Commemorative Days, Weeks, and Months: Background and Current Practice
Released: 2017-06-28T00:00:00

Introduction

Each Congress, hundreds of measures are introduced to recognize, support, honor, or acknowledge individuals, groups, and events with a national day, week, or month of recognition. As scholars Lawrence Dodd and Scot Schraufnagel observed, "this type of legislation generally has universal appeal with patriotism, altruism, and other worthy concerns ... [as] the motivation behind the legislation." These measures serve as one way that Members of Congress can fulfill their representational responsibilities and connect with their constituents. This type of legislation can be divided into three categories: federal holidays; patriotic and national observances; and recognition of a specific day, week, or month to commemorate a specific individual, group, or event.

Federal holidays, which are often referred to as "national holidays," are created by law and are legally only applicable to the federal government and the District of Columbia. Most federal government offices are closed for the day—many states also acknowledge and participate in the celebration.

Statutory observances, by contrast, which are often called patriotic or national observances, are found codified at 36 U.S.C. §§101-144, and do not provide specific time off for federal employees or the District of Columbia. Currently there are 44 patriotic or national observances. These include days for

individuals (e.g., Wright Brothers, Leif Erikson, and Stephen Foster); groups (e.g., Mother's Day, and Peace Officers); events (e.g., Patriot Day [9/11], Korean War Veterans Armistice Day, and signing the Constitution); and other recognitions (e.g., Flag Day, Poison Prevention, and Heart Month).

New statutory observances can only be created by enacting a law.

The other type of commemorative period recognizes a special day, week, or month. Most often these are introduced as a simple resolution (H.Res. or S.Res.) or as a concurrent resolution (H.Con.Res. or S .Con.Res.).

This report provides information on commemorative legislation that recognizes a specific time period, and then it discusses options for Congress. First, the report summarizes the different types of commemorative time periods—federal holidays; patriotic and national observances; and commemorative days, weeks, and months. Second, it discusses the current rules in the House and Senate that govern this type of legislation. Finally, the report discusses options for Congress, including introducing legislation in the House and Senate, and asking the President to issue a proclamation.

Commemorative Time Periods

Permanent commemorative time periods are authorized by law to commemorate groups, individuals, and events. Broadly, these permanent commemorations can be divided into two categories: Federal holidays and patriotic and national observances. Nonpermanent recognitions of commemorative days, weeks, and months can be authorized through the use of simple or concurrent resolutions.

Federal Holidays

The United States has established 11 permanent federal holidays. They are, in the order they appear in the calendar, New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday, Inauguration Day (every four years, following a presidential election), George Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Although frequently called public or national days, these celebrations are only legally applicable to the federal government and the District of Columbia, as the states individually decide their own legal holidays.

To create a new federal holiday, a law is required. In recent Congresses, legislation has been introduced that would have created holidays such as "Cesar E. Chavez Day," or to formally establish Election Day as a federal holiday. None of these recent proposals has been adopted.

Patriotic and National Observances

Since 1914, Congress has authorized 44 patriotic and national observances. Codified in Title 36, United States Code, these patriotic and national observances include days for individuals, groups, events, and other commemorations.

New patriotic and national observances can only be created statutorily. In recent Congresses, for example, legislation has been introduced to designate March 29 as Vietnam Veterans Day to honor and recognize "the contributions of veterans who served in the United States Armed Forces in Vietnam during war and during peace."

For a complete list of patriotic and national observances, see the Appendix .

Recognition or Support of a Commemorative Day, Week, or Month

In addition to statutory federal holidays and patriotic and national observances, Congress has historically considered legislation that recognizes, supports, honors, or acknowledges certain days, weeks, and months. For example, in the 114 th Congress, the Senate agreed to a resolution "designating the week of May 10 through May 16, 2015 as 'National Police Week.'"

Usually introduced as a simple resolution (H.Res. or S.Res.), these commemorative measures provide recognition by one congressional chamber of individuals, groups, and events without creating a new federal holiday or permanent patriotic and national observance.

Congressional Rules on Commemorative Legislation

For the House, rules ban the introduction and consideration of date-specific commemorative legislation. In the Senate, no specific chamber rules exist on either the introduction or consideration of commemorative measures.

House

In the 104 th Congress (1995-1996), the House adopted a new standing rule to reduce the number of commemorative bills and resolutions introduced and considered by the chamber. House Rule XII, clause 5, prohibits the introduction and consideration of date-specific commemorative legislation. In addition, Republican Conference Rule 28 prohibits the Republican leader from scheduling commemorative legislation for floor consideration under suspension of the rules; a committee rule of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee also addresses scheduling of such legislation under suspension of the rules.

