Title: A resolution commemorating September 17, 2022, as "Constitution Day" and celebrating the signing of the Constitution.
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
This resolution celebrates the signing of the U.S. Constitution by recognizing Constitution Day on September 17, 2022.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 770 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 770

     Commemorating September 17, 2022, as ``Constitution Day'' and 
              celebrating the signing of the Constitution.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 15, 2022

 Mrs. Blackburn submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
                   to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
     Commemorating September 17, 2022, as ``Constitution Day'' and 
              celebrating the signing of the Constitution.

Whereas the Constitution of the United States (referred to in this preamble as 
        the ``Constitution'') is the supreme law of the United States;
Whereas the Constitution enshrines the freedom of the people of the United 
        States;
Whereas the Constitution forms a more perfect Union;
Whereas the fundamental principles of the Constitution are limited government, 
        separation of powers, individual liberty, and rule of law;
Whereas the Constitution establishes justice, ensures domestic tranquility, 
        provides for the common defense, promotes the general welfare, and 
        secures the blessings of liberty, now and for future generations;
Whereas the Constitution guarantees that no one can be deprived of life, 
        liberty, or property without due process of law, including unborn 
        children;
Whereas the Constitution protects the rights of conscience against the 
        enterprises of the civil authority;
Whereas the Constitution affirms that the Government of the United States exists 
        to serve its citizens;
Whereas the Constitution grants power to a national, Federal Government while 
        preserving fundamental, individual rights;
Whereas the Constitution separates the power of the Federal Government into 3 
        branches: executive, judicial, and legislative;
Whereas the powers of each branch of the Federal Government are delegated in the 
        Constitution, with powers not assigned to the branches reserved to the 
        States;
Whereas the Constitution grants the executive power to the President;
Whereas the Constitution does not allow the President to enact national policies 
        in areas that are reserved solely to Congress under the Constitution;
Whereas the Constitution grants judicial power to the Supreme Court and inferior 
        courts that Congress may ordain and establish;
Whereas justices and judges have constitutional limits on their power;
Whereas an activist judiciary that usurps powers reserved to the people through 
        other branches of government is a threat to the United States;
Whereas the judiciary should interpret laws as written by Congress rather than 
        allowing executive agencies to rewrite those laws to suit a political 
        agenda;
Whereas the Constitution grants all legislative powers to Congress, which 
        consists of a Senate and a House of Representatives;
Whereas the Constitution assigns to Congress the responsibility for organizing 
        the executive and judicial branches, raising revenue, declaring war, and 
        making all laws necessary for executing these powers;
Whereas it is a breach of trust for Congress to delegate excessive legislative 
        authority to executive departments, agencies, and commissions, thus 
        empowering the administrative state instead of the elected 
        representatives of the people of the United States;
Whereas the Constitution protects the democracy of the United States;
Whereas elections are a vital component of democracy;
Whereas the Constitution states that the times, places, and manner of holding 
        elections for Senators and Representatives shall be prescribed in each 
        State by the legislature of that State;
Whereas article I, section 5 of the Constitution--

    (1) provides that ``Each House [of Congress] may determine the Rules of 
its Proceedings''; and

    (2) authorizes the Senate to make procedural rules, including the 
length of debate;

Whereas no one may unilaterally rewrite or otherwise impugn the validity of the 
        text of the Constitution;
Whereas the Constitution can only be changed by amendment;
Whereas an amendment to the Constitution may be proposed by a \2/3\ vote of both 
        Houses of Congress, or, if \2/3\ of the States request an amendment, by 
        a convention called for that purpose;
Whereas an amendment to the Constitution must be ratified by \3/4\ of the State 
        legislatures or \3/4\ of conventions called in each State for 
        ratification;
Whereas, according to the First Amendment to the Constitution--

    (1) Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion 
or prohibiting free exercise of religion; and

    (2) Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech or of 
the press;

Whereas, according to the Second Amendment to the Constitution, the right of the 
        people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed;
Whereas Congress may not pass laws that deny or abridge any constitutional 
        rights;
Whereas it is unconstitutional for the Federal Government to wield its authority 
        beyond the scope of power delegated to it or to use that authority as a 
        political weapon against the rights of States to pass voter 
        identification laws, oversee the health care of their citizens, draft 
        curricula, and craft other laws and policies consistent with the 
        Constitution;
Whereas constitutional rights are not negotiable;
Whereas all legislation, regulations, and official actions should conform to the 
        original meaning of the Constitution as understood at the time the 
        language was adopted;
Whereas the Constitution was written during the Philadelphia Convention, now 
        known as the Constitutional Convention, which convened from May 25 to 
        September 17, 1787; and
Whereas Constitution Day commemorates the formation and signing of the 
        Constitution by 39 courageous men on September 17, 1787, in 
        Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) celebrates the signing of the Constitution of the 
        United States by recognizing Constitution Day on September 17, 
        2022; and
            (2) affirms that the Constitution of the United States is 
        not a flexible document, but an enduring covenant.
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