III 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 252 

Celebrating the 246th anniversary of the creation of the flag of the United 

States and expressing support for the Pledge of Allegiance. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 14, 2023 

Mr. BRAUN (for himself, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. MARSHALL, Mr. LEE, Mr. RISCH, 

Mr. HAGERTY, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Mr. ROUNDS, Mrs. 

HYDE-SMITH, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. SCHMITT, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. BOOZMAN, 

Mrs. BRITT, Mr. WICKER, Mr. HOEVEN, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. VANCE, Mr. 

BUDD, Mrs. FISCHER, Mr. TUBERVILLE, Ms. LUMMIS, Mr. MULLIN, Mr. 

KENNEDY, and Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina) submitted the following 

resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Celebrating the 246th anniversary of the creation of the 

flag of the United States and expressing support for 

the Pledge of Allegiance. 

Whereas, on June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress approved the design of a flag of the United States; 

Whereas, over the years, the flag of the United States has 

preserved the standards of the original design comprised 

of alternating red and white stripes accompanied by a 

union consisting of white stars on a field of blue; 

Whereas, on May 30, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson 

issued Presidential Proclamation 1335, an announcement 


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•SRES 252 ATS 

asking the people of the United States to observe June 

14 as Flag Day; 

Whereas, on August 3, 1949, President Harry Truman 

signed into law House Joint Resolution 170, 81st Congress, a joint resolution designating June 14 of each year 

as Flag Day; 

Whereas, on August 21, 1959, President Dwight Eisenhower 

issued Executive Order 10834 (24 Fed. Reg. 6865), an 

order establishing the most recent design of the flag of 

the United States; 

Whereas the Pledge of Allegiance was written by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, and first published in the September 8, 1892, issue of The Youth’s Companion; 

Whereas, in 1954, Congress added the words ‘‘under God’’ to 

the Pledge of Allegiance; 

Whereas, for more than 60 years, the Pledge of Allegiance 

has included references to the United States flag, to the 

United States having been established as a union ‘‘under 

God’’, and to the United States being dedicated to securing ‘‘liberty and justice for all’’; 

Whereas, in 1954, Congress believed it was acting constitutionally when it revised the Pledge of Allegiance; 

Whereas the United States was founded on principles of religious freedom by the Founders, many of whom were 

deeply religious; 

Whereas the First Amendment to the Constitution of the 

United States embodies principles intended to guarantee 

freedom of religion through the free exercise thereof and 

by prohibiting the Government from establishing a religion; 


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•SRES 252 ATS 

Whereas patriotic songs, engravings on United States legal 

tender, and engravings on Federal buildings also contain 

general references to ‘‘God’’; 

Whereas, in Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow, 

542 U.S. 1 (2004), the Supreme Court of the United 

States overturned the decision of the United States Court 

of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Newdow v. U.S. Congress, 328 F.3d 466 (9th Cir. 2003), a case in which the 

Ninth Circuit concluded that recitation of the Pledge of 

Allegiance by a public school teacher violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; 

Whereas the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth 

Circuit subsequently concluded that— 

(1) the previous opinion of that court in Newdow v. 

U.S. Congress, 328 F.3d 466 (9th Cir. 2003) was no 

longer binding precedent; 

(2) case law from the Supreme Court of the United 

States concerning the Establishment Clause of the First 

Amendment to the Constitution of the United States had 

subsequently changed after the decision in Elk Grove 

Unified School District v. Newdow, 542 U.S. 1 (2004); 

and 

(3) Congress, in passing the new version of the 

Pledge of Allegiance, had established a secular purpose 

for the use of the term ‘‘under God’’; and 

Whereas, in light of those conclusions, the United States 

Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance by public school teachers: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 


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•SRES 252 ATS 

1 (1) celebrates the 246th anniversary of the cre2 ation of the flag of the United States; 

3 (2) recognizes that the Pledge of Allegiance has 

4 been a valuable part of life for the people of the 

5 United States for generations; and 

6 (3) affirms that the Pledge of Allegiance is a 

7 constitutional expression of patriotism and strongly 

8 defends the constitutionality of the Pledge of Alle9 giance. 

Æ 


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