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Floor Speech

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Mr. 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.

I just wanted to come to the floor today, before we leave for a 2- week recess over the holiday, to talk about what I love most about America.

Two hundred fifty years ago, a group of brave men and women risked 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.''

Together, this small group of people took on a mighty empire, and they won. In doing so, they changed the course of history.

I have always related to that idea of the American founding on a 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.

Columbia City shaped Thomas Riley Marshall, who became the Vice 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.

That is why, on this July 4, I will be celebrating Independence Day 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.

I know that there will be a lot of incredible festivities happening 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.

Last year, Gallup released new data about American pride and 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.

A few months ago, I came to the Senate floor to talk about one of my 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.

And that is why I fully support and applaud President Trump and his 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.

And there is another way that we can reverse the downward trend of 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.

The original Thirteen Colonies succeeded in founding the Nation because ordinary people in ordinary places believed in something that was much bigger than themselves.

We can make America beautiful again, inside and out, by rediscovering the power of those small places and the ordinary Americans who call them home.

When we strengthen our communities, teach our full and honest history 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.

So as we gear up for the 250th birthday of this great country, let us 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.

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