[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16303-16309]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   THE CONGRESSIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Poe). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 4, 2005, the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) is 
recognized for 60 minutes.
  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, this evening several of my colleagues and I 
are going to discuss a topic which is a little bit different from what 
normally is discussed here on the House floor. I think the general 
impression that one would get in watching the debate and some of the 
Special Orders is that this is a highly partisan, very divided body, 
and somewhat a Godless body at times. I do not believe that this is the 
whole story.
  One activity in the House that is not partisan or contentious is the 
weekly prayer breakfast that is held every Thursday morning. There are 
roughly 30 to 40 Republicans and Democrats who meet during that hour. 
It is completely nonpartisan. It is Members only. It is confidential. 
Whatever is said there stays there. Of course, it is the precursor to 
the national prayer breakfast which is held every spring.
  Just a word or two of historical background. I think it is important 
that we from time to time recall that we are a spiritual Nation and 
that our foundation is of a spiritual nature.
  To quote Benjamin Franklin, who many believe was somewhat 
irreligious, this is what he said in a speech on the House floor: ``We 
have been assured, sir, in the sacred writings, that except the Lord 
build a house they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this. 
I also believe that without

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his concurring aid, we shall succeed in the political building no 
better than the builders of Babel. We shall be divided by our little 
partial local interests, our projects will be confounded and we 
ourselves shall become a reproach and a byword down to future ages.''
  Then he goes on to say: ``I therefore beg leave to move that 
henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of heaven and its blessing 
on our deliberation be held in this assembly every morning before we 
proceed to business.''
  Of course, that speech was the precursor of the morning prayer that 
we have every day that we meet in Congress. So Franklin was alluding to 
the fact that without acknowledging the divine presence and without 
prayer, that many of the deliberations of this body were of no more 
worth than the builders of Babel.
  George Washington, of course, was a Founding Father that also was one 
who relied heavily upon his faith. This is what he said in his 
inaugural address. He said: ``The propitious smiles of heaven can never 
be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and 
right which heaven itself has ordained.''
  Both Benjamin Franklin and George Washington indicated that the 
foundation of a successful nation really needed to be based upon 
spiritual principle.
  Mr. Speaker, our purpose here tonight is to talk a little bit about 
the prayer breakfast, what we think the benefit of the prayer breakfast 
is. It is not to proselytize, it is not necessarily to even express our 
personal faith, but to let people know that there is an organization, 
there is a group here that meets regularly that is certainly not 
contentious and is focused upon spiritual issues.
  I would just like to say one word about my personal experience at the 
prayer breakfast that has been very beneficial, and that is that I 
began to see people as they really are. We all have a facade. We bear 
titles. We are Republicans, we are Democrats, we are chairmen, we are 
vice chairmen, and we are from different parts of the country. As we 
speak on the floor, many times we are somewhat contentious. At the 
prayer breakfast, all of those titles and all of those masks that we 
wear tend to be stripped away, and you begin to see a person as he or 
she really is.
  I remember particularly one morning where a Member was to speak. I 
was not looking forward particularly to that particular day, because 
the image that I had of that individual was that of a person who was 
highly partisan, someone who had no relationship to anything that I 
believed. And yet as I listened to that person and I began to feel the 
pain in that person's life and I began to understand him better, I saw 
him entirely different. As a result, that person has become a very 
close friend, even though politically we are a long ways apart. I think 
many people have experienced that as well.
  At this point, I am going to yield to a number of individuals who 
attend the breakfast who want to just give those who would be viewing a 
snapshot of how they feel about this particular organization and the 
service that it renders to this body.
  The first person I believe who was here this evening was the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey), so I yield to the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) at this time.
  Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Nebraska for 
yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, it is one of the best times of the week for me to 
reflect on why I am here, what is my purpose in being a Member of this 
body; why did I leave my prior profession, that of a physician, an OB/
GYN doctor for 26 years, and in the comforts of my own hometown and all 
my patients, and all of a sudden embark on another career. I have to 
believe that I was sent here by the grace of God. I think that my 
fellow Members on both sides of the aisle must have that same feeling.
  But it is the coming together once a week at the prayer breakfast 
that the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) just described that 
reminds us of that purpose, and reminds us, each Member, why we are 
here.
  Just listening tonight, this evening, Mr. Speaker, from both sides of 
the aisle, you will hear a lot of times a discussion that sounds so 
highly partisan, you would think that we literally hated each other. 
Some Members are a little more strident, Mr. Speaker, than others, but 
it is not hatred; and I think it is important for us always to remember 
why this type of dialogue goes back and forth.
  Both sides want to be in control. In this body and the other body, 
there is no sharing of this power and everybody wants to be in those 
leadership positions. Sometimes the dialogue gets pretty strident, and 
you literally would think, Mr. Speaker, those of us sitting as we come 
as new Members listening to the discussion from the other side and them 
us, that we literally hate each other.
  Truly, we do not, and to have an opportunity to come, as I say, and 
as the gentleman from Nebraska explains about the prayer breakfast, you 
get to know your colleagues in a different way. You know that they have 
parents and grandparents and husbands and wives and they have brothers 
and sisters and moms and dads, and they love the Lord, and they talk 
about it.
  Some are more eloquent than others. I know I have to admit that I 
have not yet been the speaker, to talk about my life and why I am here 
and what purpose I hope to serve in this great body. I probably should 
not have admitted that, because the coach may have me down next week to 
give my testimonial, Mr. Speaker; and I may be more nervous during that 
than I am here participating in this Special Order tonight.
  But I love my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. Thursday morning 
at that prayer breakfast, that devotional, it gives me an opportunity 
to really understand why I am here, why we all are here: to do good, 
just to do good, to do the right thing, not to ever let political 
expediency get in the way of our principles, and always try to do God's 
will.
  So for me to share a few moments talking about that tonight is a 
great pleasure, and I appreciate the gentleman from Nebraska bringing 
us together in a bipartisan fashion. You are going to hear from Members 
on both sides of the aisle; and because of our participation in that 
group, that Thursday morning prayer breakfast, they are my good friends 
and I am their good friend, and we respect one another and we love one 
another and we are going to continue to try, Mr. Speaker, to always do 
God's will.

