Expressing Sense of Congress That United States Supreme Court Should Speedily Find Use of Pledge of Allegiance in Schools to be Consistent...

EXPRESSING SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT SHOULD SPEEDILY FIND USE OF PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE IN SCHOOLS TO BE CONSISTENT WITH CONSTITUTION -- (House of Representatives - September 28, 2005)

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Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H. Con. Res. 245, which tells the Supreme Court to uphold the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance. I oppose this resolution on two grounds. First, Congress shouldn't be telling the Supreme Court how to do their job. Second, the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional and the 9th Circuit decision should stand.

That being said, I shouldn't be surprised that those who claim to speak for God also think they have the right to tell our independent judiciary what to do. The Republican Majority has railed against activist judges legislating from the bench throughout the Supreme Court nomination hearings, but they apparently see nothing wrong with telling those judges how to rule from the legislature. If judges shouldn't legislate, Congress shouldn't adjudicate.

Beyond the hypocrisy and improper meddling of this resolution, I oppose it because the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional. The Constitution bars Congress from passing any law that recognizes religion. The 1954 law, passed at the height of anti-Communism, that specifically added the phrase ``under God'' to the Pledge, could not be more clearly unconstitutional.

The feeble argument of proponents of this resolution that ``under God'' is not overtly religious is only undermined by their holy crusade to make darn sure that the phrase stays in the Pledge. This will be the sixth time this House has voted on this issue--hardly a sign of the phrase's unimportance to religious conservatives.

Mr. Speaker, I don't want my children or any child to have a compulsory, religious recitation in this supposedly free society, and seeing the vehemence of those who think otherwise only strengthens my opposition to the Pledge.

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