[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 8816-8817]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    PRAYER AT SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS

  Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, last Thursday was designated as a National 
Day of Prayer. I began the day at a prayer breakfast with the people of 
Tangipahoa, LA, whose school board was recently the subject of a 
Federal court ruling against prayer at board meetings.
  This February 24 ruling, by U.S. District Court Judge Ginger Berrigan 
of New Orleans, was filed by an unnamed individual with the backing of 
the American Civil Liberties Union. The purpose of the lawsuit was to 
stop prayers at Tangipahoa Parish School Board meetings.
  In her ruling against the school board, Judge Berrigan said:

     [i]n officially promoting a religious practice at its 
     governmental meetings, the board is doing what its schools 
     and teachers cannot do, favor religion over non-religion and 
     endorse particular religious faiths.

  If this ruling stands, school boards in other parts of Louisiana as 
well as school boards across the country could be subjected to similar 
lawsuits.
  Many have joined me in criticizing this February 24 ruling, including 
the Democratic Governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Blanco, who called for 
the school board to appeal the decision to the Fifth Circuit Court of 
Appeals. As stated by Governor Blanco:

       I believe that such prayers are entirely appropriate, 
     constitutional, and in keeping with a practice in our nation 
     that dates back to the Continental Congress.

  I could not agree more with that statement, and I am delighted that 
the school board on May 1, 2005 voted unanimously to appeal the 
district court's ruling.
  To me, this February 24 ruling seems like another attempt by Federal 
courts to legislate from the bench--especially when you consider that 
other lawmaking bodies are allowed to hold prayer. Here in the Senate, 
we routinely open with a prayer, as does the U.S. House of 
Representatives and as do State legislatures across the Nation.
  In 1983, the U.S. Supreme Court held, in the case of Marsh v. 
Chambers, that the practice of opening legislative sessions with prayer 
has become part of the fabric of our society. To invoke divine guidance 
on a public body entrusted with making the laws is not a

[[Page 8817]]

violation of the Establishment Clause, but rather is simply an 
acknowledgement of beliefs widely held among the American people, said 
the Court.
  Voluntary prayer in elected bodies should not be limited to prayer in 
State legislatures and Congress. School boards are deliberative bodies 
of adults. They are similar to a legislature in that they are elected 
by the people, act in the public interest, and are open to the public 
for voluntary attendance.
  And let's not forget that this Nation was founded on the principle of 
freedom of religion. Not freedom from religion but freedom of religion. 
The Framers intended that the U.S. Constitution would bar the 
Government from enacting any law that favors one religious denomination 
over another, not prevent any mention of religion or reference to God 
in civic dialogue. The Framers recognized that freedom to practice 
religion and to express religious thought is a fundamental and 
alienable right belonging to all Americans.
  The ACLU, which backed this lawsuit against the school board, has 
criticized those of us who have called for the school board to appeal 
the district court ruling. I do not share the ACLU's opinion, and more 
importantly, the people of Louisiana do not share the ACLU's opinion.
  It is a fact that Americans often turn to their elected officials for 
relief, especially after being rebuffed by courts. As stated by the 
nonpartisan Congressional Research Service:

       With regard to religious liberty, the origin and growth of 
     an individual's right to believe or not believe, and the 
     safeguarding of that right, have occurred almost entirely 
     outside the courtroom. The regular political process has 
     protected the religious freedom of minorities as well as and 
     often better than the courts.

  In short, it is not unusual for Congress to advance religious liberty 
beyond what is available from the judiciary.
  On April 29 I introduced a resolution, S. Res. 132, expressing the 
United States Senate's support for the practice of prayer at the 
beginning of school board meetings. U.S. Congressman Bobby Jindal has 
introduced a similar measure in the U.S. House of Representatives.
  I want to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Coburn, Mr. Grassley, 
and Mr. DeMint for their cosponsorship of S. Res. 132. I urge my other 
colleagues to support this resolution, which recognizes that prayer 
before school board meetings is a protected act in accordance with 
fundamental principles upon which this Nation was founded.

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