                              {time}  2245

  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, at this time I would like to recognize the 
gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Fox).
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate this opportunity very much. I 
thank the gentleman from Nebraska for coming up with the idea of our 
doing this.
  I think there are a lot of misconceptions about Congress. People 
think from the media, and I am not sure from where else, that we are a 
bunch of people who go out at night with lobbyists and carry on, and a 
lot of people do not have an idea that we do have this prayer breakfast 
every Thursday morning. I think that it is very important that we share 
as broad a perspective on what we do here in Congress as we possibly 
can.
  There are 435 Members in the House of Representatives, and I think 
one of the best things that our prayer breakfast does is give us a 
chance to get to know people that we would not have an opportunity to 
get to know otherwise. As we have all pointed out, and others will too, 
it is bipartisan, and that is one of the better parts of the breakfast. 
Because most of the time, we do meet by party and talk with people by 
party, and it is very difficult to get to know people of the other 
party unless you are serving with them on a committee. But this gives 
us an opportunity, as my colleague said earlier, to get to know people 
in a way that we would not get to know them otherwise.
  It is a very structured meeting that we have in many ways. We are 
blessed that we have scripture reading brought

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to us by the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Cleaver) who does a wonderful 
job every week. I will have to say that many of us think when we go to 
church and hear a sermon, if it is a good sermon, the preacher is 
preaching right at us; and I think that I have been amazed at our 
scripture reading and the message that he brings every week. It seems 
always to hit the spot for me. So I am very grateful for that. We do a 
lot of praying and we do a lot of music. We sing. And we have been very 
blessed to have had the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Akin) lead our 
music this time, and it has been some of the most vigorous music that I 
have had a chance to participate in. I am very, very grateful for that.
  As the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) said earlier, our 
Founding Fathers turned to God in prayer at the most difficult times of 
the founding of this Nation. And they did set a pattern for us, a 
pattern that I am pleased that we are continuing here by every day 
opening this session with a prayer but, again, encouraging us to get 
together to pray.
  In addition to our having scripture and prayer and music, we also 
have someone who reminds us of the sick and wounded. When I thought 
about speaking tonight, I realized that is basically the only place 
where we are gathered together where we take the time to remember those 
amongst us who are having problems. I want to say I am very grateful 
for the group. My husband recently had surgery and our group prayed for 
him very vigorously, and I think those prayers meant a lot in terms of 
God bringing him through that in a very successful way.
  We need our prayer breakfast. Those of us who go there need it. We 
call it the best hour of the week. It provides a grounding for us. It 
helps us remember what is important about life. We are here to do 
important work.
  I remember once when I was in the legislature, somebody said to a 
group of us that we were important people; and one of the Members said, 
no, we are not important people; we are just ordinary people doing 
important work. And I think by going to our prayer breakfast on a 
regular basis, we understand we are not important people, but we are 
ordinary people doing important work and doing it with the values and 
the morals that I think that the people of this country expect us to 
have.
  I am very grateful for those who have kept the prayer breakfast going 
over the years and made it possible for those of us who are there now. 
I hope that our sharing tonight a little bit about our prayer breakfast 
will help break some of the misconceptions that people might have about 
us and give a broader viewpoint about how we spend our days in Congress 
and what we focus on.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Nebraska (Coach Osborne) for 
organizing this Special Order, and I thank the gentleman for the 
leadership that he provides to us at the prayer breakfast.
  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her comments. 
At this time I would like to yield to the cochair of the prayer 
breakfast, the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Davis).
  Mr. DAVIS of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for having 
the foresight to bring a group of us together here this evening on the 
