[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 128 (Tuesday, September 9, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1359]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   RECOGNIZING THE NATIONAL SOCIETY OF THE DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN 
                     REVOLUTION'S CONSTITUTION WEEK

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                           HON. BRADLEY BYRNE

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 9, 2014

  Mr. BYRNE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight an important 
occasion, National Constitution Week. The important designation was 
made official by President Dwight Eisenhower on August 2, 1956 at the 
urging of the National Society of the Daughters of the American 
Revolution (DAR).
   Constitution Week is celebrated every year during the week of 
September 17-23. The week-long celebration commemorates America's most 
important and oldest living document. It has grown and evolved slightly 
over the years, but the Constitution has always been a symbol of 
freedom for the United States, as well as people around the world.
   I am especially proud of the work done by the Ecor Rouge Chapter of 
the Daughters of the American Revolution in Baldwin County, Alabama, to 
bring attention to our nation's most important governing document 
during Constitution Week.
   Constitution Week not only celebrates this iconic document, but also 
encourages citizens to take the time to read and learn about the 
document and reflect on what values it embodies as a primary symbol of 
freedom and patriotism. This week encourages reflection and celebrates 
our founding document which means so much to the history of the United 
States.
   As the Daughters of the American Revolution have stated, the purpose 
of this celebration is to emphasize citizens' responsibilities for 
protecting and defending the Constitution, inform people that the 
Constitution is the basis for America's great heritage, and encourage 
the study of the historical events which led to the framing of the 
Constitution in September 1787.
   Mr. Speaker, we are, and have been from our birth, a nation that 
guarantees our citizens' very basic rights. And our government, as its 
very core function, is supposed to keep these rights secure. Our 
government does not create its own powers. Our government only gets its 
powers from the citizens' consent. That is why our Constitution is so 
important.
   So on this Constitution Week, I encourage all Americans to take time 
to read our nation's Constitution and refresh our minds to the legacy 
of the document on which our nation's government is rooted.

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