September 27, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE, Vol. 154, Pt. 16 22515 SENATE—Saturday, September 27, 2008 (Legislative day of Wednesday, September 17, 2008) The Senate met at 9:30 a.m., on the SCHEDULE The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- expiration of the recess, and was called Mr. REID. Mr. President, following pore. The clerk will report the bill by to order by the Honorable MARK L. the remarks of the leaders, if any, the title. PRYOR, a Senator from the State of Ar- Senate will proceed to the consider- The legislative clerk read as follows: kansas. ation of the House message to accom- A bill (H.R. 5159) to establish the Office of pany H.R. 2638, the continuing resolu- the Capitol Visitor Center within the Office PRAYER tion. The time until 10 a.m. will be of the Architect of the Capitol, headed by The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- equally divided and controlled between the Chief Executive Officer for Visitor Serv- the leaders or their designees. At ex- ices, to provide for the effective management fered the following prayer: and administration of the Capitol Visitor Let us pray. actly 10 a.m., the Senate will proceed Center, and other purposes. Creator of the universe, all loving, all to a rollcall vote on the motion to in- There being no objection, the Senate wise, all powerful, move on Capitol Hill voke cloture on the motion to concur proceeded to consider the bill. today. Your lawmakers need You for in the House amendment to the Senate Mr. DEMINT, Mr. President, I rise to such a time as this, and You have amendment to H.R. 2638. speak on the newest addition to the promised to supply their needs. Supply As those of us here have seen, in try- U.S. Capitol, the U.S. Capitol Visitor their need for wisdom. Illuminate their ing to make entry to the Capitol, there Center. minds as they seek to do the right is something of a bicycle race or per- I have been told by the Architect of thing. Infuse them with supernatural formance of some kind. It has really the Capitol that the CVC is scheduled power to make sense out of the riddles slowed things up, so we are not going to open its doors to the public for the that baffle so many. May they be able to terminate the vote in the normal 15- first time on December 2 of this year. I to look back over today’s labors know- minute time schedule. We are going to have toured this impressive facility, ing they have glorified You. Lord, as- make sure people have an opportunity and I believe it will be a vast improve- tound them with new thoughts and to get here. I say to all Members, unless some- ment in the experience visitors will fresh insights they could not conceive thing can be resolved by consent, we have when touring the Capitol Com- without Your blessing. are going to file cloture today on the plex. I look forward to the opening of We pray in the Name of Him who is Department of Defense authorization this long awaited addition; it will be a the truth. Amen. bill, which will be a Monday vote. momentous and historic occasion. f Hopefully, there does not have to be a However, in addition to providing se- vote tomorrow. Thirty hours after clo- PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE curity and functionality, the CVC also ture was invoked on this matter will be provides an educational experience de- The Honorable MARK L. PRYOR led sometime tomorrow afternoon. There signed to tell the story of our Nation’s the Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: are a number of ways we can do that. Capitol. I believe it is critical that this I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the People wanting the extra 30 hours history appropriately and accurately United States of America, and to the Repub- could waive that or they could let us reflects the traditions and history of lic for which it stands, one nation under God, have a voice vote tomorrow. As I un- the Capitol. indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. derstand it, there is only one Senator We want our constituents and visi- f holding up this bill now. We will work tors from around the world to get an on that during the next hour or so. It accurate portrayal of the Capitol’s his- APPOINTMENT OF ACTING appears we may have to be in session PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE tory and, as much as possible, to un- tomorrow, with a vote on Monday. I derstand the motivations and inspira- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The know there is a holiday on Monday tions of those who have led our branch clerk will please read a communication starting at sundown and going to sun- of Government since its establishment to the Senate from the President pro down on Tuesday. 220 years go. The staff worked until about 3 a.m. tempore (Mr. BYRD). Tragically, as the CVC exists now, this morning on the bailout. They The legislative clerk read the fol- they will get a much different experi- made significant progress. There are lowing letter: ence. probably 15 issues still left out- U.S. SENATE, In touring the CVC, I found the ex- PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, standing. Senators are going to have to get together and resolve those. We hibits to be politically correct, left Washington, DC, September 27, 2008. leaning, and secular in nature. The sec- To the Senate: hope sometime tomorrow evening we Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, can announce that there has been some ular aspects were especially surprising of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby kind of an agreement in principle so because of the deep connection between appoint the Honorable MARK L. PRYOR, a the only thing that will have to be faith and the Capitol, and our Judeo Senator from the State of Arkansas, to per- done is to write the legislation. We are Christian traditions. But despite this form the duties of the Chair. still a long way from completing it, but connection and our traditions, the ROBERT C. BYRD, doors to the CVC are flanked with a President pro tempore. we have made significant progress, as I just indicated. We will keep Senators quote from former Congressman Rufus Mr. PRYOR thereupon assumed the advised on a timely basis as well as we Choate that says, ‘‘We have built no chair as Acting President pro tempore. can. temple but the Capitol. We consult no common oracle but the Constitution.’’ f f Even a brief reflection on our Nation’s RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY CAPITOL VISITOR CENTER ACT OF history will show this quote is not ac- LEADER 2008 curate and, in my opinion, grossly in- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unan- appropriate. pore. The majority leader is recog- imous consent that the Senate proceed The first thing you are confronted nized. to Calendar No. 611, H.R. 5159. with once you have entered the CVC is ● This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. VerDate Mar 15 2010 10:02 Apr 05, 2011 Jkt 069102 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0686 Sfmt 0634 E:\BR08\S27SE8.000 S27SE8 jdjones on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BOUND RECORD 22516 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE, Vol. 154, Pt. 16 September 27, 2008 the phrase ‘‘E. Pluribus Unum’’ en- Now it can be said these are not in- There being no objection, the mate- graved in stone above a mock of the tentional omissions, but consider this: rial was ordered to be printed in the Capitol dome. A panel next to the dome last year the Architect of the Capitol RECORD, as follows: describes E. Pluribus Unum as our Na- censored God from a certificate accom- U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON RULES tion’s motto. This is not only com- panying a flag flown over the Capitol AND ADMINISTRATION, pletely false but also offensive to the 90 by a Boy Scout for his grandfather; a Washington, DC, September 26, 2008. percent of Americans who approve of national cemetery director stopped an Hon. JIM DEMINT, our Nation’s actual motto ‘‘In God We honor guard from performing the tradi- Russell Senate Office Building, Trust,’’ signed into law by President tional burial ceremony because it men- Washington, DC. DEAR JIM: After many years of anticipa- Dwight Eisenhower in 1956. tioned God; ‘‘In God We Trust’’ was re- moved from the front of our currency; tion the Architect of the Capitol is preparing Unfortunately, nowhere in the CVC for the opening of the new Capitol Visitor will you find the words ‘‘In God We schools have been sued over having the Center (CVC) on December 2, 2008. Trust’’ engraved in stone. The ac- pledge of allegiance every morning; Delaying the opening of the CVC has seri- knowledgement of God and our Na- and the list goes on. ous security implications. The CVC was de- tion’s motto has been left out of the It appears that many would prefer to signed so that public visitors will be CVC. In fact, the massive replica of the ignore the role and prominence of God screened at one secure location, improving House Chamber omits the ‘‘In God We and faith in our Nation’s history and security in the U.S. Capitol for constituents, the lives of the American people today. staff and Members.