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 Conti-
nental 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, 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:09 Nov 14, 2017
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HC93.IH
HC93
lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
•HCON 93 IH 
and that Congress passed a resolution supporting those 
efforts of Robert Aitken in 1782; 
Whereas many of the leaders of the United States have de-
clared 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 Rev-
elation [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 Lin-
coln, 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 enti-
tled ‘‘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; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:09 Nov 14, 2017
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HC93.IH
HC93
lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
•HCON 93 IH 
Whereas, in 2014, the architectural concept submission for 
the Museum of the Bible was approved by the Commis-
sion 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 Guten-
berg Bible, and art glass panels featuring a papyrus con-
taining 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 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That Congress— 
(1) celebrates the opening of the Museum of the 
Bible in Washington, D.C., the first museum of its 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:09 Nov 14, 2017
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HC93.IH
HC93
lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
•HCON 93 IH 
kind in the capital of the United States focused ex-
clusively on the history, narrative, and impact of the 
Bible; 
(2) commends the leadership, staff, scholars, 
designers, construction workers, donors, and volun-
teers who worked tirelessly to realize the goal of 
opening a museum, free to the public, with the pur-
pose of ‘‘inviting all people to engage with the 
Bible’’; and 
(3) encourages all citizens and residents of, and 
visitors to, the United States, when touring the cap-
ital of the United States— 
(A) to visit the Museum of the Bible; and 
(B) to learn about the unique role of the 
Bible in history and culture. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:09 Nov 14, 2017
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\HC93.IH
HC93
lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS