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Congressional Daily Record
This section covers nominations, confirmations, or other executive branch business. It mentions members such as James E. Banks.
Official title: America250 (Executive Calendar)
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June 24, 2026
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Download official Senate Record PDFReturn to issue contextMr. BANKS. Mr. President, next week, the country will be celebrating an incredible milestone, the 250th birthday of the United States of America, which is the greatest country founded in the history of the world.
week recess over the holiday, to talk about what I love most about America.
life and limb in pursuit of the American experiment, and 13 small Colonies of farmers, merchants, tradesmen, and families of different religions and classes declared what was then a radical idea, that “all men are created equal, endowed by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights.”
personal level. I grew up among farmers and tradesmen and factory workers. My dad was a union factory worker, and my mom was a nursing home cook. I came from a working-class family and grew up in a working- class town—a small town—in Northeast Indiana called Columbia City. It was a town that had about 5,000 people when I was born. It is around 10,000 people today. I am still proud to live in Columbia City and to call it my home—this small town, my home today. Even though Columbia City is a humble town, I love it intensely. I have so many great memories from my childhood in Columbia City, and I feel great pride in my hometown, but Columbia City's humble nature didn't stop people from doing great things.
President of the United States of America in 1913. It shaped me, too, into who I am today—in my serving here, with the Presiding Officer, as a U.S. Senator. That is the beauty of smalltown America. Small towns like my hometown are where the American dream is realized, and it was in the Thirteen Colonies 250 years ago that the dream of America came to life.
back in my hometown with my family. Growing up, I remember spending every Fourth of July in Columbia City, watching the community's celebration and the fireworks in the evening. That is exactly what I will be doing with my kids and my parents and my family this year as well.
right here in Washington, DC, and I am all for that. President Trump says it is going to be the biggest and best fireworks display in American history. I have no doubt that he is right about that, but I think it is also important for people to spend time celebrating with the local communities that shaped them. I encourage everyone here and those listening today, if you can, the America 250 celebrations happening in your hometowns are going to be great, and I hope you will be a part of them.
My upbringing instilled within me a profound love for this country. Sadly, not enough people share that same love today. Three years ago, the Wall Street Journal had a poll that showed that only 38 percent of Americans believed that patriotism was important to them, and that was down from 70 percent in 1998. For the last 3 years, I have wondered about and wanted an update on that poll—what does that look like today?—because it has really bothered me ever since I read that story in the Wall Street Journal a few years ago.
patriotism. Unfortunately, the numbers have hardly changed. Only about 41 percent of American adults said they were extremely proud to be American. Among America's young people, that picture was particularly damning. Only 41 percent of Gen Z said that they were extremely or very proud to be an American. These are record low numbers, but this is what happens when too many people, especially young people, feel detached from our Nation's story.
But here is the thing: As we celebrate America on this historic and monumental occasion, this decline is not irreversible. We can absolutely fix this trend. One way that we can fix this trend is to make our Nation beautiful again and do everything we can to make our Nation beautiful.
bills that is very important to me, the Beautifying Federal Civic Architecture Act. I spoke about how important it is to have and build beautiful buildings that reflect the beauty of this great country. We owe it to ourselves and to our children to build beautiful buildings that reflect who we really are as a nation.
efforts to make the Federal buildings and communities all across America even more beautiful than what they were before. When a nation sees beautiful and great buildings, it sees beauty and greatness in the nation.
American patriotism as well, and that is by returning to our roots in our small communities. Our small communities are what made this country great and are what continue to make America great.
because ordinary people in ordinary places believed in something that was much bigger than themselves.
the power of those small places and the ordinary Americans who call them home.
with pride, and recommit to the founding principles that turned 13 fragile Colonies into a global beacon of liberty and freedom, we will see national pride rise once again.
Let me end by saying this: Mighty empires that once ruled the world have vanished to the dustbin of history, but America, this great country, still stands, and she stands taller and mightier than the rest.
recommit ourselves to the incredible American story that is still unfolding right before our eyes. And let us never forget that, from small and humble beginnings, rose the greatest country on Earth, the United States of America.
Happy America 250.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Banks). The Senator from Texas.