House Rule XII, Clause 5

As part of the rules adopted by the 104 th Congress, House Rule XII was amended to preclude the introduction or consideration of any bill, resolution, or amendment that "establishes or expresses any commemoration." The rule, which has been readopted each Congress since 1995, defines a commemoration as any "remembrance, celebration, or recognition for any purpose through the designation of a specified period of time." Further, in the House Rules Committee's section-by-section analysis of the House Rules resolution ( H.Res. 6 ) in the 104 th Congress, the following explanation was provided on the rule's intent:

The new ban on date-specific commemorative measures or amendments applies to both the introduction and consideration of any measure containing such a commemorative. This is intended to include measures in which such a commemorative may only be incidental to the overall purpose of the measure. Such measures will be returned to the sponsor if they are dropped in the legislative hopper. The prohibition against consideration also extends to any measures received from the Senate which contain date-specific commemorative [sic]. While it does not block their receipt from the other body, it is intended that such measures would not be referred to the appropriate committee of the House or be considered by the House. Instead, they would simply be held at the desk without further action. Should such a commemorative be included in a conference report or Senate amendment to a House bill, the entire conference report or Senate amendment would be subject to a point of order.

While the ban does not apply to commemorative [sic] which do not set aside a specified period of time, and instead simply call for some form of national recognition, it is not the intent of the rule that such alternative forms should become a new outlet for the consideration of such measures. Thus, while they could be referred to an appropriate committee, it is not expected that such committees should feel obligated or pressured to establish special rules for their release to the House floor. Nor should it be expected that the Rule [sic] Committee should become the new avenue for regular waivers of the rule against date specific commemorative [sic]. Such exceptions should be limited to those rare situations warranting special national recognition as determined by the Leadership.

House Republican Conference Rule 28

The House Republican Conference rules (Rule 28 (6)) prohibit the Republican leader from scheduling "any bill or resolution for consideration under suspension of the Rules which ... expresses appreciation, commends, congratulates, celebrates, recognizes the accomplishments of, or celebrates the anniversary of, an entity, event, group, individual, institution, team or government program; or acknowledges or recognizes a period of time for such purposes."

Additionally, the House majority party leadership has issued protocols "intended to guide the majority leadership in the scheduling and consideration of legislation on the House floor." Included in the protocols is guidance on possible exceptions to Conference Rule 28.

A resolution of bereavement, or condemnation, or which calls on others (such as a foreign government) to take a particular action, but which does not otherwise violate the provisions of Rule 28 is eligible to be scheduled under suspension of the Rules.

Party conference rules and protocols, however, are not enforceable by points of order on the House floor, though they may reflect a general reluctance on the part of the majority party to schedule any legislation with commemorative intent.

In addition, in the 115 th Congress, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (which has jurisdiction over holidays and celebrations) adopted a new committee rule. Its Rule 13(c) states,

The Chairman shall not request to have scheduled any resolution for consideration under suspension of the Rules, which expresses appreciation, commends, congratulates, celebrates, recognizes the accomplishments of, or celebrates the anniversary of, an entity, event, group, individual, institution, team or government program; or acknowledges or recognizes a period of time for such purposes.

In the past, the committee has issued additional guidance that "in accordance with the intent of this [House] rule, it will be the policy of the Committee that resolutions deemed to fit these criteria shall not be considered by the Committee."

Past Waiver of House Rule XII

Since House Rule XII, clause 5, was adopted in the 104 th Congress, it has been explicitly waived on at least one occasion. Specifically, the "House by unanimous consent waived the prohibition against introduction of a certain joint resolution specified by sponsor and title proposing a commemoration" to allow for the consideration of H.J.Res. 71 (107 th Congress), legislation establishing Patriot Day as a day of remembrance for September 11, 2001.

Senate

Unlike in the House, no Senate rules exist that would prohibit the introduction or consideration of commemorative measures. In the past, the Senate Judiciary Committee has had unpublished guidelines on the consideration of commemorative legislation. These guidelines were not officially part of the committee's rules. Past guidance restricted consideration of commemorative legislation without a minimum number of bipartisan cosponsors, and prohibited commemoration of specific categories.

Data on Commemorative Legislation

While the House prohibits the introduction and consideration of date-specific commemorative legislation, House resolutions to achieve a similar purpose continue to be introduced. These resolutions do not include a specific time period after the resolution's resolving clause. Consequently, the introduction of such a measure does not appear to violate House Rule XII, clause 5. Data on all measures used to propose recognition of a commemorative period were collected for the 113 th and the 114 th Congresses. A total of 915 commemorative measures were identified, 437 in the 113 th Congress and 478 in the 114 th Congress. Figure 1 shows the types of legislation used to introduce commemorative recognitions in the House, and also in the Senate (where no rules regarding the introduction of commemorative resolutions exist), during the 113 th and 114 th Congresses.

As Figure 1 shows, the majority of commemorative measures were introduced as simple resolutions (95%) over the two congresses. A small number are measures that would need both House and Senate approval. These include concurrent resolutions (4%)—which do not require presidential action—or bills and joint resolutions (less than 1%). By using a simple resolution to designate a commemorative day, week, or month, only one chamber—either the House or Senate—can agree to the measure. A simple resolution, however, does not carry the force of law and can only be used by one chamber to recognize, support, honor, or acknowledge a specific day, week, or month.