House floor to talk about something that is an event that happens each 
Thursday morning, not something, but an event that happens each 
Thursday morning that I think helps mold us to realize that all of us 
have deep, abiding faith, regardless of which political party we claim 
to be of.
  We keep saying that Thursday morning is the best, it is the best hour 
of the week. Well, there is no question that is the case. But for me it 
gives me an opportunity; most of us in our districts, I have 10,000 
square miles, and Tennessee is 40,000 square miles, and in my 
congressional district, you probably would not find any more God-
fearing people, God-loving people than in the district I represent. 
Now, I know each of you will challenge that, I am sure. But I know the 
folks that I represent, and my colleagues know the people that they 
represent. But the people I represent are very rural people, they are 
close to nature, and worship is important to them.
  From time to time, Sunday mornings, never Wednesday nights can I go 
to prayer meetings anymore, but on Sunday mornings sometimes we have 
schedules that prevent us from being at our own home church. I am 
Southern Baptist. So Thursday morning has become the day that I look to 
as kind of my church day. It is the day that I know that I will get 
together with people here in Congress, 435 of us, I wish all of us 
came, that I could get with individuals and we share our faith, without 
knowing which party that we are a member of.
  I go back to my youth when I was growing up, and I think when you 
start looking especially in the rural areas, the gentleman from 
Nebraska represents a huge area of Nebraska, and I am sure he probably 
has small communities that have less than 20 to 30 people, but there is 
a church there, is there not? There is a house of faith that is built 
there.
  So when our early settlers first came to this country, a family or 
two would locate, and one of the first buildings they would build other 
than their home was a house where they could worship, a house of 
worship. Oftentimes it was used also to educate the young children. 
That has always been the nucleus that has held that community together.
  So I think our prayer breakfast basically gives me that same magnetic 
feeling of being among those who share a faith. We have had different 
faiths who speak, and I have been impressed with each one of them. I 
have been surprised, in many cases, by each of them as they talk about 
how they grew up and what their father and mother did and how their 
mother and father encouraged them and took them to church with them and 
encouraged them to develop a deep, abiding faith. I listen to those 
Members of Congress and I think, there is no partisanship there.
  Sometimes, when we are looked upon by those outside of this Chamber, 
through the media, through some of the partisan efforts, quite frankly, 
probably in our different parties in our local communities, I am not 
sure they realize how close many of us are at those Thursday morning 
prayer breakfasts and how we pray for each other and for this country 
and for our soldiers that are in harm's way. And we pray for the wisdom 
to look to God's will as we make the decisions here inside this 
Chamber.
  I often get an opportunity to go down to the country stores. Some of 
my colleagues may not have the rural country stores where that also is 
kind of an area where if it is not Wednesday night or Sunday morning or 
Sunday evening, where people gather. I go to a little place called 
Forbus General Store. It has been in operation since 1887; it is over 
100 years old and continues to operate.
  Years ago, if you wanted medications, if you were sick, the doctor 
would write a prescription, or you would go to that store, and even 
though a fellow may or may not have been a pharmacist, he would give 
you a prescription. If you had lost a family member, you could buy a 
casket. If you had a team of mules, you could buy a harness. It is a 
huge facility that is still in operation.
  Obviously, those particular items you do not purchase there any more, 
but one thing we will do. We will sit back in the back, and there is 
usually a table where you can sit and drink coffee, and I know the 
Republicans and I know the Democrats. I think all of them probably are 
for me; at least I hope they are. But as we talk about issues, there is 
never a time when it appears that we get angry at each other. There is 
always that, because we know each other, there is that camaraderieship 
amongst each other, and issues that come up that are important to them.
  As a Congressman, the other day I was there; I tell this joke and I 
probably should not. But this one fellow, I was carrying on a pretty 
good conversation, and one of the boys in the back named Johnny 
Anderson reared back and he said, Lincoln, you are getting just like 
those fellows in Washington. I believe you are getting so

