[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 16306-16313]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  REAFFIRMING ``IN GOD WE TRUST'' AS THE OFFICIAL MOTTO OF THE UNITED 
                                 STATES

  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 13) reaffirming ``In God We Trust'' 
as the official motto of the United States and

[[Page 16307]]

supporting and encouraging the public display of the national motto in 
all public buildings, public schools, and other government 
institutions.
  The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
  The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 13

       Whereas ``In God We Trust'' is the official motto of the 
     United States;
       Whereas the sentiment, ``In God We Trust'', has been an 
     integral part of United States society since its founding;
       Whereas in times of national challenge or tragedy, the 
     people of the United States have turned to God as their 
     source for sustenance, protection, wisdom, strength, and 
     direction;
       Whereas the Declaration of Independence recognizes God, our 
     Creator, as the source of our rights, ``We hold these truths 
     to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they 
     are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, 
     that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of 
     happiness.'';
       Whereas the national anthem of the United States says 
     ``praise the power that hath made and preserved us a nation . 
     . . and this be our motto: in God is our trust.'';
       Whereas the words ``In God We Trust'' appear over the 
     entrance to the Senate Chamber and above the Speaker's 
     rostrum in the House Chamber;
       Whereas the oath taken by all Federal employees, except the 
     President, states ``I will well and faithfully discharge the 
     duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me 
     God.'';
       Whereas John Adams said, ``Statesmen may plan and speculate 
     for Liberty, but it is Religion and Morality alone, which can 
     establish the Principles upon which Freedom can securely 
     stand.'';
       Whereas if religion and morality are taken out of the 
     marketplace of ideas, the very freedom on which the United 
     States was founded cannot be secured;
       Whereas as President Eisenhower said and President Ford 
     later repeated, ``Without God, there could be no American 
     form of government, nor, an American way of life.''; and
       Whereas President John F. Kennedy said, ``The guiding 
     principle and prayer of this Nation has been, is now, and 
     ever shall be `In God We Trust.''': Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That Congress reaffirms ``In God We Trust'' as 
     the official motto of the United States and supports and 
     encourages the public display of the national motto in all 
     public buildings, public schools, and other government 
     institutions.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Forbes) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia.


                             General Leave

  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on House Concurrent Resolution 13 
currently under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Virginia?
  There was no objection.

                              {time}  1650

  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  When our Declaration of Independence was penned, it was unique in 
that the writers of that document recognized that the rights that we 
have as American citizens didn't come from some committee in this body, 
some resolution, or even from the king, but rather came from God 
himself. In 1814 during the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key noticed 
through the battle fires that were going on a unique thing and began to 
pen what would become our national anthem when he wrote ``The Star 
Spangled Banner'' and mentioned that ``In God We Trust'' was the motto 
of this great Nation.
  The 39th Congress of the United States in 1865 during the Civil War 
which threatened to tear this Nation apart authorized ``In God We 
Trust'' to be placed on certain coins, including the dollar, the half 
dollar, and the quarter dollar.
  The 43rd Congress in 1873 authorized ``In God We Trust'' to be placed 
on coins as the Secretary of Commerce would so desire, and the 
Secretary of the Treasury.
  In the 60th Congress in 1908, Congress mandated that ``In God We 
Trust'' be placed on all gold and silver coins.
  In the 82nd Congress in 1951, the Senate Chamber demanded and 
authorized and then had ``In God We Trust'' placed over the entrance 
door in the Senate Chamber.
  In the 84th Congress in 1955, Congress enacted and President 
Eisenhower approved legislation requiring the motto to appear on all 
coins and currency.
  In the 84th Congress in 1956, Congress officially adopted ``In God We 
Trust'' as the national motto of the United States. And in that 
Congress, the Senate said it was important for the spiritual and 
psychological value of the country to have a clear and well-defined 
national motto.
  In the 87th Congress, this body authorized ``In God We Trust'' to be 
placed right behind where you're standing, where it still stands today.
  In the 107th Congress, we reaffirmed the Pledge of Allegiance and 
once again our national motto.
  And in the 109th Congress, the Senate reaffirmed the national motto.
  In the 110th Congress in 2007, Congress said that on the dollar coin, 
we had to put ``In God We Trust'' from the edge of coin back to where 
it belonged on the front or back of the coin.
  And in the 111th Congress in 2009, this body authorized ``In God We 
Trust'' to be in the Capitol Visitor Center and mandated it be placed 
in there.
  Mr. Speaker, so what brings us to today? Well, unfortunately, there 
are a number of public officials who forget what the national motto is, 
whether intentionally or unintentionally. There are those who have 
become confused as to whether or not it can still be placed on our 
buildings, whether it can be placed in our school classrooms. Almost a 
year ago, the President, in making a speech across the world, said that 
our national motto was ``E Pluribus Unum.'' When the Visitor Center was 
opened, was tried to be opened, $621 million of taxpayer money, a part 
of this very structure that you and I are standing in here now, they 
did not have the national motto in there. In fact, they inscribed in 
the stones that our national motto was ``E Pluribus Unum.''
  We have because of those kinds of omissions many people confused 
today, asking when we changed it, what happened to it, can they still 
display it in rooms. So we believe that today it's fitting that we come 
together as a Congress and reaffirm that great national motto, do what 
the Senate did just a few years ago, and once again make clear to the 
people in this country that our national motto is ``In God We Trust'' 
and encourage them to proudly display that motto.
  Mr. Speaker, with that, I hope and urge the adoption of this measure, 
and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Although the American people are concerned about restoring our 
economy and creating jobs, today we are returning to irrelevant issues 
that do nothing to promote economic growth and put Americans back to 
work. We have seen this before.
  In the 107th Congress, we passed a bill to reaffirm the phrase ``One 
Nation, under God'' in the Pledge of Allegiance, and reaffirm the 
national motto. We went so far as to reenact into law, word for word, 
the existing law making ``In God We Trust'' the national motto, just to 
be sure.
  Now, no one has threatened it. No one has said it was not the 
national motto. This resolution today, which has no force of law, 
simply restates the national motto--once again.
  Why have my Republican friends returned to an irrelevant agenda? 
Irrelevant because it does nothing. It simply restates existing law 
that no one has questioned. Why are we debating nonbinding resolutions 
about the national motto?
  The American people are demanding action on the President's jobs 
legislation. They are demanding that we pay attention to rebuilding our 
national infrastructure. They are demanding that we deal with a budget 
fairly and effectively. They are demanding fairness for the middle 
class and for the 99 percent of Americans who don't write million-
dollar checks and hire expensive lobbyists and make huge campaign 
contributions.

