Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 6) expressing the sense of the Congress that the Department of Defense should continue to exercise its…
Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 6) expressing the sense of the Congress that the Department of Defense should continue to exercise its statutory authority to support the activities of the Boy Scouts of America, in particular the periodic national and world Boy Scout Jamborees.
Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the concurrent resolution under consideration.
Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, once again we find the Boy Scouts of America under attack from the American Civil Liberties Union. This time the ACLU has set its sights on the Department of Defense, challenging its longstanding support of the Boy Scouts.
In 1999 the ACLU of Illinois sued the DOD, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Chicago Board of Education for sponsoring Boy Scout programs because participation in Boy Scouts includes an oath to God. Ultimately, the Chicago Board of Education suspended its sponsorship of scouting activities, and on Tuesday, November 16, 2004, the Department of Defense agreed to issue a worldwide directive to all its military facilities that the Department and its personnel may not sponsor Boy Scout units in an official manner.
Madam Speaker, it is already the policy of the Department of Defense not to sponsor any private non-Federal organization including the Boy Scouts of America. The Department does, however, provide support to the Boy Scouts with use of bases and facilities and donations and the use of surplus equipment.
Currently, the DOD spends $2 million every 4 years to prepare Fort A.P. Hill, a Virginia military base, for the Boy Scouts' national jamboree. The Department also makes an annual allocation of $100,000 to support Boy Scout units on military bases overseas and another $100,000 to improve Boy Scout properties such as summer camps. This support, and not the Department's sponsorship, asserts the ACLU, is in violation of the establishment clause of the first amendment to the Constitution, and is the basis for the lawsuit.
However, since March 10, 1972, the Department of Defense has been specifically authorized to make military installations available to, and to provide equipment, transportation, and other services to the Boy Scouts of America in support of national and world gathering, including events like their jamborees. The Department has also been given authority under title 10 of the U.S. Code to sell and in certain cases donate obsolete or excess material to the Boy Scouts.
While the Pentagon's directive will not impair their continued support for the Boy Scouts, the ACLU lawsuit quite frankly threatens it. Since its inception, millions of Americans of every race, creed, and religion have participated in the Boy Scouts of America. As of October 1, 2004, the Boy Scouts utilize more than 1.2 million adult volunteers to serve 2.863 million youth members organized in 121,051 units. With the help of agencies like the Department of Defense, many of these fine young men have gone on to become notable world figures. Let me give some examples: Neil Armstrong, Hank Aaron, Sam Walton, President Gerald Ford. And this is just a few.
Madam Speaker, the traditions of the Boy Scouts have been under attack for years by liberal groups. The DOD has been authorized to support the Boy Scouts for over 30 years, and any move to threaten this relationship is simply unconscionable. My resolution encourages the DOD to continue to exercise its statutory authority in its longstanding and successful relationship with the Boy Scouts of America.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan).
Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
The gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton) knows firsthand the impact of the Boy Scouts in the lives of a young boy, and I appreciate very much his statement.
Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston).
Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Hostettler).
(Mr. HOSTETTLER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and encourage everyone to support this resolution.
Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.