IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 334 
Recognizing May 2, 2019, as the 31st anniversary of the National Day 
of Prayer established under the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for 
setting aside the first Thursday in May as the date on which the 
National Day of Prayer is celebrated’’, approved May 5, 1988, which 
was signed by President Ronald Reagan on May 5, 1988. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 30, 2019 
Mr. LOUDERMILK (for himself, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. 
MOONEY of West Virginia, Mr. COLE, Mr. RATCLIFFE, Mr. JOHNSON of 
Ohio, Mr. CARTER of Georgia, Mr. WALKER, Mr. BACON, Mr. KELLY of 
Pennsylvania, Mr. ABRAHAM, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. MEADOWS, Mr. 
MARSHALL, Mr. WRIGHT, Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana, Mr. ESTES, Mr. 
WOODALL, Mr. HICE of Georgia, Mr. BABIN, Mr. NORMAN, Mr. EMMER, 
Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. TIMMONS, and Mr. WITTMAN) sub-
mitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
Oversight and Reform 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing May 2, 2019, as the 31st anniversary of the 
National Day of Prayer established under the Act enti-
tled ‘‘An Act to provide for setting aside the first Thurs-
day in May as the date on which the National Day 
of Prayer is celebrated’’, approved May 5, 1988, which 
was signed by President Ronald Reagan on May 5, 1988. 
Whereas section 119 of title 36, United States Code, states 
that ‘‘The President shall issue each year a proclamation 
designating the first Thursday in May as a National Day 
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of Prayer on which the people of the United States may 
turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in 
groups, and as individuals.’’; 
Whereas, May 2, 2019, marks the 31st anniversary of the 
National Day of Prayer established under the Act enti-
tled ‘‘An Act to provide for setting aside the first Thurs-
day in May as the date on which the National Day of 
Prayer is celebrated’’, approved May 5, 1988 (Public 
Law 100–307; 102 Stat. 456) (referred to in this pre-
amble as ‘‘Public Law 100–307’’), which was signed by 
President Ronald Reagan on May 5, 1988, and later 
codified as section 119 of title 36, United States Code; 
Whereas, as Senator Jesse Helms stated on the day the vehi-
cle that would become Public Law 100–307 passed the 
Senate— 
(1) ‘‘Designating the first Thursday in May as the 
National Day of Prayer allows the people of the United 
States to plan and prepare to intercede as a corporate 
body on behalf of the Nation and its leaders from year 
to year with certainty.’’; and 
(2) ‘‘[T]he magnitude of America’s problems, within 
and without the country, evidence a need for divine heal-
ing and guidance.’’; 
Whereas, as Representative Tony Hall stated on the day the 
vehicle that would become Public Law 100–307 passed 
the House of Representatives, ‘‘This will help to bring 
more certainty to the scheduling of events related to the 
National Day of Prayer, and permit more effective long- 
range planning. For the past 7 years, the day has been 
observed in May, but before this period it was observed 
at different times of the year. Clarifying legislation is 
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needed to ensure consistent and dependable observance of 
the National Day of Prayer.’’; 
Whereas both the Senate and House of Representatives have 
a long tradition of opening their daily legislative sessions 
with prayer, which was most recently upheld once again 
in Barker v. Conroy when Judge David S. Tatel wrote 
for the Court, ‘‘[A]lthough the Court has warned against 
discriminating among religions or tolerating a pattern of 
prayers that proselytize or disparage certain faiths or be-
liefs, it has never suggested that legislatures must allow 
secular as well as religious prayer. In the sui generis con-
text of legislative prayer, then, the House does not violate 
the Establishment Clause by limiting its opening prayer 
to religious prayer.’’; 
Whereas the United States has a long history of turning to 
prayer both in times of crisis and in times of thanks-
giving, as demonstrated on the following occasions: 
(1) President Barack Obama stated in Presidential 
Proclamation No. 9441 of May 4, 2016 (81 Fed. Reg. 
