Spirit of Christmas

H. RES. 579: "Whereas the Framers intended that the First Amendment to
the Constitution of the United States would prohibit the establishment
of religion....Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of
Representatives-- (1) recognizes the importance of the symbols and
traditions of Christmas; (2) strongly disapproves of attempts to ban
references to Christmas; and (3) expresses support for the use of these
symbols and traditions."

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.RES.579:

Rep Bobby Scott: "Madam Speaker, this resolution purports to protect
the symbols of Christmas, but what really needs to be protected are not
the symbols of Christmas, but rather the spirit of Christmas. The spirit
of Christmas demands generosity and goodwill towards others. Instead of
legislation that respects the spirit of Christmas, Congress in just
these past few weeks has passed a budget that includes mean-spirited
attacks on the least of us. For those who are hungry, we are cutting
food stamps. For those who are sick, we are cutting Medicaid. For those
who are in prison, we are imposing senseless mandatory minimums. For
others we are ignoring increases in heating costs and cutting student
loans. At the same time we are cutting those programs to help the least
of us, we are cutting taxes for the wealthiest in society. Madam
Speaker, we ought to express our passion for Christmas through deeds,
not words; and we should not be distracted from our responsibility to
uphold the spirit of Christmas as we consider the effects our actions on
the Federal budget will have on the least of us during this holiday
season. For these reasons I oppose this resolution."

http://www.talk2action.org/story/2005/12/16/94438/598