[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 13215]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           GREECE V. GALLOWAY

  (Mr. COLLINS of New York asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. COLLINS of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise today to promote the 
First Amendment to the United States Constitution, specifically, the 
right of all citizens to freely express their religion.
  This November, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments 
in the case of Town of Greece v. Galloway. The town of Greece, located 
just outside of my district in western New York, is accused of 
violating the First Amendment because the vast majority of volunteers 
who opened town meetings, they opened them with a prayer using 
Christian references.
  Legislative and communal prayer has a rich tradition in this country 
and should not be curtailed by illegitimate fears of religious 
overreach in the United States. We must remain a Nation that does not 
force a religion on any person but is accepting of those who wish to 
profess their faith.

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