[[Page 16308]]

  And yet here we are, back to irrelevant issue debates, the kind of 
thing people do when they have run out of ideas, when they have run out 
of excuses, when they have nothing to offer a middle class that is 
hurting and that has run out of patience.
  What happened to Republican pledges that we weren't going to do these 
kind of symbolic resolutions anymore? Symbolic because, after all, it 
changes nothing. The national motto remains the national motto, as much 
today and tomorrow as yesterday. What happened to Republican pledges 
that we were going to focus on the business of legislating? That was 
earlier this year.
  Make no mistake about it: Some have taken a decidedly divisive tone 
when discussing the national motto. Some have sought to imply that 
their political adversaries, including the President, are somehow less 
godly, or less patriotic, and have used the national motto as a 
political wedge to drive home that point, or to try to drive home that 
point.
  I think that kind of divisiveness undermines national unity which, 
especially in times like these, is very important. Rather than trying 
to one-up each other over who can be the better or more godly American, 
we should be working together to solve our very real problems.
  Mr. Speaker, let's get back to the work we were sent here to do. 
Let's stop playing the kind of social issue games that do nothing to 
move the Nation forward. The national motto is not in danger. No one 
here is suggesting that we get rid of it. It appears on our money. It 
appears in this Chamber above your head. It appears in the Capitol 
Visitor Center, all over the place. We don't need to go looking for 
imagined problems to fix. We've got enough real ones to worry about.
  This resolution is a waste of time, a waste of effort. And again, 
remember that this country is a country for all people--whether they 
are religious or not, whether they believe in God or not, whether they 
believe in one God or not. The First Amendment tells us we should make 
no law respecting establishment of religion nor prohibiting the free 
exercise thereof. This is not an establishment of religion, but simply 
restating this when no one has threatened it, when no one has 
questioned it. It is an exercise to tell people who may not believe in 
God: You don't really count; you're not really Americans.
  The establishment clause is there to protect religion from 
government, and government from religion, to separate the two.
  This resolution is here to say we don't want to separate the two. If 
someone was threatening the national motto then maybe it would be 
necessary. As it is, this is simply an exercise in saying we're more 
religious than the other people. We're more godly than the other 
people. And by the way, let's waste time and divert people's attention 
from the real issues that we're not dealing with, like unemployment. We 
shouldn't go looking for imagined problems to fix when we have enough 
real ones to worry about.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, I would like to 
respond to my good friend as he said this is irrelevant, nothing to 
offer the middle class that is hurting, when he says this is just a 
symbolic gesture.
  Mr. Speaker, there are those who believe that the Declaration of 
Independence is just a symbolic document, just words. There are those 
who believe that that flag behind you is just a symbol, and the Pledge 
of Allegiance we make to it just words. And there are those who believe 
that ``In God We Trust'' right up there--just words.
  They don't realize what so many other Congresses, so many Presidents 
of this United States have realized: They are far more than words; they 
are the very fabric that has built and sustained the greatest nation 
the world has ever known. And I challenge my good friend who would dare 
say that that declaration was just a symbol, that Pledge of Allegiance 
just a symbol, or ``In God We Trust'' just a symbol, to dare say to 
President Lincoln, when he brought in ``In God We Trust'' and he talked 
about that and he embraced it during the greatest conflict this country 
has ever known, the Civil War, he was just wasting his time, it was 
irrelevant, he wasn't doing anything to that Nation that was hurting.
  Or to say it to Woodrow Wilson, who would embrace it during World War 
I when this Nation was at a very, very difficult time, that it was just 
irrelevant, it was just words and it did nothing at all.
  Or to say to President Roosevelt, during World War II, when we didn't 
know whether we'd have the freedoms that ``In God We Trust'' gives us 
the opportunity to have and that flag gives us the opportunity to have, 
that ``In God We Trust'' was just words.

