Contact: Joe Hack, Congressman J. Randy Forbes (VA-04), 202-225-6365

 

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31, 2011 /Standard 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.

 

 

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. 

·         Department of Veterans Affairs attempted to ban flag folding recitations at military funerals that referenced God or religion, even if specifically requested by the family of the deceased.

·         U.S. Mint attempted to remove the inscription 'In God We Trust' from the front of the new Presidential dollar and instead intended to print it on the edge of the coin. 

·         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.

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