[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 20532-20533]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            CONSTITUTION DAY

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, on Saturday, the Nation will observe the 
218th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution.
  In previous years, September 17 has been designated ``Citizenship 
Day''--a day on which all Americans were encouraged to pay special 
attention to the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
  This year, for the first time, we celebrate September 17 as 
``Constitution Day and Citizenship Day.'' This special focus on the 
Constitution came about as a result of an initiative sponsored by our 
senior colleague from West Virginia. The Consolidated Appropriations

[[Page 20533]]

Act for Fiscal 2005 provides that each educational institution 
receiving Federal funds during a fiscal year will conduct a program of 
its own devising on the Constitution. Also, each Federal department and 
agency, in connection with this special day, will make available 
educational materials on the Constitution for its employees.
  Today, we have placed on the desk of each Senator two documents. The 
first is an annotated copy of the Constitution. The second contains the 
record of the 1787 constitutional convention as pertains to the powers 
and responsibilities of the United States Senate. In the spirit of this 
first Constitution Day, I hope all my colleagues will take the time to 
examine both of these fundamental documents.

                          ____________________