Forbes Announces House Vote Tomorrow on Bipartisan Resolution Reaffirming National Motto, 'In God We Trust'
WASHINGTON, Oct. 31, 2011 /
Christian Newswire/ -- Congressman J. Randy Forbes (VA-04), Co-Chairman of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, announced today that the House of Representatives is
scheduled to vote on Tuesday, November 1, 2011 on, a resolution sponsored by Forbes to reaffirm 'In God We Trust' as the United States' national motto and to encourage its display in public buildings and government institutions.
"In 2006, on the 50th anniversary of its adoption, the Senate reaffirmed 'In God We Trust' as the official national motto of the United States. Tomorrow, the House of Representatives will have the same opportunity to reaffirm our national motto and directly confront a disturbing trend of inaccuracies and omissions, misunderstandings of church and state, rogue court challenges, and efforts to remove God from the public domain by unelected bureaucrats. As our nation faces challenging times, it is appropriate for Members of Congress and our nation—like our predecessors—to firmly declare our trust in God, believing that it will sustain us for generations to come," said Forbes.
In January 2011, Congressman Forbes introduced
H. Con. Res. 13 to reaffirm 'In God We Trust' as our national motto; the resolution has 64 bipartisan cosponsors and was reported favorably out of the House Judiciary Committee in March 2011. 'In God We Trust' has been our
nation's motto for over
five decades. It is part of our national anthem and alluded to in our Pledge of Allegiance. It is written on our coins and our currency and is engraved in both the House and the Senate chambers, as well as in numerous public building across our nation.
Why Reaffirm 'In God We Trust'?
President Obama inaccurately proclaimed "E Pluribus Unum' as our national motto. Last November before a worldwide audience, in a much-anticipated and much-publicized speech focusing on the United States' relationship with the Muslim world, President Obama
falsely proclaimed that our national motto was
E pluribus unum. The President failed to respond to
congressional entreaties to issue a correction; the uncorrected transcript remains on the
White House website. Read
more.
Misunderstanding of the phrase "Separation of Church and State". The Supreme Court
has held, "The First Amendment, however, does not say that in every and all respects there shall be a separation of Church and State. . . We find no constitutional requirement which makes it necessary for government to be hostile to religion." The words 'separation of church and state' do not appear in the U.S. Constitution. Rather, the phrase originates from a
letter penned by Thomas Jefferson on January 1, 1802, to the Danbury Baptist Association. Read more
here.
Inaccuracies and omissions in the half-billion-dollar Capitol Visitor Center. In 2008, the over half-billion dollar Capitol Visitor Center opened for the purpose of educating over 15,000 Capitol visitors daily on the "legislative process as well as the history and development of the architecture and art of the U.S. Capitol." Yet, Capitol Visitor Center historians had sanitized the public building of any references to our national motto, including replacing the inscription of 'In God We Trust,' inscribed above the Speaker's Rostrum with stars in a replica of the House Chamber and cropping an actual picture of the chamber so you could not see the words 'In God We Trust.' Only until Members of Congress intervened
publically and
legislatively were these omissions and inaccuracies corrected. Read more
here.
Efforts to remove God from the public domain by unelected bureaucrats.
· Attempt of Navy and Air Force to enact policies affecting ability of
military chaplains to pray according to their religious conscience.
· Architect of the Capitol
refused a teen's request for a certificate noting his grandfather's "love of God, country and family" to accompany a souvenir flag that had flown over the building. Read more
here.
Read more about the patterns of inaccuracies and omissions surrounding our national motto, 'In God We Trust,' as well as its long national history
here.
