[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 21275]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  THE TEN COMMANDMENTS PROTECTION ACT

  (Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, it was King Solomon of Israel who said two 
millennia and more ago that it was the whole duty of man to fear God 
and keep the Commandments.
  Thanks to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Aderholt), Congress has a 
chance to keep the Commandments in their place in the public square by 
passing the Ten Commandments Protection Act. With nearly 100 
cosponsors, this act simply affirmatively asserts the provisions of the 
10th amendment that say that State governments ought to be able to 
define how they display the Ten Commandments in State buildings. This 
is right under our law, that freedom of religion is not the freedom 
from religion, and respect for religion is enshrined in our history as 
we heard the prayer this morning and read ``In God We Trust'' on these 
walls, but it is mostly important because, despite the ethos of our 
times, God is still real and God still rewards nations that acknowledge 
him.
  Let us adopt the Ten Commandments Protection Act and keep the Ten 
Commandments in their rightful place in the public square.

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