[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 20]
[House]
[Page 27636]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        NATIONAL CHRISTMAS TREE

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, last week an 80-foot spruce tree was 
delivered to the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol building. Originally 
billed as the Capitol Holiday Tree, this beautiful spruce has been 
officially changed back to its historical name, the Capitol Christmas 
Tree, by the Speaker of the House, in time for the lighting ceremony to 
be held this Thursday. Predictably, the Speaker's move was unwelcome to 
the adherents of political correctness who constantly demand 
``mainstream policy'' from our leaders.
  So what is the mainstream on this issue, Mr. Speaker? A poll 
conducted last week provides some revealing numbers. Eighty-one percent 
of those polled expressed opposition to religion being excluded from 
public life. Eighty-three percent think nativity scenes should be 
allowed on public property. Ninety-three percent think the phrase ``In 
God We Trust'' should remain on our currency.
  We would do well to keep these numbers in mind the next time the left 
wing attempts to arbitrarily define the mainstream for everyone. And I 
applaud the Speaker for taking a commonsense stand in calling our 
Capitol Christmas Tree what it is.

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