                              {time}  1700

  Or John Kennedy, or Dwight Eisenhower, or Ronald Reagan, or Francis 
Scott Key during the middle of a battle that challenged the existence 
of this Nation--just words.
  Mr. Speaker, I would just say to my good friend that I understand how 
there are few who believe that ``In God We Trust'' is just words. But I 
would say today that it is far more than words. It is worth defending 
just as that Pledge of Allegiance is worth defending and that 
Declaration of Independence is worth defending. And I'm grateful that 
we will have an opportunity to do just that today.
  The challenges the gentleman says don't exist with court suits and 
public officials who are saying that not ``In God We Trust'' is our 
national motto but something else, it's worth our standing today and 
taking 40 minutes to do what so many Presidents and so many Congresses 
have done before in saying that we should inspire this Nation with hope 
and optimism that we are different from the rest of the world and those 
words will continue to stand behind where you stand.
  I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Nobody said that the national motto ``In God We Trust'' is just 
words. Nobody said any such thing. What I said is that this resolution 
is just words because no one is threatening the national motto. It's 
there. It's on our currency, and it's on our walls. It's there. It's 
our national motto. No one denies that fact. Nothing will change when 
we pass this resolution. It was our national motto yesterday, it's our 
national motto today, and it will be our national motto tomorrow.
  This resolution is simply words designed to distract attention from 
our real problems to a nonexistent problem. There's no challenge to our 
national motto. There is no challenge to the foundations of this 
country. There is a challenge to our economy, and that we ought to be 
paying attention to.
  So all the nice words that my friend from Virginia talked about how 
important our belief in God is, I agree, obviously. But this resolution 
is a waste of time and a diversion.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the distinguished 
chairman of the Judiciary Committee whose leadership helped bring this 
resolution to the floor, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith).
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. I thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Forbes) 
both for yielding me time and for introducing this resolution.
  There are few things Congress could do that would be more important 
than passing this resolution. It reaffirms ``In God We Trust'' as the 
official motto of the United States. It provides Congress with the 
opportunity to renew its support of a principle that was venerated by 
the Founders of our country and by its Presidents on a bipartisan 
basis.
  In our Declaration of Independence, the Founders declared: ``We the 
Representatives of the United States of America appealing to the 
Supreme Judge of the World do with a firm Reliance on the Protection of 
divine Providence pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our 
sacred Honor.''
  George Washington, as President of the Constitutional Convention, 
declared, ``Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can 
repair; this event is in the hand of God!''

[[Page 16309]]

James Madison, the Father of the Constitution, declared while he was 
President ``a day of thanksgiving and of acknowledgements to Almighty 
God.'' Madison said in his declaration that ``no people ought to feel 
greater obligations to celebrate the goodness of the Great Disposer of 
Events and of the Destiny of Nations than the people of the United 
States.''
  Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence 
wrote, ``God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of 
a nation be thought secure when we have removed their own only firm 
basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are 
the gift of God?''
  More recently America's Presidents have reaffirmed the same 
principles. President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, ``In teaching this 
democratic faith to American children, we need the sustaining, 
buttressing aid of those great ethical religious teachings which are 
the heritage of our modern civilization. For not upon strength nor upon 
power, but upon the spirit of God shall our democracy be founded.''
  President Kennedy said, ``The world is very different now, and yet 
the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still 
at issue around the globe--the belief that the rights of man come not 
from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.''
  During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln counseled Americans to have ``a 
firm reliance on God, who has never yet forsaken this favored land'' 
and recognized that it is God's pleasure to ``give us to see the 
right.'' And Ronald Reagan told the American people, ``We are a Nation 
under God, and I believe God intended for us to be free.''
  Thanks to the leadership of the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Forbes), 
now it is our turn to show that we still believe and recognize these 
same eternal truths. We can do that by approving a resolution that will 
allow today's Congress, as representatives of the American people, to 
reaffirm to the public and the world our Nation's national motto, ``In 
God We Trust.''
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. FORBES. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Daniel E. Lungren).
  Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, in contrast to the 
suggestion made that we don't need to have this reaffirmation of our 
national motto, I provide this evidence. First of all, we had a lawsuit 
by an individual in my district that went all the way to the U.S. 
Supreme Court about the words ``under God'' in the Pledge of 
Allegiance. Secondly, that same individual is now suing, attempting to 
get up to the Supreme Court on this very question of ``In God We 
Trust.'' Third, just a couple of years ago, I had to fight very, very 
strongly to get the words ``In God We Trust'' emplaced, in fact, in the 
CVC, where it is now.
  And for all of those that we've referred to in our history, I think 
we've omitted one which is very, very important, the leader of the 
civil rights revolution. Martin Luther King made it very clear in his 
letter from the Birmingham jail that, in fact, we act out of the 
requirements made on us by the God in whom we trust. That makes us a 
Nation that respects the liberties and the individual worth of every 
single member of our society. If he had not, in fact, looked to our 
historic belief in God as a basis for those principles that all 
Americans abide by, that is, that we are equal in the eyes of God and 
therefore equal in the eyes of our government, he would not have been 
successful.
  This is an important message that we need to reaffirm. It is, in 
fact, under attack. We are not wasting time. For example, how could we 
waste time in making sure that ``In God We Trust'' is, in fact, 
enshrined in our laws and as our national motto?
  Religious faith has been an ever present fact in our history which 
must be included in any picture of who we are as Americans. The failure 
to include it among other representations would give an incomplete and 
inadequate picture of our national ethos.
  The motto ``In God We Trust'' first appeared on a United States coin 
in 1864 during the Civil War, and later became the official motto of 
our nation in 1956 by an act of Congress. It is codified as Federal law 
in the United States Code at 36 U.S.C. 302, which provides: ``In God we 
trust'' is the national motto.
  We must say no to any revisionists who seek to rewrite the American 
narrative. It was not secularism and materialism which inspired those 
from other continents to travel across dangerous seas to a foreign land 
where they sought refuge from religious persecution. Neither can the 
manifest destiny in the hopes and dreams of those who populated the 
land that we now call America be described apart from a spirit which 
led them to face challenges and even death to fulfill those dreams.
  No. It was something greater than themselves which guided them in 
such quests. This understanding of a greater purpose was reflected in 
the Mayflower Compact signed aboard the Mayflower in 1620. In 
acknowledging Divine Providence, John Winthrop and the other Pilgrim 
signers expressed the desire to form a democratic form of government 
and a mutual regard for one another as equals in the sight of God.
  There was a sense of destiny in those first Americans who were drawn 
here by that same vision. In a very real sense they conceived of 
themselves as a chosen people. They saw their covenant as connected 
with the blessing of a new land but even more importantly with an idea 
that America was a place with a transcendent purpose. This ethos of the 
older covenant provided them with a foundation rooted in a common 
commitment to the creation of a new political order.
  The Founding generation of our nation possessed that same sense of 
purpose. John Adams, the author of the Massachusetts constitution, a 
key player in drafting the Declaration of Independence, and the 
President of the United States represented this worldview. Adams was 
committed to this early understanding that a Hebrew metaphysic was the 
cornerstone of the new American culture. Adams understood that only the 
nature of an intelligent, wise, and sovereign God could not only 
create, but also sustain the morality necessary to civilization itself.
  He observed:

