[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 196 (Wednesday, December 12, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H10114]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               CELEBRATING SATURDAY AS BILL OF RIGHTS DAY

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize 
December 15 as the Bill of Rights Day.
  The Bill of Rights, which is the first 10 amendments to the 
Constitution, was first ratified in 1791. It protects the rights and 
liberties of all Americans. The Bill of Rights guarantees our freedoms 
of religion, speech, press, and to peaceably assemble and petition our 
government; and it protects our right to bear arms, our private 
property rights, our right to a fair trial, and our right against 
unreasonable searches and seizures.
  It establishes that we as a nation promote the power of individual 
liberties and limit the scope of the Federal Government.
  Mr. Speaker, Bill of Rights Day came into existence in 1941 on its 
150th anniversary. Congress passed a joint resolution authorizing 
President Franklin D. Roosevelt to make it a national holiday. 
Roosevelt referred to the document as ``the great American charter of 
personal liberty and human dignity.''
  Mr. Speaker, it is important that we use this day to educate younger 
generations of Americans on our Bill of Rights and the values it 
embodies for all.

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