Senate celebrates Boy Scouts of America

Resolution honors Scouts for more than 100 years of service and leadership development

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) praised the Boy Scouts of America after the Senate unanimously passed a resolution on June 16 that recognized the Scouts for more than a century of service and leadership development.

“We celebrate the Boy Scouts of America’s long history and heritage,” Alexander said. “Being a Boy Scout taught me about the outdoors and what it means to be an American. I have put that love for the outdoors to work as a United States Senator, trying to protect the parks, keep the air clean and keep enough open space so that our children and grandchildren can enjoy the outdoors as I did.”

The Senate unanimously passed a resolution that recognizes June 15, 2016, as the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America’s federal charter and congratulates the organization on more than 100 years of service and leadership development.

“I still remember the Scout Law: A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. And I remember the motto, ‘Be Prepared.’ Over the years, I have tried to apply the Scout law and motto to whatever I was doing, and I’ve found it hard to improve on the lessons I learned being a Boy Scout.”

The federal charter of the Boy Scouts of America was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate and was signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson on June 15, 1916. With the enactment of the federal charter, the Boy Scouts of America became the preeminent Scout organization for boys. Alexander cosponsored the resolution along with Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.), Jim Inhofe (ROkla.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Pat Toomey (RPa.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Thad Cochran (R-Miss.).

The Boy Scouts of America provides character development and values-based leadership training to nearly 2.3 million youth between the ages of 7 and 21, with the help of approximately 960,000 volunteers in local councils throughout the United States and its territories.