To amend title 5, United States Code, to make the date of the signing of the United States Constitution a legal public holiday, and for other purposes.

September 15, 2004

Mr. BYRD introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

To amend title 5, United States Code, to make the date of the signing of the United States Constitution a legal public holiday, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Celebrate the United States Constitution Day Act'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:

(1) The people of the United States enjoy numerous public holidays to commemorate and honor their common past.

(2) The people of the United States enjoy such holidays to recognize and remember the men and women in uniform, to pay tribute to the American worker, and to honor the discoverers, founders, and leaders of the United States.

(3) The text of the United States Constitution symbolizes one of the Founding Fathers' greatest accomplishments, memorializes the heralded past of the United States, and portends the boundless future of our Nation.

(4) The United States Constitution is not a dead piece of parchment, but a revered and living document, capable of inspiring a nation to achieve seemingly impossible dreams and irrepressible hopes.

(5) The United States is best served when its citizens participate fully in their government.

(6) There should be established a `Constitution Day' to commemorate the creation and signing of the United States Constitution and to foster appreciation of its text.

(7) There should be appropriated Federal funds to support the activities of `Constitution Day'.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

It is the purpose of this Act to--

(1) commemorate the creation and signing of the United States Constitution on September 17, 1787;

(2) call for public readings of the United States Constitution in cities large and small, by people of all ages, throughout the United States in schools and churches, and all other suitable places;

(3) encourage friends and families to join together to review and discuss the text of the United States Constitution, the world's oldest codified constitution, to better understand its meaning to our Nation;

(4) celebrate the collective wisdom of provisions of the United States Constitution with appropriate ceremonies, including patriotic displays, presentations, parades, poetry, and in song;

(5) foster greater reverence for, and understanding of, the time-honored terms of the text of the United States Constitution;

(6) enhance awareness not only of overarching themes of the United States Constitution, but also its particular provisions, which create a social contract among citizens and set forth that the Government receives its powers from the people;

(7) expose all people of the United States and citizens of other nations to the genius of the concepts and teachings contained in the United States Constitution;

(8) engender full respect for, and appreciation of, the United States Constitution;

(9) preserve and protect the extraordinary place of the Constitution in the history of the United States; and

(10) establish a legal public holiday to celebrate the United States Constitution.

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF HOLIDAY.

Section 6103(a) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to Labor Day the following:

`Constitution Day, September 17.'.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

The amendment made by this Act shall take effect on the first January 1 that occurs after the date of enactment of this Act.

END