THE OLD COOT DID SOMETHING USEFUL FOR ONCE:

Mission to Mandate Teaching of Constitution Inserted Into Bill: Some groups fear the measure by Sen. Robert C. Byrd would overstep Congress' authority. (Richard Simon And Emma Schwartz, December 4, 2004, LA Times)

Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), promoting his lifelong passion for the U.S. Constitution, has inserted into a massive federal spending bill a requirement that schools devote at least part of a day each year to teaching about the document.

The provision would apply to all schools, elementary through college, that receive federal aid. Education groups worry that the provision could be the opening wedge in a campaign by Washington to influence what schools teach.

Byrd carries a copy of the Constitution in his breast pocket — over his heart — and often waves it on the Senate floor. He lamented in a recent speech that even some of his colleagues in Congress didn't know fully what it said. "An informed public is our best defense against tyranny," he said.

The provision he inserted in the spending bill, which is expected to clear Congress next week, would require schools that receive federal funding to teach about the Constitution on Sept. 17 — a day that Byrd has sought, in separate legislation, to declare a national holiday to mark the anniversary of the document's signing in 1787. The provision also would require federal agency heads to include information about the Constitution in every new federal employee's orientation.

An exceptionally good idea, as would be making Constitution Day a civic religious observance.

Posted by Orrin Judd at December 4, 2004 11:11 AM