[ applause ] oh, welcome. we re delighted to have you here today. this is a it cparticularly impot day for me. i remember 25 years ago being involved in the fight to get this done, and so to be here to celebrate with you today is so important. like all of you, i have a deep appreciation for the fundamental freedoms that we share as americans. a great experiment in liberty has thrived through times of war, and peace. our nation is governed according to the longest surviving constitution in world history, because the founders designed our republic to last. to be immune from the passions of partisan and resistant to the schemes of power-seeking factions. they enumerated our freedoms so there would be no mistake about where the government was not welcomed to tread. principal among these freedoms is our first liberty, religious freedom. that is what we re here to discuss and to celebrate today as we mark the 25th anniversary of the religious freedom restoration act. most of you
a local community corporation. new congress, new leaders. watch it all on c-span. acting attorney general matthew whitaker discussed religious freedom at the heritage foundation. here s a look. thank you, kay, for that kind introduction. i am probably old enough now where people should forget what i ve done on the football field and remember what i did in the political football field of washington, d.c. but i appreciate your years of service, kay, and we were talking earlier about your son having worked at the department of justice and you know how important the department of justice is to all of us that have served there and how special a place it is. i want to also think ed meese, former attorney general for being here. [ applause ] he s become a friend and a mentor for me when i was chief of staff and now acting attorney general. and i really appreciate him and what he stands for in the conservative legal movement and in an exemplar of public service. and i m also i
ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the national constitution center s executive vice president and chief operating officer, vince stango. [applause] mr. stango: good evening, everyone, and happy veterans day. it is my great pleasure to welcome you to the 2018 liberty medal ceremony honoring president george w. bush and mrs. laura bush. [applause] mr. stango: as you know, the national constitution center inspires citizens as the only place where people across america and around the world can come together to learn about, debate, and celebrate the greatest vision of human freedom in history, the u.s. constitution. we are honored to educate and inspire so many americans about the meaning and importance of the u.s. constitution, and it is because of you that we can engage in this meaningful work. on behalf of jeff rosen and the entire team at the national constitution center, i want to thank all of you. our donors, partners and visitors, our public officials, many of whom are
legislative branch spending bill. live coverage of the house here on c-span. the speaker: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered by the guest chaplain, pastor rosalinda rivera, new life outreach church, richmond, virginia. the chaplain: dear god, we come before you this day with greatful hearts for this grateful hearts for this wonderful nation we live in, for our senators, our congress men and women, our president, for their families, bless them as they sacrificialy lead us as a nation. we lift up those today that are imprisoned by a lifestyle of addiction, trapped in the trenches of hopelessness. your word says if we re in a pit you will lift us up and put our feet on a rock. so we cry out on behalf of our husbands, our wives, our sisters, our brothers, for the young people of america that are trapped by the pit of opiate addiction and sex trafficking. you are the god of hope and healing. so in your name i declare the chains of addiction are broken. i decl