[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 14427]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      CONSTITUTION DAY OBSERVANCE

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, this Monday, September 17, our Nation 
celebrated one of our greatest founding documents the document that has 
guided the discourse of our great Nation for 225 years. Every September 
17, we celebrate Constitution Day.
  Americans of all walks of life are united by the ideals of equal 
justice, limited government, and the rule of law. It was the vision and 
determination of the Founders who wrote and signed the Constitution 
that makes our celebration today possible.
  More than two centuries ago, the Founders met in Philadelphia to 
create a constitution that would preserve liberty and foster freedom. 
They established three separate branches of government and a system of 
checks and balances among them. Ours is still the oldest written 
Constitution in use in the world.
  The most important purpose of Constitution Day is to teach these 
lessons to the younger generations. I am pleased to say that the 
Kentucky Department of Education has made resources available to 
secondary schools across the Commonwealth to help them recognize this 
special day.
  The University of Kentucky marked Constitution Day by inviting 
speakers and holding historical forums. And at the University of 
Louisville, Constitution Day was celebrated with a constitution quiz 
bowl and constitution cupcakes.
  So on this day, we recognize the students, teachers, and community 
leaders in Kentucky and across the Nation who promote and protect the 
ideals of our glorious Constitution.
  We also say a special thanks for our men and women in uniform who 
defend it.
  More than two centuries ago, the 39 signers of our Constitution gave 
us a more perfect union through a document that endures and guides us 
here today.
  They understood, as we all must, that above all, government serves to 
secure the blessings of liberty for the people of our great Nation. It 
is an honor to stand on this floor and recognize how we have reaped the 
fruit of their efforts these many years later.

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