IV 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 93 

Recognizing the opening of the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., 

the only museum of its size and scope in the world devoted exclusively 

to the Bible. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 13, 2017 

Mr. PITTENGER (for himself, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. WALBERG, 

Mr. JONES, Mr. FLORES, Mr. HUDSON, Mr. HARPER, Mr. POLIQUIN, Mr. 

CLEAVER, Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana, and Mr. LAMBORN) submitted the 

following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 

Natural Resources 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the opening of the Museum of the Bible in 

Washington, D.C., the only museum of its size and scope 

in the world devoted exclusively to the Bible. 

Whereas the Bible has played a prominent role in the culture 

of the United States and has been a central influence on 

the United States throughout the history of the United 

States; 

Whereas, on September 13, 1782, the Journals of the Continental Congress document that businessman Robert 

Aitken had petitioned Congress in 1781 to approve the 

printing of an edition of the English Bible that he had 

undertaken at great personal expense at a time of war, 


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and that Congress passed a resolution supporting those 

efforts of Robert Aitken in 1782; 

Whereas many of the leaders of the United States have declared their deep appreciation for the Bible and implored 

citizens to read it and recognize the connection of the 

Bible with the ideals of the United States; 

Whereas the first President of the United States, George 

Washington, declared that the rise of the United States 

was due to ‘‘above all, the pure and benign light of Revelation [the Bible]’’; 

Whereas the President of the United States and Founding 

Father, John Adams, declared that ‘‘the Bible is the best 

book in the world’’; 

Whereas the President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, declared the Bible to be ‘‘the best gift God has 

given to Man’’ and invoked the words, metaphors, and 

teachings of the Bible throughout the Civil War as a 

source of comfort, inspiration, and wisdom; 

Whereas the President of the United States, Franklin Delano 

Roosevelt, declared ‘‘We cannot read the history of our 

rise and development as a Nation, without reckoning with 

the place the Bible has occupied in shaping the advances 

of the Republic’’; 

Whereas, in 1982, Congress passed the Joint Resolution entitled ‘‘Joint Resolution authorizing and requesting the 

President to proclaim 1983 as the ‘Year of the Bible’ ’’ 

(Public Law 97–280), finding that the Bible ‘‘has made 

a unique contribution in shaping the United States as a 

distinctive and blessed nation and people’’; 

Whereas the Museum of the Bible will aim to be the most 

technologically advanced museum in the world; 


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Whereas, in 2014, the architectural concept submission for 

the Museum of the Bible was approved by the Commission of Fine Arts, the local Washington, D.C., Advisory 

Neighborhood Commission, and the Historic Preservation 

Review Board, and the primary building of the Museum 

of the Bible was awarded historical status by the Historic 

Preservation Review Board; 

Whereas, on November 17, 2017, the Museum of the Bible 

will open a 430,000 square foot nonprofit museum in 

Washington, D.C., 3 blocks from the Capitol, and will be 

free to all visitors; 

Whereas the Museum of the Bible will have 3 primary exhibit 

floors focused on the history, narrative, and impact of the 

Bible, featuring hundreds of artifacts from the Museum 

Collections, including ancient biblical fragments, Torah 

scrolls, medieval manuscripts, rare printed Bibles, and 

Americana; 

Whereas the entrance to the Museum of the Bible will feature 

two 40-foot-tall bronze panels that contain the first lines 

of Genesis in Latin, as originally printed in the Gutenberg Bible, and art glass panels featuring a papyrus containing the 19th psalm; and 

Whereas the Museum of the Bible is an innovative, global, 

educational institution the purpose of which is to invite 

all people to engage with the Bible: Now, therefore, be 

it 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That Congress— 

3 (1) celebrates the opening of the Museum of the 

4 Bible in Washington, D.C., the first museum of its 


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1 kind in the capital of the United States focused ex2 clusively on the history, narrative, and impact of the 

3 Bible; 

4 (2) commends the leadership, staff, scholars, 

5 designers, construction workers, donors, and volun6 teers who worked tirelessly to realize the goal of 

7 opening a museum, free to the public, with the pur8 pose of ‘‘inviting all people to engage with the 

9 Bible’’; and 

10 (3) encourages all citizens and residents of, and 

11 visitors to, the United States, when touring the cap12 ital of the United States— 

13 (A) to visit the Museum of the Bible; and 

14 (B) to learn about the unique role of the 

15 Bible in history and culture. 

Æ 


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