Of the commemorative legislation introduced in the 113 th and 114 th Congresses, approximately 40% of all measures would recognize a commemorative day. This compares with approximately 25% for a commemorative week, and approximately 30% for a commemorative month. Additionally, a small percentage of legislation (3%) would designate two time periods. For example, H.Res. 407 (113 th Congress) would "support the goals and ideals of National Adoption Day and National Adoption Month." A measure that would designate two time periods is counted twice in the data. Figure 2 shows the percentage of measures introduced that recognize a day, week, or month.

In the 113 th and 114 th Congresses, a total of 915 commemorative measures were introduced, 433 in the House and 482 in the Senate. Of these measures, 401 of 474 (85%) Senate simple resolutions (S.Res.) were agreed to, with another two reported by Senate committees. Additionally, one Senate concurrent resolution (S.Con.Res.) and one bill (S.) were agreed to by the Senate. In the House, one measure ( H.Res. 842 [114 th Congress]) was agreed to. All other House measures (397 simple resolutions [H.Res.], 30 concurrent resolutions [H.Con.Res.], 3 joint resolution [H.J.Res.], and 2 bills [H.R.]) that were introduced were referred to committee, but none were agreed to. Table 1 shows the final disposition within the chamber of introduced commemorative measures in the 113 th and 114 th Congresses.

Table 1 indicates that 83.6% of the Senate's measures and none of the House's measures were agreed to by the chamber of origin in the 113 th Congress, and 85% of the Senate's measures and one of the House's measures were agreed to in the 114 th Congress. As discussed above under " Congressional Rules on Commemorative Legislation ," House and Senate rules for the consideration of date-specific commemorative legislation differ considerably. While the Senate allows such measures to be introduced and considered, the House has a rule that prohibits both the introduction and consideration of date-specific commemorative measures. Consequently, while no prohibition exists in the Senate, measures with date-specific provisions cannot be introduced in the House, but measures without date-specific provisions apparently can. Whether or not non-date-specific measures are considered in the future will likely be determined by scheduling practices of the House majority leader, which are guided by party conference rules and legislative protocols, as discussed earlier.

Options for Congress

When Members of Congress engage in the legislative process, they do so for a variety of purposes. In some cases, just the introduction of legislation achieves the Member's purpose, while in other cases the Member's purpose can only be achieved by the approval of a measure they have introduced. For example, the introduction of legislation may indicate that a Member would like to be involved in future public policy discussions in a particular area, or that he or she is attempting to frame the debate on a particular policy issue.

In general, there are three stages where a Member might achieve his or her goal: the introduction of legislation, the consideration of a measure in the House or Senate, or passage of a measure by the House, Senate, or both. Should Congress want to commemorate a day, week, or month, several options might be available that might allow a Member to meet his or her goal within the confines of House or Senate rules. These include the introduction of a House measure or the introduction (and possible consideration) of a Senate measure.

Introduction of House Resolutions

Though House Rule XII, clause 5, prohibits the introduction or consideration of date-specific commemorative legislation, hundreds of commemorative resolutions that would honor a day, week, or month are introduced each Congress. None of these resolutions, however, has been considered by either a House committee or on the House floor.

Through an analysis of introduced resolutions, it appears they share a common trait: the lack of a specific date or time period after the resolving clause. Without a specific date or time period after the resolving clause, it appears that commemorative resolutions that support the recognition of a specific day, week, or month can be introduced. In these cases, the specific commemorative date is listed in the resolution's "whereas" clauses. For example, in the 113 th Congress, H.Res. 194 was introduced to express "support for designation of the month of May as Williams Syndrome Awareness Month." The text of the resolution reads:

H.Res. 194 was introduced without language that would apparently be prohibited by House Rule XII, clause 5. While introduction was likely allowed because the resolution specified a date only in the "whereas clauses," scheduling the measure under suspension proceedings was still likely circumscribed by Republican Conference Rule 28, clause 6, which guides the majority leader on the scheduling of legislation for floor consideration.

Senate Action

Currently, the Senate does not have any chamber-wide restriction on the introduction or scheduling of date-specific commemorative legislation. Therefore, Senate resolutions can contain a specific date in the text following the resolving clause (although this is not a requirement). For example, S.Res. 131 (112 th Congress) designated April 2011, as "Tsunami Awareness Month." The text of the resolution read:

Concluding Observations

Legislation that recognizes, supports, honors, or acknowledges certain days, weeks, and months continues to be introduced each Congress. In the 113 th Congress (2013-2014), a total of 437 measures were introduced, 204 measures in the House and 233 in the Senate. The House did not consider any of these measures, while the Senate agreed to 193 of 233 (83%). In the 114 th Congress, a total of 478 measures were introduced, 229 measures in the House and 249 in the Senate.

Based on the quantity of measures offered in both chambers, Members of Congress clearly see value in introducing commemorative legislation. While these measures generally may not be considered in the House, Members clearly desire ways to recognize commemorative days, weeks, and months to establish connections with their district and state. The desire to recognize commemoration days, weeks, and months may explain why House Members draft their resolutions to allow for introduction, even though it seems that the intent of the prohibition (reinforced by the Republican Conference Rules) will likely preclude any further action on such resolutions.

Appendix. Patriotic and National Observances