Mr. CARTER. I thank my good friend from Virginia (Mr. Forbes) for yielding to me.
I've been very, very impressed with the folks that have gathered here today to tell us about the religious history of the United States of America. It is so important that Americans and Members of this House remember the history of this country and how important the Christian religion has been to the history of the United States of America, and what an important part of the very basis of our society it is.
But I think it's important, too, for the people of this House and for the men and women back home to know that this religious history continues in the House of Representatives of the United States of America.
The first day I walked through the door of this beloved building, the Capitol of the United States, the first time my old Texas boots set foot inside this building, I was approached by a man who said, ``I think you're Carter from Texas, right? You just got elected.'' I said, ``Yes, sir.'' He said, ``Well, my name's Ron from Kansas.'' He said, ``I saw by your Web site that you proclaim yourself to be a Christian. I want to invite you to a gathering of men and women that get together and study the Bible and pray together for this country, and we're meeting tomorrow morning. Would you join us?''
Recognizing who Jim Ryun was, the famous miler from Kansas, I was flattered by the invitation, and I actually got there an hour early for the event and sat outside in the halls before the rest of them showed up. But I can tell you that that has been a major part of my life for the 6 years I've been in Congress because of the fellowship of those men and women who gathered that day in various numbers. Bipartisan is part of the deal, and we will sit and talk, visit, pray and discuss the Bible, and it revitalizes my life every day and every week.
And I have a friend back home who is in the radio business, and I call him from time to time. He always signs off with me by saying, ``Be sure and do the Lord's work in the devil's city.'' It's a joke and we laugh about it, but the reality is that there are people who think of that, of this city as the devil's city, and I'm here to tell him that the Lord is alive and well. The Lord Jesus Christ reigns in the capital city of the United States of America.
They need to hear that that is part of the present history of the United States, and there are men and women who gather almost every day as people of faith and pray for this great Nation.
The little group that we're a part of, we formed up the National Prayer Caucus. That National Prayer Caucus is catching on around the country, and people are gathering and praying for the United States of America. I would hope that every Member of this Congress and every American citizen would take to their knees and pray for the future of our country and for the salvation of America.
That is what we need. That is what saves our Nation and that's what's here. The history is not only the history of the past, which is glorious; it is the history of the present, and the present is full of grace and peace and love of Jesus Christ in this building and around this town, and I want everybody to know it. It's part of our Nation today, just as it was at its founding and throughout its history.
So it's wonderful that I may stand and rise in support this week where we acknowledge the history, the religious history of our Nation.