[[Page 16306]]

winded you could blow up an onion sack.
  So, in essence, they look at us sometimes differently in these small 
rural areas; and maybe in the urban areas it is the same way. But what 
I hope, after our presentations tonight, that Americans will realize 
that as a group of men and women collectively, men and women of faith, 
that our faith does mean something to us; that in most cases, I truly 
believe all of us make a faith-based decision on the issues that come 
before this House. I know I do. And I think all of the Members do.
  So it has been a delight for me to work with the gentleman from 
Nebraska (Mr. Osborne). He is of a different political party than me. 
As a matter of fact, Tennessee Vols learned to have a greater respect 
for the gentleman from Nebraska (Coach Osborne) when he was a coach in 
Nebraska. So, in essence, I have learned a greater respect for him as 
well, for the man, for the man of faith that I know him to be, and for 
a spiritual leader that many of us can look to for spiritual guidance.
  So to me, on Thursday mornings, bringing together folks who seem to 
be so different in the eyes of the American public, if they were only 
here, would realize that there is at least one place that 
bipartisanship thoroughly survives and is loved among those of us who 
go on Thursday morning to a prayer breakfast. In February we have the 
Congressional Day of Prayer, and it is attended by many people from 
different nations. And at that prayer breakfast, I think we have been 
able to probably minister and reach out to individuals of different 
faiths and some even to help establish a faith in them and perhaps in 
their country.
  So I look forward to working with the gentleman for the rest of the 
year and continue as long as I am in Congress to share with men and 
women of faith on the special hour each Thursday morning.
  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much, and I 
certainly appreciate his leadership at the prayer breakfast. I was 
hoping we would get through this hour without talking about football, 
but it did come up and, fortunately, we do not get too involved with 
that and it keeps things on a little higher plane. So at this point, I 
would like to recognize a gentleman who has really added a lot to the 
prayer breakfast through the fact that he plays guitar and can carry a 
tune and usually gets us started on the right note, and that is the 
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Akin).
  Mr. AKIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Nebraska. I think 
some people might be surprised that there is a prayer breakfast like 
this down here and that people get along very well and encourage each 
other, pray for each other and really have a time of sharing, but also 
it is very special to me, because when you are in Congress, everybody 
here is so busy all the time. And this is a time where you can actually 
set aside a little bit of time in the morning, and you can get to know 
somebody new in a special kind of way.
  But this thing should not really surprise us all that much. If we go 
back to the beginning of our country, this is a country that just has 
been loaded up on faith right from the beginning. The Pilgrims came 
here and the very first Constitution they wrote says ``in ye name of 
God, amen'' it starts out. In 1620, 1630, the Puritans arrive and 
coming down the coast, they say, we believe that God has confirmed His 
covenant by bringing us safely to this country, and that we shall be as 
a city on a hill, a light to all people, if we deal faithfully with our 
God.

