[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 14529]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            TEN COMMANDMENTS

  (Mr. HENSARLING asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HENSARLING. Madam Speaker, above the Speaker's chair in the 
people's house are boldly written the words ``In God we trust.'' God. 
We, the House of Representatives, acknowledge God and have for over 200 
years.
  Why should it be any other way? Our Declaration of Independence 
states that we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable 
rights. Thomas Jefferson wrote, ``Can the liberties of a nation be 
thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a belief in 
the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God?''
  Now, Madam Speaker, the Supreme Court has ruled that we Texans can 
gaze upon the Ten Commandments at our statehouse, but the people of 
Kentucky cannot gaze upon them in their courthouses. This is not 
helpful. The establishment clause of our Constitution was written to 
ensure that the State respects all religions, not to declare hostility 
upon each.
  We can and must acknowledge God in public life and in a way that 
equally respects the Muslim, the Jew, the Christian, the Buddhist, and 
all people of faith. For when we do, God will continue to bless 
America.

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