27983), ‘‘In times of steady calm and extraordinary 
change alike, Americans of all walks of life have long 
turned to prayer to seek refuge, demonstrate gratitude, 
and discover peace. Sustaining us through great uncer-
tainty and moments of sorrow, prayer allows us an outlet 
for introspection, and for expressing our hopes, desires, 
and fears. It offers strength in the face of hardship, and 
redemption when we falter. Our country was founded on 
the idea of religious freedom, and we have long upheld 
the belief that how we pray and whether we pray are 
matters reserved for an individual’s own conscience. On 
National Day of Prayer, we rededicate ourselves to ex-
tending this freedom to all people.’’. 
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(2) President Donald Trump stated in Presidential 
Proclamation No. 9741 of May 3, 2018 (83 Fed. Reg. 
20713), ‘‘As a Nation, we have continued to seek God in 
prayer, including in times of conflict and darkness. At 
the height of World War II, President Franklin D. Roo-
sevelt called for prayer ‘for the vision to see our way 
clearly to see the way that leads to a better life for our-
selves and for all our fellow men and to the achievement 
of His will to peace on earth.’ Decades later, following 
one of the darkest days in our Nation’s history, President 
George W. Bush offered this prayer for our heartbroken 
country, mourning the precious souls who perished in the 
terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001: ‘We ask Al-
mighty God to watch over our Nation, and grant us pa-
tience and resolve in all that is to come. We pray that 
He will comfort and console those who now walk in sor-
row. We thank Him for each life we now must mourn, 
and the promise of a life to come. America has known 
peace, prosperity, war, and depression and prayer has 
sustained us through it all. May our Nation and our peo-
ple never forget the love, grace, and goodness of our 
Maker, and may our praise and gratitude never cease. On 
this National Day of Prayer, let us come together, all ac-
cording to their faiths, to thank God for His many bless-
ings and ask for His continued guidance and strength.’.’’. 
(3) On June 14, 2017, after the shooting in Alexan-
dria, Virginia— 
(A) Senator James Lankford said in a prayer 
on the floor of the Senate, ‘‘[A]s I have walked 
through the hallways heading back and forth to dif-
ferent meetings, I have been interested to see many 
doors that I have walked by, and when those doors 
were open, I could hear people inside praying. There 
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have been at least three organized prayer meetings 
on the Hill today, specifically related just to that, 
and others spontaneously occurring. Just for a mo-
ment we have the opportunity to be able to reflect 
and say to God: Thank You so much for protecting 
the people on that field. Thank you again to the 
Capitol Police, who literally put their lives on the 
line to protect the guests and the Members and staff 
here every single day . . . I would like to be able to 
join what is happening all over this Hill for just a 
moment in this room—for us to be able to pray for 
a moment . . . .’’; 
(B) Minority Leader of the House of Represent-
atives Nancy Pelosi said on the floor of the House 
of Representatives, ‘‘You may not know this, my col-
leagues, but every time I pray, which is very fre-
quently, and certainly every Sunday, I pray for all 
of you, all of you together. In the earlier years, I 
used to pray for your happiness, for the fact that we 
would, working together, heed the words of Presi-
dent Kennedy in the closing of his inaugural address 
when he said: ‘. . . God’s work must truly be our 
own.’ How do we view what God’s will is for us? 
How do we come together to give confidence to the 
American people? As our Founders intended, we 
would have our disagreements and we would debate 
them, and we would have confidence in our beliefs 
and humility to listen to others. But in more recent 
years, I have been praying not only for that, but for 
our safety . . . My prayer is that we can resolve our 
differences in a way that furthers the preamble to 
the Constitution, takes us closer to ‘e pluribus 
unum.’ And today, again, it is in the family. It is 
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an injury in the family for the staff and for our col-
league and for his leadership.’’; and 
(C) Speaker of the House of Representatives 
Paul Ryan said on the floor of the House of Rep-
resentatives, ‘‘My colleagues, there are so many 
memories from this day that we will want to forget, 
and there are so many images that we will not want 
to see again. But there is one image in particular 
that this House should keep, and that is a photo I 
saw this morning of our Democratic colleagues gath-
ered in prayer this morning after hearing the news 
. . . So before this House returns to its business, 
let’s just slow down and reflect to think about how 
we are all being tested right now, because we are 
being tested right now. I ask each of you to join me 
to resolve to come together, to lift each other up, 
and to show the country, to show the world, that we 
are one House, the people’s House, united in our hu-
manity. It is that humanity which will win the day, 
and it always will. God bless.’’. 