                              {time}  2300

  You can spin forward another 150 years to the time when they are 
framing, trying to put the constitution together. You have got old Ben 
Franklin there, 84 years old, and everybody is arguing, these 
politicians making long winded speeches, it is hot, there is no screens 
on the windows, everybody's patience is a little bit short. And old Ben 
Franklin gets up and look over his old bifocals and he is speaking to 
George Washington now at the time. He says, we have been assured, sir, 
in the sacred writing of scripture that a sparrow cannot fall to the 
ground without the notice of God. Is it probable that a Nation can rise 
without his blessing? And he goes on to say that we really need to 
start with prayer as we start looking at putting this new constitution 
together.
  And then you get this building built, a certain number of years 
later, the great big old Capitol dome right next to us here this 
evening. It was for I guess about 80 or 90 years, the biggest church in 
Washington, D.C. because on Sunday that is where they held services. So 
we stand in a long tradition. And that tradition is continuing to go on 
in this wonderful time that we have Thursday mornings to just let each 
other pray for each other. And then usually the way it works is 
somebody stands up for about a half an hour and just shares about what 
their life is about. And you know there are so many wonderful people 
that have been elected down here, and they all have such unique stories 
and every one of them is a picture of the side of America. And those of 
us that take the time to go really get to love it. It is almost sort of 
like a living Norman Rockwell picture when people share their lives, 
and it is such a treat to be able to do it.
  And the one thing there is a little bit of lack of talent in the 
music department so they called on me. I used to get kicked out of 
choir all the time, so they did not know that when they asked me to do 
it. But we do manage to sing through a few songs and have a little bit 
of fun in the process.
  But I thank the gentleman from Nebraska for his leadership and just 
taking a little bit of moment tonight so we could share with everybody 
who is interested what a wonderful time that is Thursday morning at 8 
o'clock.
  Mr. OSBORNE. Well, I certainly thank the gentleman and we really have 
appreciated the music that he has brought to the prayer breakfast.
  And at this time I would like to recognize the gentleman from New 
Mexico (Mr. Pearce), who also has been very faithful in his attendance 
and adds a lot to the Thursday morning activities.
  Mr. PEARCE. I thank the gentleman for verifying that. My pastor at 
home would be deeply interested to understand that I do attend prayer 
breakfast every week or almost every week. And I thank the gentleman 
from Tennessee (Mr. Davis) for his leadership in that group.
  You know, when I travel at home, people, the most common comment that 
people make to me, first of all, is tell the President we are praying 
for him. And that is often repeated, even into this last weekend when I 
was at home.
  The second thing that people ask, and they are almost surprised to 
find out, is there are not many Christians in Congress. And they are 
surprised to find out that not only are there many Christians, but that 
we actually gather in a bipartisan basis once a week and have this 
prayer breakfast.
  And I think it is essentially one of the strongest components of our 
Nation that we still recognize the founding of this Nation on the 
Christian principles. It was our Founding Fathers who declared that a 
democracy demands a moral people. They understood that a democracy does 
not use the force of strength on its people to cause them to follow the 
law; that instead it depends on a voluntary compliance, and that 
volunteer compliance depends on having a moral fiber and a moral 
instruction.
  Now we go to schools to understand knowledge and wisdom. But I think 
that our religious education, our moral education helps us to 
understand how to live correctly and rightly, how best to order our 
lives, that we do not impair the freedom of others, and yet we access 
the blessings that are given to us. And what better opportunity for us 
to explore that than to come together in a bipartisan way to pray for 
those things that a Nation should be praying for, for wisdom for its 
leaders, for steadfastness that we would keep to the same course, that 
we would not vary back and forth, for clarity, that as we deal with 
difficult subjects, that

[[Page 16307]]

we can understand and discern correctly between the competing value 
systems that we are confronting.
  What better prayer group could we have than to ask for the blessings 
of God on to this Nation. And I think as we do that in a bipartisan way 
each week, it softens up the tendency to for us to see the differences 
between the two parties and the two different philosophical sets and we 
begin to see the commonalities that are approached from different 
directions. And that, for me, gives the real strength to this country 
because the strength of a country is not one single set of ideas but a 
single set of values that are approached from different directions, and 
the dramatic tension that plays back and forth between competing 
philosophical sets is what gives us the strength.
  Commonly we think of the strength of trees and pine trees that grow 
up in New Mexico without winds that blew from more than one direction 
have one kind of strength. But the people who know lumber say that in 
Washington State where the winds blow from all directions and the 
cellular structure in the tree is moving back and forth creates a 
strength that the pine trees in our state do not have. And I think that 
we as a Nation must understand that as we toss ideas back and forth 
that is a strengthening process as long as we keep it civil. And I say 
to the gentleman from Nebraska and the gentleman from Tennessee, for 
me, you all lead that prayer breakfast in an excellent fashion to help 
us get that tension back and forth in a reasonable, and a calm and 
spiritual way. So for me the prayer breakfast serves a very compelling 
reminder that God uses ordinary people in extraordinary ways as our 
colleague had mentioned elsewhere.
  Finally, the thing that the prayer breakfast does for me is it offers 
accountability. The lifestyle of a congressional representative with 
the travel back and forth is extremely disorienting, and that 
accountability to members of the same faith who are declaring similar 
values is a very important part of me coming here and remembering who I 
am and where I am from and what my commitments are too.
  So again, I thank all of the people in this Congress who participate 
in the prayer breakfast and who reach out hands of encouragement and 
accountability each week. So I thank the gentleman from Nebraska again 
for his leadership in this.
  Mr. OSBORNE. I thank the gentleman from New Mexico. We appreciate the 
gentleman's faithfulness.
  Madam Speaker, at this time I would like to yield to the gentleman 
from Tennessee (Mr. Wamp). The gentleman has been a long time faithful 
member of the Thursday morning prayer breakfast. Currently the 
gentleman does the accountability in terms of those people who are 
hurting, those people who are injured, those people who are ill, and we 
really appreciate that part of his service here. And I think the 
gentleman has a genuine ministry here within Congress. And so it is my 
pleasure to yield time to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Wamp).
  Mr. WAMP. Madam Speaker, I am so grateful the gentleman from Nebraska 
has done this. I can feel the sweet spirit in this room that we feel 
every Thursday morning, that most people would really never have a 
chance to feel and many people come to this body with great success in 
their previous vocation. Few people come with greater success than the 
gentleman from Nebraska. Yet the gentleman is among the most humble, 
decent, selfless thoughtful people that I have ever seen and here the 
gentleman truly is salt and light in a place that needs that. It is the 
best hour of the week. It is what many of us look forward to each week. 
I find it very interesting that when Members leave this place, if they 
came to the prayer breakfast and people will say what do you miss the 
most, that is always the first thing that they say is I miss that 
prayer breakfast, or if there was some bipartisan activity they were 
engaged in, whether it was a trip, family activities or maybe in the 
gym to exercise, they miss that. They miss the bipartisan aspects of 
the House more than anything else. And I think that is important and 
instructive for us.
  We should not be too surprised though that this is a time of great 
tension and political division. I can remember in the mid-90s, I was 
here, Speaker Gingrich was the Speaker. Many things that he said were 
almost a forewarning, almost prophetic. He said he thought we had 
entered into a period that may go 20 years of very close competition 
between the parties, and that political power may swing back and forth.

                              {time}  2310

  And since he said that, we had the Senate that changed hands without 
an election, just with one person switching parties. We had the closest 
election in the history of our country in 2000, and the country still 
ideologically is very divided. So you can see how people might engage 
in rancor or very divisive debate. That is why it is even more 
important for us to be active at trying to bring people together, 
trying to hold up the institution, the things that are good, and to 
talk openly about civility.
  I think we talk about a whole lot of things that do not matter as 
much, and we do not talk near enough about things that do matter more, 
and that is what we are here tonight to talk about.
  Senator Brock, who served in the House seat I am in, gave a speech in 
Tennessee last week about the lack of the civility in the public arena 
in this country today and how important that is. Dr. David Abshire, 
former ambassador, just wrote an essay called ``The Grace and Power of 
Civility.'' The Grace and Power of Civility.
  We need to claim that grace and that power. This weekly hour that we 
come to is truly salt and light in a place here; and the scripture 
calls us to be salt and light. This gives us an opportunity to be salt 
and light.
  Let me say humbly as a member of the majority party that it is 
imperative if we are going to have civility and we are going to have 
any unity, unity is a powerful force in a family, in a Congress, in the 
country. It is the goal that caused Abraham Lincoln to keep us together 
at our worst hour. He said, We are going to preserve our union. We are 
going to stay unified.
  Unity is a powerful principle. And humbly may I say, it is the 
responsibility of the majority to reach out in a civil way to try to 
work together to work together with the minority. It is a lot easier 
for the minority to get along with the majority than it is for the 
majority to take the initiative to try to find ways to be civil and 
decent and uphold the institution.
  Now, there are so many wonderful stories of this hour; and as the 
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) said, what is said there stays 
there. But I want to give you just a little snapshot of a couple of the 
moments that have taken my breath away in the last 11 years.
  We had the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) speak one day. The 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) is a great leader of the civil 
rights movement. He almost went into fire and brimstone preaching that 
day, and it was powerful. But when he talked about the civil rights 
march going from Alabama to Mississippi and how he was met, that group 
was met at the Mississippi State line with the Adjutant General from 
the Mississippi National Guard having orders to arrest them as they 
entered the State of Mississippi. And that very general, General Sonny 
Montgomery of Mississippi, a member of Congress for over 30 years and 
for over 30 years the anchor of this weekly prayer breakfast, he was 
sitting in the room when John Lewis told the story, the very man that 
arrested them was in the room as a colleague, a Member of Congress. And 
the two of them that day, the love they have for each other years later 
is such an example of reconciliation and forgiveness. If they cannot 
only get along but find a way to love each other, surely, goodness, we 
can with the silly disagreements that we have from time to time.
  I think of relationships that were forged. George Herbert Walker Bush 
when he was a Member of the House was a regular at this prayer 
breakfast and he became best friends, he was a

