II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2808 

To amend title 5, United States Code, to make the date of the signing 

of the United States Constitution a legal public holiday, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 15, 2004 

Mr. BYRD introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend title 5, United States Code, to make the date 

of the signing of the United States Constitution a legal 

public holiday, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Celebrate the United 

5 States Constitution Day Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 
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•S 2808 IS 

1 (1) The people of the United States enjoy nu2 merous public holidays to commemorate and honor 

3 their common past. 

4 (2) The people of the United States enjoy such 

5 holidays to recognize and remember the men and 

6 women in uniform, to pay tribute to the American 

7 worker, and to honor the discoverers, founders, and 

8 leaders of the United States. 

9 (3) The text of the United States Constitution 

10 symbolizes one of the Founding Fathers’ greatest 

11 accomplishments, memorializes the heralded past of 

12 the United States, and portends the boundless fu13 ture of our Nation. 

14 (4) The United States Constitution is not a 

15 dead piece of parchment, but a revered and living 

16 document, capable of inspiring a nation to achieve 

17 seemingly impossible dreams and irrepressible hopes. 

18 (5) The United States is best served when its 

19 citizens participate fully in their government. 

20 (6) There should be established a ‘‘Constitution 

21 Day’’ to commemorate the creation and signing of 

22 the United States Constitution and to foster appre23 ciation of its text. 

24 (7) There should be appropriated Federal funds 

25 to support the activities of ‘‘Constitution Day’’. 
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1 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

2 It is the purpose of this Act to— 

3 (1) commemorate the creation and signing of 

4 the United States Constitution on September 17, 

5 1787; 

6 (2) call for public readings of the United States 

7 Constitution in cities large and small, by people of 

8 all ages, throughout the United States in schools 

9 and churches, and all other suitable places; 

10 (3) encourage friends and families to join to11 gether to review and discuss the text of the United 

12 States Constitution, the world’s oldest codified con13 stitution, to better understand its meaning to our 

14 Nation; 

15 (4) celebrate the collective wisdom of provisions 

16 of the United States Constitution with appropriate 

17 ceremonies, including patriotic displays, presen18 tations, parades, poetry, and in song; 

19 (5) foster greater reverence for, and under20 standing of, the time-honored terms of the text of 

21 the United States Constitution; 

22 (6) enhance awareness not only of overarching 

23 themes of the United States Constitution, but also 

24 its particular provisions, which create a social con25 tract among citizens and set forth that the Govern26 ment receives its powers from the people; 
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•S 2808 IS 

1 (7) expose all people of the United States and 

2 citizens of other nations to the genius of the con3 cepts and teachings contained in the United States 

4 Constitution; 

5 (8) engender full respect for, and appreciation 

6 of, the United States Constitution; 

7 (9) preserve and protect the extraordinary place 

8 of the Constitution in the history of the United 

9 States; and 

10 (10) establish a legal public holiday to celebrate 

11 the United States Constitution. 

12 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF HOLIDAY. 

13 Section 6103(a) of title 5, United States Code, is 

14 amended by inserting after the item relating to Labor Day 

15 the following: 

16 ‘‘Constitution Day, September 17.’’. 

17 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

18 The amendment made by this Act shall take effect 

19 on the first January 1 that occurs after the date of enact20 ment of this Act. 

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