(4) On September 28, 2017, Representative Steve 
Scalise, marking his return to the House of Representa-
tives after being shot on a baseball field in Alexandria, 
Virginia, said on the floor of the House of Representa-
tives, ‘‘[W]hen I was laying out on that ball field, the 
first thing I did once I was down and couldn’t move any-
more is I just started to pray. And I’ll tell you it gave 
me an unbelievable sense of calm knowing that at that 
point it was in God’s hands. But I prayed for very spe-
cific things, and I will tell you pretty much every one of 
those prayers was answered, and they were some pretty 
challenging prayers I was putting in God’s hands. He 
really did deliver for me and my family. And it just gives 
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you that renewed faith and understanding that the power 
of prayer is something that you just cannot underesti-
mate.’’. 
(5) On June 18, 2015, after the shooting at Eman-
uel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, 
South Carolina, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said 
on the floor of the Senate, ‘‘The thought of people who 
were in a house of worship being gunned down as they 
gathered to pray is heart wrenching, devastating and is 
an ultimate act of cowardice and hatred. As our good 
chaplain said, our hearts go out to the families and 
friends, the people who are gunned down in that church. 
It’s hard for me to comprehend anything so awful. So on 
the behalf of the Senate family, we send our support, our 
sympathy . . .’’; 
Whereas Congress joined the people of the United States to 
pray for the victims and families of the following trage-
dies at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Park-
land, Florida, on February 14, 2018; Santa Fe High 
School in Santa Fe, Texas, on May 18, 2018; Borderline 
Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, California, on Novem-
ber 7, 2018; and Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, on 
June 12, 2016; 
Whereas the people of the United States condemned the hor-
rific, anti-Semitic attack on the Tree of Life synagogue 
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on October 27, 2018, and 
express support and prayers for all those affected by this 
tragedy; 
Whereas the act of prayer is both an expression of religious 
belief and an act of speech that is protected by the First 
Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; 
Whereas the National Day of Prayer— 
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(1) is consistent with the Establishment Clause of 
the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United 
States; 
(2) belongs to all people in the United States; and 
(3) ‘‘is very much in keeping with the pluralistic 
spirit of the Establishment Clause of the First Amend-
ment. No single religious group can claim ownership or 
control of the National Day of Prayer; rather, it truly be-
longs to all Americans who seek divine guidance for 
themselves and for the country’’, as Representative 
Mervyn Dymally noted on the day the vehicle that would 
become Public Law 100–307 passed the House of Rep-
resentatives; 
Whereas calling for prayer in times of crisis and thanksgiving 
creates a sense of unity in the United States, and, as 
President Ronald Reagan noted in a radio address in 
1982, ‘‘[P]rayer is one of the few things in this world 
that hurts no one and sustains the spirit of millions.’’; 
and 
Whereas declaring a National Day of Prayer sets the United 
States apart as a country, and, as Representative William 
Dannemeyer noted on the day the vehicle that would be-
come Public Law 100–307 passed the House of Rep-
resentatives, ‘‘A Nation in prayer has traditionally given 
this great Republic of ours the efficacy required to sus-
tain it. A National Day of Prayer should be more than 
a mere commemorative occasion, it should be the spir-
itual sustenance that sets America apart from the rest of 
the world, the difference between freedom under God or 
slavery under the rule of men.’’: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
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