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Calling for Expanded Civics Education on National Constitution Day

Floor Speech

Date: Sept. 17, 2019
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights K-12 Education

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Mr. LANGEVIN. Madam Speaker, I rise today on National Constitution Day to renew my call for expanded civics education.

The father of our Constitution, James Madison, wrote: ``A popular government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy; or, perhaps both.''

Yet, today, it feels as if we are in the middle acts of Madison's feared drama.

Sadly, only 26 percent of Americans can name all three branches of government, and 37 percent cannot name a single right guaranteed under the First Amendment. Meanwhile, public trust in government and voter participation is low, and foreign adversaries have taken advantage of this to sow discord among us.

Madam Speaker, I was proud to include a program in the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act to fund further development and evaluation of civics education programs, but this is just a first step. We must ensure that every child has access to evidence-based civics programs. The future of our democracy depends on it.

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