,,iii  #aaeth ,,congress  #b;d ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #gdd  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,january  
#b1 #bjai ,mr4 ,lankford 7for himself1  
,mr4 ,king1 ,mr4 ,cotton1 ,mr4 ,wicker1 
,mr4 ,daines1 ,mr4 ,risch1 ,mrs4 ,ernst1
 ,mr4 ,blunt1 ,ms4 ,heitkamp1 ,mr4      
,hoeven1 ,mr4 ,cassidy1 ,mr4 ,boozman1  
,mr4 ,kennedy1 and ,mr4 ,rubio7         
submitted the following resolution2     
which was referred to the ,committee on 
the ,judiciary  ,,resolution            
,recognizing ,may #c1 #bjah1 as the     
#cjth anniversary of the ,national ,day 
of ,prayer established under the ,act   
entitled ,an ,act to provide for setting
 aside the first ,thursday in ,may as   
the date on which the ,national ,day of 
,prayer is celebrated1 approved ,may #e1
 #aihh1 which was signed by ,president  
,ronald ,reagan on ,may #e1 #aihh4      
,whereas section #aai of title #cf1     
,united ,states ,code1 states that1 ,the
 ,president shall issue each year a     
proclamation designating the first      

,thursday in ,may as a ,national ,day of
 ,prayer on which the people of the     
,united ,states may turn to ,god in     
prayer and meditation at churches1 in   
groups1 and as individuals42 ,whereas   
,may #c1 #bjah1 marks the #cjth         
anniversary of the ,national ,day of    
,prayer established under the ,act      
entitled ,an ,act to provide for setting
 aside the first ,thursday in ,may as   
the date on which the ,national ,day of 
,prayer is celebrated1 approved ,may #e1
 #aihh 7,public ,law #ajj-cjg2 #ajb     
,stat4 #def7 7referred to in this       
preamble as ,public ,law #ajj-cjg71     
which was signed by ,president ,ronald  
,reagan on ,may #e1 #aihh1 and later    
codified as section #aai of title #cf1  
,united ,states ,code2 ,whereas1 as     
,senator ,jesse ,helms stated on the day
 the vehicle that would become ,public  
,law #ajj-cjg passed the ,senate--  7#a7
 ,designating the first ,thursday in    
,may as the ,national ,day of ,prayer   
allows the people of the ,united ,states

 to plan and prepare to intercede as a  
corporate body on behalf of the ,nation 
and its leaders from year to year with  
certainty42 and  7#b7 ,the magnitude of 
,america's problems1 within and without 
the country1 evidence a need for divine 
healing and guidance42  ,whereas1 as    
,representative ,tony ,hall stated on   
the day the vehicle that would become   
,public ,law #ajj-cjg passed the ,house 
of ,representatives1 ,this will help to 
bring more certainty to the scheduling  
of events related to the ,national ,day 
of ,prayer1 and permit more effective   
long-range planning4 ,for the past #g   
years1 the day has been observed in     
,may1 but before this period it was     
observed at different times of the year4
 ,clarifying legislation is needed to   
ensure consistent and dependable        
observance of the ,national ,day of     
,prayer42 ,whereas the ,united ,states  
has a long history of turning to prayer 
both in times of crisis and in times of 
thanksgiving1 as demonstrated on the    

following occasions3  7#a7 ,president   
,barack ,obama stated in ,presidential  
,proclamation ,no4 #idda of ,may #d1    
#bjaf 7#ha ,fed4 ,reg4 #bgihc71 ,in     
times of steady calm and extraordinary  
change alike1 ,americans of all walks of
 life have long turned to prayer to seek
 refuge1 demonstrate gratitude1 and     
discover peace4 ,sustaining us through  
great uncertainty and moments of sorrow1
 prayer allows us an outlet for         
introspection1 and for expressing our   
hopes1 desires1 and fears4 ,it offers   
strength in the face of hardship1 and   
redemption when we falter4 ,our country 
was founded on the idea of religious    
freedom1 and we have long upheld the    
belief that how we pray and whether we  
pray are matters reserved for an        
individual's own conscience4 ,on        
,national ,day of ,prayer1 we rededicate
 ourselves to extending this freedom to 
all people44  7#b7 ,president ,donald   
,trump stated in ,presidential          
,proclamation ,no4 #ifcd of ,september  

