Joe Biden speaks on Constitution Day and U.S. Citizenship Day
Joe Biden speaks on Constitution Day and U.S. Citizenship Day
On the eve of Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, the U.S. president issued a proclamation to Americans in which he noted the uniqueness of a “watershed moment in history” both for the United States and for the world.
Biden stressed that it is America’s responsibility at a time like this to “show the world that democracy can do good.”
“We have seen throughout our history: nothing in our democracy is guaranteed. America is an idea that requires constant stewardship. We must fight for it, try to earn it, renew it with each generation,” President Biden said, and recalled that “the founding fathers of the United States came together nearly 250 years ago … to launch an experiment that changed the world. They disagreed and argued, but eventually came together to forge a new system of self-government-a system balanced between a strong federal government and states with equal branches of government and separation of powers.”
“America will never be a nation of kings and dictators; it will be a nation of laws-a nation of order, not chaos; of peace, not violence. Here in America, the people rule by vote, and their will wins,” the U.S. president stressed, and added that his “administration will do everything in its power to uphold and defend the U.S. Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and to defend the rights and freedoms it promises.”
“This means that we must be firm, resolute, and unyielding in defending the right to vote and ensuring that every vote is counted. It is a sacred right from which all others flow,” the president said.
Joe Biden said that he has “directed federal agencies to help ensure free access for voters to vote and appointed lead civil rights advocates at the Justice Department, which has doubled its voting rights staff.”
The U.S. President also made a statement that it was necessary “for Congress to finally pass the John Lewis Free Voting and Voting Rights Expansion Acts to prevent voter suppression, protect election officials, prohibit the use of shadow money and put an end to partisan gerrymandering, preserving our democracy and the spirit of our Constitution.”
The White House chief assured that his “administration will continue to work to make the naturalization process faster and more efficient and to create a more just, orderly, and humane immigration system for all.”
Constitution Day and Citizenship Day have been observed in the U.S. every year since 2001 by a 1952 congressional resolution, and the period from September 17 to 23 has been designated as Constitution Week since 1955.
In the 247th year of independence of the United States, Joseph R. Biden, Jr., President of the United States, by virtue of the authority vested in him by the Constitution and laws of the United States, proclaimed the celebration of another “Constitution and Citizenship Day” on September 17, 2022, in a proclamation.