[[Page 16308]]

Republican from New England, became best friends with a Democrat from 
Mississippi named Sonny Montgomery, and their friendship has lasted a 
lifetime, but it was forged on Thursday morning. It transcends 
everything that is done here. This is so meaningful.
  I think of Charlie Stenholm, my friends for years. I think of Bob 
Stump, who is in heaven today, from Arizona who came for over 20 years 
every Thursday morning to pour coffee, walk around the room and serve 
his colleagues, faithfully coming early and staying late to clean up 
and serve others.
  Someone chairs each week, as has been said. One of my favorite lines 
of any contemporary Christian song was written by Ray Boltz in a song 
that says, ``When others see a shepherd boy, God sees a king.''
  Every Thursday somehow we all see a king or a queen because there is 
such goodness in every person that when they peel their heart back and 
show who they are, you can find something good. That is what we do not 
do enough around here is look for the good in the other person. When we 
do, this place gets a lot better; and I think a lot more will get done.
  It has been said, but I want to say it this way, the vast majority of 
people in this body are good and decent people just trying their best 
to represent the folks back home to the best of their ability. But I 
want to close on this note. It takes maintenance to stay informed. It 
takes maintenance to stay fit of mind, body, and spirit. It does not 
just happen. It takes maintenance to be civil and decent and thoughtful 
and kind. You cannot just flip a switch and go from being a crass and 
cold and egotistical person to being good and decent and thoughtful to 
the other person. It takes maintenance.
  That is one thing that we are here tonight to promote and say in a 
bipartisan way. We want this place to function as best it can. Before 
they introduce any of us, not just now but for the rest of their lives, 
they use one word in front of our name and that word is ``honorable.'' 
They will say ``honorable'' for the rest of our lives. And I would say 
that if every one of us wants to live up to that call, we should think 
long and hard about how honorable we act towards each other while we 
are here. Because when it is all said and done, we are all just 
children of God called for two purposes: to serve him and to serve each 
other.
  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much. The 
gentleman certainly, as you can tell from his comments, is a mainstay 
in one of the pillars of the prayer breakfast, and we really appreciate 
his leadership.
  The last person I believe that I have here tonight to call on is the 
person who currently handles our scripture, the gentleman from Kansas 
City, Missouri (Mr. Cleaver). He has been the mayor of Kansas City. He 
is also an ordained minister. And since the gentleman has joined our 
breakfast, I think that we have seen a heightened quality and a real 
contribution. We want to thank him for all that he has contributed. And 
we are pleased that he would join us at this late hour.
  Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) 
has benefited all of us and perhaps even the Nation by arranging for us 
to discuss something that perhaps many men and women around the country 
did not know existed. And the only untrue statement tonight is, I 
think, the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) perhaps 
overstated our singing ability. I do think that we have a couple of 
people with talent, but it certainly does not go past a couple. And I 
just wanted to get the record straight for purposes of history.
  When I was elected to this body, this hallowed hall, I made a 
commitment to the people of my district, to my family and to my God 
that I would not come here to call people names, that I would not come 
here and disrespect my colleagues. I might disagree, but I would never 
disrespect.
  I did not realize that there was a prayer group here. The second week 
after I was sworn in, the gentlewoman from my State of Missouri invited 
me to the prayer breakfast. I came to the prayer breakfast with some 
uncertainty. I had no idea what it was about. I had no idea whether I 
would get anything from it. That quickly melted into the woodwork of 
that room where we meet.

