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Floor Speech

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Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 60th anniversary of the National Boy Scout Memorial in our Nation's Capital.

The Boy Scouts of America aims to prepare young people for lives of impact and purpose.

Since the Boy Scouts' founding in 1910 here in Washington, D.C., the organization has grown to become one of the largest youth organizations in the United States with over 1 million Scouts.

The United States Congress passed a congressional charter in 1916, officially establishing the Boy Scouts of America. The mission remains steadfast: ``to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law.''

In 1959, the 50th anniversary year of Scouting, Lyndon Baines Johnson, then-Senate majority leader, introduced a measure to establish the memorial. Scouts from across the Nation displayed their dedication and passion for Scouting by raising 100 percent of the funding needed to complete the statue.

Scouts who were able to collect $5 in dimes sent in their collections and had their names printed on special scrolls.

The legacies of these Scouts and their dedication lives on, with all the scrolls still residing inside the boxes at the statue's base.

The sculpture sits at the location of the 1937 National Scout Jamboree, the very first jamboree. It was dedicated on November 7, 1964, and over 1,000 Scouts, leaders, family members, military personnel, members of government, and guests were present.

This weekend I was proud to attend the 60th anniversary ceremony.

Officially named the ``Boy Scout Commemorative Tribute,'' it was the very first statue or memorial in D.C. dedicated to a living or ongoing cause, not a past leader or event.

The three statues represent the fundamental principles of Scouting. The young Scout in the middle symbolizes all Scouts past, present, and future, and is a beacon for good. The male and female figures symbolize the strength for both manhood and womanhood.

The male represents ideals of physical, mental, and moral fitness, citizenship, honor, and courage, while the female represents enlightenment, love of fellow man, justice, and freedom.

As a proud Eagle Scout and a Scout Master for over 30 years, Scouting has been an essential part of my young and adult life. Even in my current role as U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania's 15th Congressional District and chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, I use the lessons and values learned in Scouting to guide my decisionmaking.

The Scout Oath tells us that we have a duty to God, to country, to others, and to self, and this is a checklist I use when voting on the House floor.

Scouting enables the next generation of youth to develop leadership skills, connect with their community, build self-confidence, and gain numerous other benefits for themselves and their country.

The Scouting program is one of the best youth organizations for cultivating a sense of responsibility and allows youth to become engaged citizens who care and respect their communities.

I will always cherish the time I spent in Scouting and value its role in shaping me into who I am today.

Mr. Speaker, for more than 100 years, Scouting has instilled essential values into our young people. This organization has helped develop academic skills, self-confidence, ethics, and citizenship skills that continue influencing these Scouts' adult lives.

The impact of Scouting cannot be measured. This monument stands as a powerful tribute, not just to the Boy Scouts themselves, but to the values they carry and their positive impact on our communities, Nation, and the world.

Let this memorial remind us of our responsibility to support and inspire the next generation to dedicate themselves to a lifetime of service.

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