•HRES 547 IH 
Whereas the Nation has a long history of turning to prayer 
both in times of crisis and in times of thanksgiving, in-
cluding over 130 national calls to prayer by the President 
of the United States since 1789, including— 
(1) President Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclama-
tion of October 3, 1789, ‘‘[I]t is the duty of all Nations 
to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey 
His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to 
implore His protection and favor—and whereas both 
Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee re-
quested me to recommend to the People of the United 
States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be ob-
served by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many 
signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording 
them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of gov-
ernment for their safety and happiness.’’; 
(2) President Lincoln’s Proclamation of March 30, 
1863, ‘‘We have been the recipients of the choicest boun-
ties of Heaven; we have been preserved these many years 
in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, 
wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown. 
But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gra-
cious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied 
and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly 
imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these 
blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and 
virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we 
have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of re-
deeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the 
God that made us. It behooves us, then, to humble our-
selves before the offended Power, to confess our national 
sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.’’; 
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•HRES 547 IH 
(3) President Roosevelt’s prayer before the Nation 
on D-Day, June 6, 1944, ‘‘Many people have urged that 
I call the Nation into a single day of special prayer. But 
because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask 
that our people devote themselves in a continuance of 
prayer. As we rise to each new day, and again when each 
day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking 
Thy help to our efforts.’’; 
(4) President Eisenhower’s Proclamation of Novem-
ber 12, 1956, ‘‘It is also fitting at this season that we 
should consider God’s providence to us throughout our 
entire history. Let us remember the Pilgrim Fathers who, 
fleeing from religious oppression, landed on a bleak, for-
bidding shore and began to carve out what became this 
great Republic which it is our happy destiny to love and 
serve. For their foresight, their courage, and their ideal-
ism let us give thanks to the Power which has made and 
preserved us a Nation. Humbly aware that we are a peo-
ple greatly blessed, both materially and spiritually, let us 
pray this year not only in the spirit of thanksgiving but 
also as suppliants for God’s guidance, to the end that we 
may follow the course of righteousness and be worthy of 
His favor.’’; 
(5) President Kennedy’s National Day of Prayer 
Proclamation of October 8, 1963, ‘‘On this day, let us ac-
knowledge anew our reliance upon the divine Providence 
which guided our founding fathers. Let each of us, ac-
cording to his own custom and his own faith, give thanks 
to his Creator for the divine assistance which has nur-
tured the noble ideals in which this Nation was con-
ceived.’’; 
(6) President Clinton’s National Day of Prayer 
Proclamation of April 18, 1997, ‘‘As we face the last 
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•HRES 547 IH 
years of the 20th century, let us uphold the tradition of 
observing a day in which every American, in his or her 
own way, may come before God seeking increased peace, 
guidance, and wisdom for the challenges ahead. Even as 
we continue to work toward hopeful solutions, may our 
national resolve be matched by a firm reliance on the Au-
thor of our lives—for truly it is in God that we trust.’’; 
and 
(7) President George W. Bush’s National Day of 
Prayer and Remembrance Proclamation of September 13, 
2001, ‘‘I call on every American family and the family of 
America to observe a National Day of Prayer and Re-
membrance, honoring the memory of the thousands of 
victims of these brutal attacks and comforting those who 
lost loved ones. We will persevere through this national 
tragedy and personal loss. In time, we will find healing 
and recovery; and, in the face of all this evil, we remain 
strong and united, ‘one Nation under God.’ ’’; 
Whereas the act of prayer is both an expression of religious 
belief and an act of speech that is protected by the First 
Amendment of the United States Constitution; 
Whereas both the House of Representatives and Senate have 
a long tradition of opening their daily legislative sessions 
with prayer; 
Whereas physical evidence of the Nation’s long tradition of 
prayer is a permanent part of the Capitol building, in-
cluding a painting in the Rotunda of the pilgrims praying 
for divine protections aboard the Mayflower before they 
embarked for America as the word’s ‘‘God with us’’ in-
scribed on a sail above their heads; 
Whereas the law requires in 36 U.S.C. § 119, ‘‘The President 
shall issue each year a proclamation designating the first 
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•HRES 547 IH 
Thursday in May as a National Day of Prayer on which 
the people of the United States may turn to God in pray-
er and meditation at churches, in groups, and as individ-
uals’’; and 
Whereas May 1, 2014, marks the 63rd annual observance of 
the National Day of Prayer: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes the 63rd annual observance of 
the National Day of Prayer; 
(2) encourages all the people of the United 
States to come together to pray and reaffirm the im-
portance prayer has played in the Nation’s heritage; 
and 
(3) expresses support for the continued recogni-
tion each year of the National Day of Prayer, and 
of the importance that prayer and faith have played 
in the Nation’s history. 
Æ 
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