       We have no government armed with powers capable of 
     contending with human passions unbridled by morality and 
     religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry would 
     break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes 
     through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and 
     religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government 
     of any other.

  Adams understood that a constitution must be more than mere parchment 
or paper. Rather, our nation's basic law must be grounded in a moral 
order which embodies the timeless first principles of an older 
covenant.
  Such sentiments followed what has become recognized as the clearest 
enunciation of those cardinal principles of American character. In his 
Farewell Address President Washington observed:

       Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political 
     prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports 
     . . . And let us with caution indulge the supposition that 
     morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be 
     conceded by the influence of refined education on minds of 
     peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to 
     expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of 
     religious principle.

  The American Revolution was rooted in a very different worldview than 
its French counterpart. The conception of liberty to which the founding 
generation aspired was rooted in a Transcendent source. With respect to 
the philosophy underlying our political institutions and governance, we 
need look no further than the Declaration of Independence to discover 
what is perhaps the clearest statement of the source of those rights 
which would later be enshrined in our Constitution. We are informed in 
the Preamble that:

       We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are 
     created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with 
     certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, 
     Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

  The source of these unalienable rights--rights that cannot be given 
or taken away--should be noted. Where do our rights come from? They are 
not the product of mere men. They are not the product of mere 
agreement. No. we are endowed with these rights by our Creator. The 
significance of this is that if our rights do not ultimately come from 
man, they cannot be taken away from us by mere men. It is the ultimacy 
of a transcendent source which gives rights their substance.
  The role of the Declaration as the principal statement of American 
political philosophy must surely have a prominent place in our effort 
to unfold a catechism of American character. It is significant that 
Abraham Lincoln in

[[Page 16310]]

one of his debates with Stephen Douglas derisively stated that ``[i]f 
the Declaration is not the truth, let us get the statute book, in which 
we find it, and tear it out!'' There is a practical component to this 
argument in that ``the United States Code includes the Declaration of 
Independence as one of the Organic Laws upon which all statutory law 
rests.''
  However, there is a more compelling reason that Lincoln might have 
responded with such firmness. For he would later note at Gettysburg 
that it was ``Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth 
on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to 
the proposition that all men are created equal.'' On that day of 
November 19, 1863 at Gettysburg, it had been 87 years since those 
immortal words contained in the Declaration had been declared to the 
new nation. Lincoln saw the Civil War as an epochal struggle necessary 
to this promise of the Declaration, ``that this nation, under God, 
shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government of the people, 
by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.''
  Thus our history and our concepts of human dignity and equal justice 
before the law are deeply rooted in the notion of eternal justice.
  Perhaps no greater testimony exists to this fact than the Reverend 
Martin Luther King's, Letter from a Birmingham Jail. He described his 
plight with the following eloquence:

       . . . I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as 
     the eighth century prophets left their little villages and 
     carried their `thus saith the Lord' far beyond the boundaries 
     of their hometowns; and just as the Apostle Paul left his 
     little village of Tarsus and carried the gospel . . . to 
     practically every hamlet and city of the Graeco-Roman world, 
     I too am compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond to 
     the Macedonian call for aid.

