In case you missed it, last week the U.S. House passed a concurrent resolution reaffirming "In God We Trust" as the official motto of the U.S.

H. Con. Res. 13 is a resolution "Reaffirming 'In God We Trust' as the official motto of the United States and supporting and encouraging the public display of the national motto in all public buildings, public schools, and other government institutions." If you're interested in reading the entire resolution (it's very short), you can see it as a PDF, an XML file or the printer-friendly version.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. J. Randy Forbes, a Republican from Virginia's Fourth District. It was introduced in the House back in January (and gained 64 cosponsors), and on Nov. 1 was passed in the House by a 396-9 vote (two members of the House voted "present," while 26 did not vote). On Nov. 2, it was received in the Senate and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Check out the Final Vote Results for Roll Call 816 to see how all the members of the House voted. Republican Steven C. LaTourette of Ohio's 14th District and Democrat Marcia Fudge of Ohio's 11th District both voted in favor of the resolution.

You can also read the text of the dialogue from when H. Con. Res. 13 was brought to the floor.

According to Voterama in Congress, critics said time would be better spend on a jobs bill. The Washington Post quoted President Barack Obama sharing the same sentiment:

"In the House of Representatives, what have you guys been doing, John?" Obama said, calling out House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio).
"You've been debating a commemorative coin for baseball. You've had legislation reaffirming that 'In God We Trust' is our motto. That's not putting people back to work," Obama said. "I trust in God, but God wants to see us help ourselves by putting people back to work."

Read more from the Washington Post's story on the resolution.

The House is in recess this week.


-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl