Recognizing the Boy Scouts of America for Public Services

Floor Speech

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Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for bringing this important resolution to the floor in a timely fashion, and I say ``timely'' because an organization that on a bipartisan basis enjoys so much support to be under attack on a daily basis as we speak is an organization that needs our attention.

In 1916 when the Congress chartered the Boy Scouts, it did so in recognition of their contribution in their early days. But as we hear today that nearly or actually over half of the male Members of Congress are here today in no small part because of their participation in Boy Scouts, what we see is a ratio of success that comes from the Boy Scouts, that comes from the kind of training they provide to both urban and rural America. That is what we are here to defend today.

This resolution is, as the chairman so aptly said, one step in a dedication that we have on a bipartisan basis to defend the Boy Scouts' ability to continue the fine work they have done for nearly a century.

As a San Diegoan I am acutely aware of just how easily outside organizations objecting to what the Boy Scouts stand for could lead to the end of Scouting as we know it.

So I want to, once again, thank the chairman for bringing this important resolution to the floor in this Congress. I have no doubt that we will take up these issues and more in the next Congress, but as a former Boy Scout, somebody who, if I owe anyone the ``thank you for being here today,'' it was, in fact, for a Christian Arab young man to be in a Jewish Boy Scout troop, to be around the kind of openness and thinking that was available to me as a Scout, coming every week to an orthodox temple to understand the values of the world, not the values of Christianity, not the value of Judaism but the values of the world and the people of the world.

So, once again, Mr. Speaker, I urge the unanimous support of this resolution, and I ask all my colleagues to vote with the chairman, with myself, with the ranking member in favor of H. Res. 853.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 853 which honors the Boy Scouts of America, for the public service the organization performs for neighborhoods and communities across the United States.

I would like to thank Chairman SENSENBRENNER, the Judiciary Committee staff, the Majority Leader and his staff for their hard work to bring this measure to the floor.
For 95 years, the Boy Scouts of America have made outstanding contributions to citizenship, service, and leadership.

The stated purpose of the Boy Scouts of America, incorporated on February 8, 1910, and chartered by Congress in 1916 is to provide an educational program for boys and young adults to build character, to train in the responsibilities of citizenship, and to develop personal fitness

More than 50 percent of congressional members participated in Scouting either as a scout or a scout leader.

As I stand here today, the City of San Diego is facing litigation that would force the city to stop supporting the activities of the Boy Scouts and void a long-standing lease under which the Boy Scouts operate their headquarters in city-owned Balboa Park.
The Boy Scouts of America was founded on the premise of teaching boys moral and ethical values through an outdoor program that challenges them and teaches them respect for one another and themselves.

Scouting has always represented the best in community, leadership, and service.

The Boy Scouts of America relies on dedicated volunteers to promote its mission of preparing young people to make moral and ethical choice over their lifetime by instilling the values of the Scout Oath.

Mr. Speaker, this resolution is an expression of Congress' appreciation for Scouts, volunteer leaders, and employees of the Boy Scouts of America.
I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution.

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