  This great leader of the Civil Rights movement clearly understood the 
origin and nature of rights. He spoke of ``God-given rights.'' In 
describing the concept of rights he wrote:

       One may well ask, ``How can you advocate breaking some laws 
     and obeying others?'' The answer is found in the fact that 
     there are two types of laws; there are just and there are 
     unjust laws. I would agree with Saint Augustine that ``an 
     unjust law is no law at all.
       Now what is the difference between the two? How does one 
     determine when a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man-
     made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. 
     An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral 
     law. To put it in terms of Saint Thomas Aquinas, an unjust 
     law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal and natural 
     law.

  Dr. King reasons from experience that rights must be rooted in a 
moral law that is itself rooted in the law of God. The expression of a 
majority is itself an insufficient basis for rights. The argument by 
Stephen Douglas on behalf of the doctrine of popular sovereignty 
(allowing states to determine the slave question by a popular vote) 
failed because of the moral premise that majority sentiment should not 
overcome the fundamental First Principle that it is not permissible to 
own another human being. The exercise of political will without moral 
justification is nothing more than the use of force legitimized by a 
vote. Douglas' position that such a question could be left to the 
decision of the various states was in fact an argument on behalf of 
cultural relativism. Lincoln understood that this was not a sufficient 
basis for law and argued that ``there is no right to do a wrong.'' 
Rights which are not grounded in a transcendent being ultimately are 
left to the historical vagaries of taste and opinion.
  This understanding concerning the centrality of religious faith in 
our nation's history is also reflected in an opinion written by the 
late Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas. Perhaps one of the most 
liberal Justices ever to sit on the Court, Douglas nonetheless observed 
that ``We are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a 
supreme being.'' Of course, not every American believes in God-- that 
is not what Justice Douglass was getting at. Rather, his focus was on 
our history as a people. And it is undeniable that throughout our 
history the religious faith of the American people--in all of its 
various forms--has been an integral part of who we are as a people. A 
plurality of faith commitments has come together in the American 
experience to form a canopy of overlapping consensus concerning the 
providential nature of our history.
  This is our history. It is who we are as a people. Although we are 
not captives of the past, it would be nothing less than national 
suicide were we to fail to uphold the integrity of our collective 
story. Worse yet, we must never allow our history to be rewritten by 
those seeking to serve their own ends. For our understanding of our 
past serves to define who we are and to direct our aspirations for the 
future. To allow others to deny the foundational role of religious 
faith in our nation's history is not only an assault on our history but 
an attempt to dramatically alter the direction of our nation in the 
years ahead.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I would point out that the lawsuit that the gentleman from California 
referred to lost at the Supreme Court, and that was a number of years 
ago, which adds to the point that, of course, ``In God We Trust,'' our 
national motto, is not under attack or under threat, nor is ``under 
God'' in the Pledge of Allegiance under attack or under threat. And 
this is, in fact, an unnecessary resolution.
  Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Will the gentleman yield on 
those points?
  Mr. NADLER. Yes.
  Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. The gentleman who brought that 
case to the Supreme Court has a case pending in Federal Court right now 
on the issue of ``In God We Trust,'' and there is a Federal action out 
of the District Court in Wisconsin right now attempting to get us to 
take out the words ``In God We Trust'' in the CVC. Those are still 
active lawsuits.
  Mr. NADLER. Reclaiming my time, the gentleman may be correct. I'm not 
familiar with that case. But cases making these challenges occur all 
the time. They lose 100 percent of the time, and there's no reason to 
expect that that will change.
  So, again, ``In God We Trust'' was our national motto yesterday and 
it's our national motto today. Whether this resolution passes or not, 
it will be our national motto tomorrow, and we're wasting our time.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller), the chairman of the Veterans 
Committee.
  Mr. MILLER of Florida. I thank my good friend, the gentleman from 
Virginia, for bringing this legislation to the floor; and I thank my 
friend from California for, in fact, pointing out to the gentleman from 
the other side of the aisle that, in fact, there are attacks on our 
national motto ``In God We Trust.'' We do know that there are attempts 
to take it out of the CVC.
  This country for many, many years--in fact, from its inception--has 
relied on a faith in God. Yes, there are attacks every day. There are 
attacks on our chaplains within our military services that are now 
being told in some instances that they cannot perform religious duties 
in reference to their faith. We have the flag-folding ceremony that is 
under attack now on veterans' cemeteries where people are now being 
told that they are not being allowed to do the flag-folding ceremony 
during the death of a person that has served time in this military.

                              {time}  1710

  But I think the unfortunate thing is that, as we stand here today, 
this is important. This is not a waste of time. It's important that we 
stand here and we renew our national motto, ``In God We Trust.'' Ronald 
Reagan said, in fact, that if we ever forget that we are one nation 
under God, that we will then be one nation gone under.
  And so I'm proud to stand with my good friend from Virginia (Mr. 
Forbes) and all the Members who have come on the floor today to again 
reaffirm that our national motto is--yesterday, today, and will be 
tomorrow--``In God We Trust.''
  Mr. NADLER. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe).
  Mr. POE of Texas. I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank the 
gentleman from Virginia for introducing this resolution.
  ``In God We Trust'' is an important part of American history, and 
this resolution is necessary to ensure that it remains a part of our 
history.
  Today, some individuals argue that the Constitution says that America 
cannot have any mention of God in a public atmosphere. These folks 
argue that Americans must be censored when they talk in public about 
God or even religion. I strongly disagree with that contention, the 
Supreme Court disagrees with that contention, and using

