch) that the House suspend the 
rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 736.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

                          ____________________