#a1 #bjag 7#hb ,fed4 ,reg4 #dbdci71 ,i  
urge ,americans of all faiths and       
religious traditions and backgrounds to 
offer prayers today for all those harmed
 by ,hurricane ,harvey1 including people
 who have lost family members or been   
injured1 those who have lost homes or   
other property1 and our first           
responders1 law enforcement officers1   
military personnel1 and medical         
professionals leading the response and  
recovery efforts4 ,each of us1 in our   
own way1 may call upon our ,god for     
strength and comfort during this        
difficult time4 ,i call on all          
,americans and houses of worship        
throughout the ,nation to join in one   
voice of prayer1 as we seek to uplift   
one another and assist those suffering  
from the consequences of this terrible  
storm44  7#c7 ,on ,september #e1 #bjag1 
in response to ,hurricane ,harvey1      
,minority ,leader of the ,senate ,chuck 
,schumer said on the floor of the       
,senate1 ,right now1 large parts of the 

fourth largest city in our country      
remain underwater4 ,i extend my most    
heartfelt sympathies to the people of   
,houston and to those across parts of   
,texas and ,louisiana who are just      
beginning a long road to recovery from  
,hurricane ,harvey4 ,having lived       
through ,hurricane ,sandy in my home    
,state of ,new ,york1 ,i remember the   
agonies of families who lost their      
homes1 lost their businesses1 and1      
particularly in the first month1 had a  
sense of helplessness about what had    
happened to them4 ,our thoughts and     
prayers are with everyone in ,houston44 
7#d7 ,on ,june #ad1 #bjag1 after the    
shooting in ,alexandria1 ,virginia--    
7,a7 ,senator ,james ,lankford said in a
 prayer on the floor of the ,senate1 ,as
 ,i have walked through the hallways    
heading back and forth to different     
meetings1 ,i have been interested to see
 many doors that ,i have walked by1 and 
when those doors were open1 ,i could    
hear people inside praying4 ,there have 

been at least three organized prayer    
meetings on the ,hill today1            
specifically related just to that1 and  
others spontaneously occurring4 ,just   
for a moment we have the opportunity to 
be able to reflect and say to ,god3     
,thank ,you so much for protecting the  
people on that field4 ,thank you again  
to the ,capitol ,police1 who literally  
put their lives on the line to protect  
the guests and the ,members and staff   
here every single day ''' ,i would like 
to be able to join what is happening all
 over this ,hill for just a moment in   
this room--for us to be able to pray for
 a moment ''' 42  7,b7 ,minority ,leader
 of the ,house of ,representatives      
,nancy ,pelosi said on the floor of the 
,house of ,representatives1 ,you may not
 know this1 my colleagues1 but every    
time ,i pray1 which is very frequently1 
and certainly every ,sunday1 ,i pray for
 all of you1 all of you together4 ,in   
the earlier years1 ,i used to pray for  
your happiness1 for the fact that we    

would1 working together1 heed the words 
of ,president ,kennedy in the closing of
 his inaugural address when he said3 '''
 ,god's work must truly be our own4 ,how
 do we view what ,god's will is for us8 
,how do we come together to give        
confidence to the ,american people8 ,as 
our ,founders intended1 we would have   
our disagreements and we would debate   
them1 and we would have confidence in   
our beliefs and humility to listen to   
others4 ,but in more recent years1 ,i   
have been praying not only for that1 but
 for our safety ''' ,my prayer is that  
we can resolve our differences in a way 
that furthers the preamble to the       
,constitution1 takes us closer to e     
pluribus unum4 ,and today1 again1 it is 
in the family4 ,it is an injury in the  
family for the staff and for our        
colleague and for his leadership42 and  
7,c7 ,speaker of the ,house of          
,representatives ,paul ,ryan said on the
 floor of the ,house of                 
,representatives1 ,my colleagues1 there 

are so many memories from this day that 
we will want to forget1 and there are so
 many images that we will not want to   
see again4 ,but there is one image in   
particular that this ,house should keep1
 and that is a photo ,i saw this morning
 of our ,democratic colleagues gathered 
in prayer this morning after hearing the
 news ''' ,so before this ,house returns
 to its business1 let's just slow down  
and reflect to think about how we are   
all being tested right now1 because we  
are being tested right now4 ,i ask each 
of you to join me to resolve to come    
together1 to lift each other up1 and to 
show the country1 to show the world1    
that we are one ,house1 the people's    
,house1 united in our humanity4 ,it is  
that humanity which will win the day1   
and it always will4 ,god bless44  7#e7  
,on ,september #bh1 #bjag1              
,representative ,steve ,scalise1 marking
 his return to the ,house of            
,representatives after being shot on a  
baseball field in ,alexandria1          