[[Page 16311]]

the writings of our Founding Fathers as a guide, I believe they would 
also disagree with that contention.
  What makes us unique, Mr. Speaker, is the way we started as a Nation. 
We had this concept in the Declaration of Independence that we are 
worth something as individuals, and that we are worth something as 
individuals not because government gives us rights or men give us 
rights, but the Declaration of Independence says that we are all 
endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights. In God we 
trusted then and in God we must continue to trust now.
  The truth is that our Constitution says that we are guaranteed 
freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. And having the word 
``God'' in our national motto does not establish an official religion 
for the country; it just simply recognizes the role that faith and 
religion have played in our history.
  I believe, as many other Americans do, that America is a special 
place, a chosen place, and even an exceptional place. And America is 
more than just another country on the globe, as some say. Throughout 
our history, we've served as a beacon of light in an often dark world. 
And one reason is because in God we trust. As it has been said: Unless 
the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen watch in vain. I agree 
with that, and we should affirm it.
  And that's just the way it is.
  Mr. NADLER. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished 
gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Harper).
  Mr. HARPER. ``In God We Trust.'' For over five decades, America has 
celebrated this phrase as our national motto. This pronouncement is 
part of our national anthem, is written on our coins and our currency, 
and is engraved in both Chambers of Congress. But the United States' 
foundation in God far outdates the period that our country has 
recognized this steadfast expression as our national motto.
  Our country's first national document, the Declaration of 
Independence, spoke to unalienable rights given to Americans by our 
Creator. Numerous sources point to our Founders' collective reliance on 
God for direction and wisdom as they drafted the United States 
Constitution.
  When Congress adopted our Great Seal in 1782, included in its design 
were numerous allusions to biblical references. And in 1787, when the 
Constitution was framed at the convention in Philadelphia, Benjamin 
Franklin reminded the delegates that God governs in the affairs of men, 
declaring, ``And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His 
notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?''
  The Founding Fathers knew that prayer and God's Holy word had 
protected them, blessed them and given them guidance to begin their 
journey. These Judeo-Christian principles offered a firm, time-tested 
foundation for America's founders, and it is the inclusion of these 
principles into our government that makes America special.
  Today, as I walk through our Nation's Capitol, I am constantly 
surrounded by the reminders of God's presence: scripture verses such as 
John 15:13 found on a statue, paintings of the baptism of Pocahontas 
and the pilgrims in prayer that we are indeed endowed by our Creator 
with certain inalienable rights.
  America's religious consciousness cannot be ignored.
  This is why we must reaffirm ``In God We Trust'' as the official 
motto of the United States and encourage the public to display this 
declaration in all public buildings.
  Mr. NADLER. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Broun).
  Mr. BROUN of Georgia. During the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin 
Franklin wrote a speech urging the assembly to begin their morning 
session with daily prayer. Franklin wrote: I have lived a long time, 
and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth--
that God governs in the affairs of men.
  He went on to say that: Without God's concurring aid, we shall 
succeed in this 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.
  Just as Benjamin Franklin suggested, we must continue to affirm that 
God has a place in blessing our government, in guiding our lawmakers, 
and that He has the ability to lead our Nation back to a path of 
righteousness and prosperity.
  ``In God We Trust'' has great meaning in our Nation, and we must 
encourage its display in all public buildings and government 
institutions. So I urge my colleagues to pass House Concurrent 
Resolution 13.
  Mr. NADLER. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Oklahoma (Mr. Lankford).
  Mr. LANKFORD. I hear many people say that our country has never been 
more at odds and our rhetoric more divisive than now. I would strongly 
disagree. I would remind us of a time in 1861 when our Nation stood at 
the precipice of the Civil War and the oratory spilled over into 
bloodshed. During that dark moment in our Nation's history, the 
Secretary of the Treasury ordered the Director of the U.S. Mint to 
create a new inscription for the national coins. He wrote: ``No nation 
can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His 
defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our 
national coins.''
  The Director of the Mint responded back with a variation of the 
phrase that he pulled out from the Star Spangled Banner, the statement, 
so our motto is ``In God is our trust,'' since it was a familiar hymn 
and indicative of the American people. It was later finalized as, ``In 
God We Trust'' and was first put on a 2-cent coin in 1864, near the end 
of the Civil War.
  This was not some isolated moment in American history; this is a 
consistent theme. Whether it be the shelling of Baltimore in 1814, when 
Francis Scott Key watched, knowing this was the decisive moment, or 
whether it was World War I or World War II that entered the Cold War, 
immediately after that as we were fighting against communism, trying to 
find what is it that sets the United States apart from the other 
nations around the world, it is this unique thing: Our founding 
documents are based around this statement, We are given our rights from 
God, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We as 
Americans believe our rights are from God. It is in God we trust.
  Mr. NADLER. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Franks).
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. I thank the gentleman for bringing this 
forward.
  I know that down through the ages there has been this great question 
that has occurred to mankind, and it is a similar one: Is God God or is 
man God? In God do we trust or in man do we trust? I would submit to 
you that the answer to that question, Mr. Chairman, is one of profound 
significance.
  Indeed, Christopher Columbus trusted in God, and his service to God 
was to go out and search the world to find ways to do things that would 
honor God, and he ran into this place called America. Indeed, those who 
were colonists that first came to America came here because they wanted 
to worship God; they wanted to find a way to honor God. Indeed, the 
Founding Fathers that started this country did so in the name of God. 
So their trust in God has had a profound impact on those of us that 
live in this day.
  And I would submit to you that if we answer the question the other 
way, if man is God, then an atheist state is as brutal as the thesis 
that it rests upon and there is no longer any reason for us to gather 
here in this place. We should just let anarchy prevail because, after 
all, we are just worm food. So indeed we have the time to reaffirm that 
God is God and in God do we trust.
  Mr. NADLER. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Alabama (Mr. Aderholt).