                              {time}  2320

  My commitment not to call names, my commitment not to be 
disrespectful is now empowered by the Hour of Power, the prayer 
breakfast. It is an opportunity for renewal for me to be with people 
who are like minded, men and women of faith.
  There is a great deal of discussion taking place across the length 
and breadth of this Nation about the relevance of religion in politics. 
It is important for me to say that there is great relevance between 
faith and public service through elective office. If there is not 
relevance, then faith is frail. All of us are informed by our faith, 
albeit differently, because self-interest, unavoidably, creeps into our 
theology. So there are times when I am absolutely certain that I hear 
the voice of God, when in fact I may be hearing my own voice, 
disguised.
  And so, because of that, in our prayer breakfasts there is no 
proselytizing. No one comes to the prayer breakfast to speak about 
legislation and the rightness or wrongness of it, or whether God has 
embraced it or whether God is against it. We come there in prayer. We 
come there as men and women looking for a moment. If we can just snatch 
this little moment where we can come into a setting where nobody is 
trying to do anybody any harm. It is a nonpolitical hour. You do not 
find Democrats standing up trying to present a donkey prayer. There are 
no elephant prayers. Men and women come to pray. So I am convinced that 
through that prayer breakfast we are able to build up our own personal 
faith so that it can inform us on how we conduct ourselves politically.
  I realize that in this Congress there are no saints, just elected 
sinners who, for the most part, are trying to do the right thing and 
coming to the prayer breakfast reminds us that we are trying to do the 
right thing. Now, everybody here is fallible. We are flawed. We make 
mistakes. But I am convinced, at least based on what I have seen, that 
everybody is here trying to do the right thing, and those of us who 
come to the prayer breakfast are working on it. We are not a complete 
product, but we are in fact working on it. We realize that working on 
our faith is a tortuously difficult and long process, but this helps.
  I have family in Tanzania, Africa, in the City of Arusha, which sits 
in the shadows of Mount Kilimanjaro. When last there, I went to the 
Episcopal church, which is in downtown Arusha, such as it is, and I 
listened to a priest reprimand one of his parishioners. You see, in 
Tanzania, many of the people who live in huts build a little prayer 
spot somewhere near their door, usually a back door, and the priest can 
walk by and see whether there is a well-worn path from the door to the 
prayer spot. And I listened to a priest say to one of his parishioners, 
I saw much weeds growing in your prayer path, which meant that he had 
not been frequenting the place where he had established a relationship 
with God.
  Without the prayer breakfast, I do not think that I would have the 
well-worn prayer path that I have now. For me, Thursday morning at 8 
o'clock is the Hour of Power. There are people here who are in powerful 
positions, there are people here even now trying to become even more 
powerful in this Congress, but the real power, for me, the power that 
enables me to continue to function is the Hour of Power on Thursday 
mornings, and I thank God for it.
  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague very much. We 
appreciate all that he contributes each Thursday, and certainly his 
knowledge of scripture and his use of scripture has been something that 
has been an inspiration to all of us.
  I would like to conclude this time, Mr. Speaker, by just making a few 
other observations and reflections. We want to make sure that people 
understand this is not an exclusive hour. We

[[Page 16309]]

have many foreign dignitaries. These are all members of parliament, 
members of governments around the world. You have to be an elected 
member to attend. Some of them are Muslims, some are Jews.
  We have had many of our Jewish Members in the Congress who have come 
and shared with us, and we want to have each person who comes to 
understand that they are cared for, that they are accepted, and that 
they are loved during that hour. So we find that by being inclusive in 
that way that we are able to share what we are put on this earth to do.
  I would like to conclude by just reading a brief excerpt from a book 
by David Barton. Again, he was alluding to some of the Founding 
Fathers. And we know they had tremendous foresight and great 
anticipation of what was to come. ``Franklin had warned,'' and Barton 
says this, ``Franklin had warned `forgetting God' and imagining we no 
longer need his `concurring aid' would result in international 
disputes, the decay of the nation's prestige and reputation, and a 
diminished national success. Washington had warned if religious 
principles were excluded, the nation's morality and political 
prosperity would suffer.''
  So these were some words from 200 years ago that I think resonate 
today. And certainly not necessarily as warnings but as indications 
that this Nation was founded on spiritual principle, and that 
forgetting those principles and moving away from them does have an 
inherent danger in it.
  Reggie White is certainly much more contemporary. Reggie was a great 
defensive football player from the University of Tennessee and later 
played in the National Football League. Reggie said something that I 
thought was rather profound at one time. He said, ``God honors those 
who honor him.'' I think Reggie was talking on a personal level, that 
certainly those individuals who honor God will in turn be honored, but 
I think Reggie also was referring to the fact that this is true at a 
national level, that those nations who honor him and remember him, and 
serve him and honor him will also be honored by God or divine 
providence, as Franklin and as Washington mentioned.
  So it is worth mentioning and worth remembering at this time that 
this Nation is in a time of peril and a time of crisis and, therefore, 
we feel that the Thursday morning breakfast serves a useful purpose. 
And we hope that by having this hour this evening and having these 
Members come and share, that maybe the general public would get a 
little better understanding of what this assemblage is about and some 
of the things we think are important.

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