[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 71 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 71
Expressing support for the Pledge of Allegiance.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 4, 2003
Ms. Murkowski (for herself, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Gregg, Mr. Hatch, Mr.
Allen, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Allard, Mr. Bennett, Mr. Brownback, Mr.
Bunning, Mr. Burns, Mr. Chafee, Mr. Chambliss, Mr. Cochran, Mr.
Coleman, Ms. Collins, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Craig, Mr. Crapo, Mr. DeWine,
Mrs. Dole, Mr. Ensign, Mr. Fitzgerald, Mr. Graham of South Carolina,
Mr. Hagel, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Kyl, Mr. Lott, Mr. Lugar,
Mr. McCain, Mr. Nickles, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Santorum, Mr. Shelby, Mr.
Smith, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Specter, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Sununu, Mr. Talent, Mr.
Thomas, Mr. Warner, Mr. Sessions, and Ms. Landrieu) submitted the
following resolution; which was ordered held at the desk
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing support for the Pledge of Allegiance.
Whereas a 3-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in
Newdow v. United States Congress that the words ``under God'' in the
Pledge of Allegiance violate the Establishment Clause when recited
voluntarily by students in public schools;
Whereas the Ninth Circuit has voted not to have the full court, en banc,
reconsider the decision of the panel in Newdow;
Whereas this country was founded on religious freedom by the Founding Fathers,
many of whom were deeply religious;
Whereas the First Amendment to the Constitution embodies principles intended to
guarantee freedom of religion both through the free exercise thereof and
by prohibiting the Government establishing a religion;
Whereas the Pledge of Allegiance was written by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist
minister, and first published in the September 8, 1892, issue of the
Youth's Companion;
Whereas Congress, in 1954, added the words ``under God'' to the Pledge of
Allegiance;
Whereas the Pledge of Allegiance has for almost 50 years included references to
the United States flag, the country, to our country having been
established as a union ``under God'' and to this country being dedicated
to securing ``liberty and justice for all'';
Whereas Congress in 1954 believed it was acting constitutionally when it revised
the Pledge of Allegiance;
Whereas the 107th Congress overwhelmingly passed a resolution disapproving of
the panel decision of the Ninth Circuit in Newdow, and overwhelmingly
passed legislation recodifying Federal law that establishes the Pledge
of Allegiance in order to demonstrate Congress's opinion that
voluntarily reciting the Pledge in public schools is constitutional;
Whereas the Senate believes that the Pledge of Allegiance, as revised in 1954
and as recodified in 2002, is a fully constitutional expression of
patriotism;
Whereas the National Motto, patriotic songs, United States legal tender, and
engravings on Federal buildings also refer to ``God''; and
Whereas in accordance with decisions of the United States Supreme Court, public
school students are already protected from being compelled to recite the
Pledge of Allegiance: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) strongly disapproves of a decision by a panel of the
Ninth Circuit in Newdow, and the decision of the full court not
to reconsider this case en banc; and
(2) authorizes and instructs the Senate Legal Counsel again
to seek to intervene in the case to defend the
constitutionality of the words ``under God'' in the Pledge,
and, if unable to intervene, to file an amicus curiae brief in
support of the continuing constitutionality of the words
``under God'' in the Pledge.
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