[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Page 11628]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 37--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT 
    STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES ARE 
ENCOURAGED TO DEDICATE A DAY OF LEARNING TO THE STUDY AND UNDERSTANDING 
OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION, AND 
                         THE FEDERALIST PAPERS

  Mr. SESSIONS submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

       Whereas the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 
     1776, the signing of the United States Constitution in 1787, 
     and the ratification of the Bill of Rights in 1789 were 
     principal events in the history of the United States;
       Whereas these documents stand as the foundation of our form 
     of democracy, providing at the same time the touchstone of 
     our national identity and the vehicle for orderly growth and 
     change;
       Whereas the Federalist Papers embody an eloquent and 
     forceful argument made in support of the adoption of our 
     republican form of government;
       Whereas the success of the American experiment requires 
     that our Nation's children--the future of its heritage and 
     participants in its governance--have a firm knowledge of its 
     principles and history; and
       Whereas the limited nature of government is the fundamental 
     American concept of governance, because our system is based 
     on the belief that power is granted by our Creator to the 
     citizen who then voluntarily loans power to the state and 
     because, as the Declaration of Independence states, ``all men 
     . . . are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable 
     Rights'': Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) State and local governments and local educational 
     agencies are encouraged to dedicate at least one day of 
     learning to the study and understanding of the significance 
     of the Declaration of Independence, the United States 
     Constitution, and the Federalist Papers; and
       (2) State and local governments and local educational 
     agencies are encouraged to include a requirement that, before 
     receiving a certificate or diploma of graduation from high 
     school, students be tested on their competency in 
     understanding the Declaration of Independence, the United 
     States Constitution, and the Federalist Papers.

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