[[Page 16312]]


  Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this resolution 
reaffirming ``In God We Trust'' as the official motto of the United 
States of America.
  The motto is more than just a slogan. It defines the sentiments, I 
believe, of the Founding Fathers. While they never intended there to be 
an official state religion, they fully endorsed the idea of the 
acknowledgement of God.

                              {time}  1720

  From the opening of each day in the House and in the Senate with 
prayer, to the private prayers of the individual Founders, the Founders 
indeed did put their trust in God. I believe they knew in their hearts 
that God had a special place for the United States of America and this 
new Nation.
  And while they knew that a Christian and godly Nation could never be 
achieved by any legislation that Congress could pass, they knew it was 
the people of the Nation who would individually receive God in their 
hearts for this to be truly a godly Nation.
  So today, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this 
resolution that's before us reaffirming our motto ``In God We Trust.''
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  I've listened to this discussion. There's no question that most 
people in this Chamber, maybe everybody in this Chamber, agrees with 
the phrase, with the motto, ``In God We Trust.'' I certainly do.
  It's no question it's the motto of this country. We've adopted it. 
It's no question that it's not threatened. No one's seeking to change 
it, except for every so often there's a court case which uniformly gets 
thrown out, and that's not new.
  There's no necessity for this resolution except, really, the only 
reason for this resolution, frankly, is to declare how good we are, 
that we're going to reaffirm what needs no reaffirmation, and to divert 
attention from the issues that we really ought to be dealing with.
  So let me say, again, ``In God We Trust'' is the motto of the United 
States. It was yesterday, it is today, it will be tomorrow whether we 
pass this resolution or not.
  We do have to be sensitive to the fact that not everyone in this 
country believes in God, and they are just as much Americans as those 
of us who do believe in God.
  I see no reason for passing this resolution to reaffirm what is 
already the case and what we've affirmed before. So it's a waste of 
time. And I am not saying that ``In God We Trust'' is a waste of time, 
nor that the national motto is simply words or a symbol. They mean 
something.
  But this resolution is simply words which does nothing, is intended 
to do nothing other than to get up and say, we're godly, we're good 
people. And it's true, we are, I hope. Most of us are. But we don't 
have to declare it. And we don't have to make people who may not agree 
with it feel that they're not as American as we are.
  We don't have to spend the time in this House when we're not spending 
it on things that are important in terms of something that we can 
actually change, that we can actually do something about, like creating 
jobs and affecting the economy. We can't change this. This is the 
national motto. It will remain the national motto. This resolution 
changes nothing.
  If this resolution were saying, let's abolish the national motto, 
then it would change something and we'd say, well, you can debate it 
one way or the other. But this changes nothing. It simply diverts 
attention, it wastes our time, and it is unworthy for that reason.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, in closing, the gentleman from New York says 
that we are simply declaring how good we are, that we are wasting our 
time, that we have other things that are important.
  I realize that there are some who don't see the difference between 
what we're doing in reaffirming ``In God We Trust'' as our national 
motto from naming a post office or commending some athletic team that's 
won the last sports contest. But I happen to believe that when Thomas 
Jefferson stated in the Declaration of Independence that our rights 
came from God, he didn't think that was irrelevant or not important.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope that we will support this resolution.
  Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution to 
reaffirm `In God We Trust' as the official motto of the United States 
(H. Con. Res. 13), and I want to thank Congressman Randy Forbes for 
introducing this resolution and commend him for his tireless and 
ongoing defense of America's Christian heritage.
  I believe that reaffirming our commitment to ``In God We Trust'' as 
the official motto of the United States matters. It pays tribute to our 
present and past, and it facilitates our future. America was founded on 
the principle that we derive our rights from our Creator. They are not 
given to us by government or by kings. These rights are given to us by 
God.
  I don't believe that one can adequately explain the near boundless 
prosperity and advancement of the United States of America since 1776 
other than the hand of Providence. In these difficult times, now more 
than ever, we should reaffirm `In God We Trust' as our official motto.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. 
Con. Res. 13, rise today ``Reaffirming `In God We Trust' as the 
official motto of the United States'' which would support and encourage 
the public display of the national motto in all public buildings, 
public schools, and other government institutions. This motto reflects 
our nation's rich history of religious freedom and tolerance.
  More than three hundred years ago, bound by their common faith and 
desire for tolerance and liberty, a small group of pilgrims journeyed 
to America. They sought a place where they could safely and freely 
worship according to their own beliefs.
  The tradition of religious freedom is one of the fundamental 
liberties upon which our nation was founded. The founding document of 
our nation, The Declaration of Independence, states that men are 
``endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights that among 
these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.'' Reaffirming 
`In God We Trust' as the national motto does not violate these rights; 
instead, this is an acknowledgement of our nation's unwavering 
commitment to religious freedom.
  The English word God does not exclusively refer to a Christian God or 
God from any one religion. There are names of God in a variety of 
religious traditions throughout the world, including Hinduism, Sikhism, 
Christianity, Islam, Judaism, indigenous African religions, and Native 
American religions. In all of these diverse faiths, names of God are 
invoked to address the Supreme Being or deity in liturgy and prayer. In 
fact, the word God is defined as referring to the Supreme Being, the 
creator and ruler of the universe. This definition does not imply that 
God is tied to a specific religion, but rather unique to individual 
faith traditions.
  We are a diverse nation, filled with people from around the world, 
people of varying backgrounds, races and religions. In Houston, where I 
represent the 18th Congressional District, 44 percent of the population 
is Hispanic, and 25 percent are African Americans. Houston is also home 
to the third largest Vietnamese community in the country, as well as 
the 5th largest Indonesian population, and a sizeable community of 
individuals from Nigeria, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Norway. 
Within these diverse cultural backgrounds, there are many different 
religions, faiths and customs.
  The 18th Congressional District recently made great progress in 
celebrating all of Houston's religions. On October 18, 2011, Houston's 
Institute of Interfaith Dialog broke ground for the Houston Interfaith 
Peace Garden, a multi religious center. The goal of the organization 
and the Peace Garden is the promotion of understanding among different 
faiths through shared experiences.
  As my constituents in the 18th Congressional District have shown, 
promoting understanding between religions strengthens communities, and 
unites Americans. For centuries, religion has been a comfort to people 
in tragedy, and way to celebrate in triumph. Reaffirming `In God We 
Trust' as the national motto is a reaffirmation of faith, a 
reaffirmation of a creator and Supreme Being, and uniting all religions 
under the comfort this brings. However, in no way should this 
legislation or my vote for H. Con. Res. 13 deny the superior 
constitutional standing of the 1st Amendment of the Bill of Rights in 
the Constitution guaranteeing freedom of religion in the United States 
of America.
  Mr. McINTYRE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 
13, a resolution to reaffirm ``In God We Trust'' as the official motto

