[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 13238]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            CONSTITUTION DAY

  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, each and every Member of the Senate has 
taken an oath to uphold and protect the sacred document that has guided 
Our nation well over 200 years: the Constitution. Indeed, we all hold 
the Constitution near and dear to our hearts here in the Senate, and 
yet I rise today to let my colleagues know that the students of 
Lynchburg-Clay High School in Highland County, OH, have done us one 
better.
  You see, I received several letters late last year from students at 
Lynchburg-Clay High School asking me a simple question: ``Why don't we 
have a holiday to pay tribute to the Constitution?'' We have 
commemorative days to celebrate a great many things in this country, 
but amazingly enough, we don't have one to honor what is one of our 
Nation's greatest contributions to democracy. The students at 
Lynchburg-Clay High School set out to change that, and I was honored to 
recently introduce a resolution, cosponsored by my friend and colleague 
from Utah, Senator Hatch, to give life to the idea these student wrote 
to me about not long ago. I am very pleased that yesterday my Senate 
colleagues agreed to pass this very important resolution.
  Our resolution is simple: It recognizes the special place the 
Constitution has in our National history, as well as the extremely 
vital role it continues to play today. Also, it formally designates 
September 17, 2003, as ``Constitution Day.'' September 17th, of course, 
marks the anniversary of the day in 1787 when 39 brave men signed the 
final draft of the Constitution at the final meeting of the convention.
  An appropriate tribute to the Constitution requires more than simply 
attaching a name to a day on the calendar, however. The students from 
Lynchburg-clay High School wrote to me, one of the two Senators 
representing them in the Senate and one of 20 Ohioans fortunate enough 
to serve on their behalf in Congress, about their respect for the 
Constitution. In doing so, the students embraced exactly the kind of 
democratic values and citizen involvement that the Constitution stands 
for, and I congratulate them for their effort.
  It is my intention that by passing this resolution, many more 
Americans might come to learn about the Constitution, and that as a 
result, their love and respect for the Constitution might come to match 
that held by the fine students and fellow Ohioans at Lynchburg-Clay 
High School.

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