,virginia1 said on the floor of ,house  
of ,representatives1 ,when ,i was laying
 out on that ball field1 the first thing
 ,i did once ,i was down and couldn't   
move anymore is ,i just started to pray4
 ,and ,i'll tell you it gave me an      
unbelievable sense of calm knowing that 
at that point it was in ,god's hands4   
,but ,i prayed for very specific things1
 and ,i will tell you pretty much every 
one of those prayers was answered1 and  
they were some pretty challenging       
prayers ,i was putting in ,god's hands4 
,he really did deliver for me and my    
family4 ,and it just gives you that     
renewed faith and understanding that the
 power of prayer is something that you  
just cannot underestimate44  7#f7 ,on   
,october #b1 #bjag1 after the shooting  
in ,las ,vegas1 ,nevada1 ,majority      
,leader of the ,senate ,mitch           
,mc,connell said on the floor of the    
,senate1 ,the news we awoke to this     
morning was heartbreaking4 ,what        
happened in ,las ,vegas is shocking1 it 

is tragic1 and for those affected and   
their families1 it is devastating4 ,it  
is hard to even imagine their pain4 ,i  
hope they will know that we are praying 
for them now4 ,i hope they will find    
strength in the love and kindness of    
those around them in these hours of such
 darkness and pain4 ,i hope they will   
see that our country is standing by     
their side today42  ,whereas the act of 
prayer is both an expression of         
religious belief and an act of speech   
that is protected by the ,first         
,amendment to the ,constitution of the  
,united ,states2 ,whereas the ,national 
,day of ,prayer-- 7#a7 is consistent    
with the ,establishment ,clause of the  
,first ,amendment to the ,constitution  
of the ,united ,states2  7#b7 belongs to
 all people in the ,united ,states2 and 
7#c7 is very much in keeping with the   
pluralistic spirit of the ,establishment
 ,clause of the ,first ,amendment4 ,no  
single religious group can claim        
ownership or control of the ,national   

,day of ,prayer2 rather1 it truly       
belongs to all ,americans who seek      
divine guidance for themselves and for  
the country1 as ,representative ,mervyn 
,dymally noted on the day the vehicle   
that would become ,public ,law #ajj-cjg 
passed the ,house of ,representatives2  
,whereas calling for prayer in times of 
crisis and thanksgiving creates a sense 
of unity in the ,united ,states1 and1 as
 ,president ,ronald ,reagan noted in a  
radio address in #aihb1 ,prayer is one  
of the few things in this world that    
hurts no one and sustains the spirit of 
millions42 and ,whereas declaring a     
,national ,day of ,prayer sets the      
,united ,states apart as a country1 and1
 as ,representative ,william ,dannemeyer
 noted on the day the vehicle that would
 become ,public ,law #ajj-cjg passed the
 ,house of ,representatives1 8,a ,nation
 in prayer has traditionally given this 
great ,republic of ours the efficacy    
required to sustain it4 ,a ,national    
,day of ,prayer should be more than a   

mere commemorative occasion1 it should  
be the spiritual sustenance that sets   
,america apart from the rest of the     
world1 the difference between freedom   
under ,god or slavery under the rule of 
men403 ,now1 therefore1 be it  ,that the
 ,senate-- 7#a7 recognizes the #cjth    
anniversary of the ,national ,day of    
,prayer established under the ,act      
entitled ,an ,act to provide for setting
 aside the first ,thursday in ,may as   
the date on which the ,national ,day of 
,prayer is celebrated1 approved ,may #e1
 #aihh 7,public ,law #ajj-cjg2 #ajb     
,stat4 #def71 which was signed by       
,president ,ronald ,reagan on ,may #e1  
#aihh1 and later codified as section    
#aai of title #cf1 ,united ,states      
,code2  7#b7 encourages all people in   
the ,united ,states to reaffirm the     
importance prayer has played in the     
heritage of the ,united ,states2 and    
7#c7 expresses support for the continued
 recognition each year of-- 7,a7 the    
,national ,day of ,prayer2 and  7,b7 the

 importance that prayer and faith have  
played in the history of the ,united    
,states4