[[Page 16313]]

of the United States of America. Though the motto itself was not 
officially adopted until 1956, the saying has long been a part of our 
nation's history and its sentiment has prevailed much longer than that.
  Since its onset, America the Beautiful has been a Nation of Faith. 
Now, as our country faces a fatigued economy, high unemployment, and a 
challenging budget situation, our continued trust in God is critical 
and must not wane. Like the battle-worn American flag that first 
inspired Francis Scott Key to write ``In God is our trust!'' during the 
war of 1812, our faith in God must remain steadfast through the dark 
times.
  It is fitting that we consider H. Con. Res. 13 today, because on this 
day in history 234 years ago, Congress similarly considered a 
resolution recognizing ``the superintending providence of Almighty 
God'' in developing our nation.
  The First National Proclamation of Thanksgiving, issued by the 
Continental Congress on November 1, 1777, recommended that President 
George Washington set aside December 18th the following year as a day 
for ``solemn thanksgiving and praise.'' The resolution further declared 
that such a day might:
  ``please [God] graciously to afford his blessings on the governments 
of these states respectively, and prosper the public council of the 
whole; to inspire our commanders both by land and sea, and all under 
them, with that wisdom and fortitude which may render them fit 
instruments, under the providence of Almighty God, to secure for these 
United States the greatest of all blessings, independence and peace and
  ``that it may please Him to prosper the trade and manufactures of the 
people and the labor of the husbandman, that our land may yield its 
increase; to take schools and seminaries of education, so necessary for 
cultivating the principles of true liberty, virtue and piety, under his 
nurturing hand, and to prosper the means of religion for the promotion 
and enlargement of that kingdom which consisteth in righteousness, 
peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.''
  Mr. Speaker, just as we did 234 years ago today, let us recognize the 
undeniable hand of God in cultivating our great nation, and give thanks 
for the mercies he has bestowed on us throughout our history. Let us 
also reaffirm today, not just the text of our national motto, but that 
truly ``In God is our trust.''
  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I am troubled and disappointed that this 
duplicative and needless resolution reaffirming ``In God We Trust'' as 
the official motto of the United States is being considered today. It 
is a solution in search of a problem and it comes at the cost of 
addressing the jobs crisis in our country. With 25 million people out 
of work, job creation must be our top priority and we should be working 
every day to help get Americans back to work.
  Does anyone seriously believe that ``In God We Trust'' has come under 
attack? It is my experience that the American people do not need to be 
told to respect the symbols of our nation and our national motto. They 
already do.
  Some have raised questions about whether the national motto violates 
the First Amendment protections against the establishment of religion. 
Supreme Court Justice Brennan answered those concerns when he said, 
``The truth is that we have simply interwoven the motto so deeply into 
the fabric of our civil polity that its present use may well not 
present that type of involvement which the First Amendment prohibits.''
  Finally, one of my constituents wrote to remind me prior to 1956 ``E 
pluribus unum'' or ``Out of many, one'' was the de facto motto of the 
United States. I can't help but wonder whether it wouldn't be a better 
motto again today. As we face great challenges, we should always 
remember that we are all in this together.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Forbes) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 13.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.

                          ____________________