[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 14]
[House]
[Pages 19410-19411]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



AUTHORIZING SPEAKER OR CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE TO RECOGNIZE 
   MEMBER AT 2 P.M. ON OCTOBER 12, 2001, TO LEAD HOUSE IN PLEDGE OF 
                         ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG

  Mr. COX. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that on October 12, 
2001, tomorrow, the Speaker or the Chairman of the Committee of the 
Whole be authorized to recognize a Member at 2 p.m. for the purpose of 
leading the House or the Committee in the Pledge of Allegiance to the 
Flag.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Simpson). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from California?
  Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, I would like 
to ask the gentleman if this is because Secretary of Education Paige 
has asked that all of the schools in the country say the Pledge of 
Allegiance at 2 p.m. tomorrow?
  Mr. COX. Mr. Speaker, will the gentlewoman yield?
  Mrs. MYRICK. I yield to the gentleman from California.
  Mr. COX. Mr. Speaker, I would say to the gentlewoman that is exactly 
the purpose of the House taking this action tomorrow.
  Tomorrow, Friday, October 12, America's schoolchildren, all of the 
schools across the country, are invited to join in delivering 
simultaneously the Pledge of Allegiance. This is a nationwide 
synchronized Pledge of Allegiance that will take place in schools 
across the country. It will be 2 p.m. here on the East Coast, 1 o'clock 
central time, noon mountain time, 11 a.m. in my home State of 
California, Pacific time, 10 a.m. in Alaska, 8 a.m. in Hawaii. Students 
and teachers will all join at that time in reciting those simple words, 
``I Pledge Allegiance to the Flag.''
  The President is also going to join in this national ceremony 
tomorrow at the precise time from the White House. It is going to be an 
unprecedented moment, and I think a poignant one, to honor our country, 
our dead, and our freedom.
  I would add also that the Pledge across America is not a government 
program or a government initiative. We did not come up with the idea. 
It came from the people, from a grass-roots effort started by one very 
determined woman. Her nonprofit organization, Celebration USA, was 
created to strengthen classroom instruction on the basic principles of 
American democracy.
  It all started in a California classroom with this teacher named 
Paula Burton. She is an immigrant. When she was a schoolgirl, at the 
age of 9, she fled with her family from the Nazi occupation. She grew 
up here in America to realize her American dream of becoming a public 
school teacher and noticed one day, when her students were reciting the 
Pledge of Allegiance, that they seemed bored, uninterested or 
apathetic. She sensed they did not even understand the meaning of the 
words of the Pledge. So she went to the blackboard and she wrote down 
the word ``indivisible.'' She wrote indivisible on the board and asked 
the class what it meant, and they said it means you cannot see it.
  This started her educational campaign to teach students to understand 
the words of the Pledge and to stimulate pride in being an American. 
She discovered the Pledge of Allegiance was originally written for a 
national school celebration, a patriotic national observance in 1829, 
accompanied by a proclamation from the President. Now her nationwide 
program of informed patriotism is helping to lead our troubled Nation.
  For 4 weeks, teachers in every community in America have been working 
with students to help them understand what happened on September 11 and 
to overcome their fears and concerns. They have also worked to teach 
them more about our national history and the foundations of our free 
society. Thanks to Paula Burton, whom I am proud to say is my 
constituent in the 47th Congressional District in California, our 
Nation will truly be united tomorrow.
  I want to thank especially my colleague, the gentlewoman from North 
Carolina (Mrs. Myrick), for her work on ensuring that Congress will 
participate in the Pledge Across America, and congratulate the 
leadership on the Democratic side, because this is truly a bipartisan 
national effort. As I said, President Bush will participate from the 
White House and Paula Burton will be in Orange California with her 
Catch the Spirit singing group and the boys and girls of Serrano 
Elementary School.
  I thank the gentlewoman for permitting that explanation of this 
procedure on the House floor tomorrow.
  Mrs. MYRICK. Reclaiming my time, Mr. Speaker, I would say that it is 
an exciting show of unity in this country.
  Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.

[[Page 19411]]

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.

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