After Opposing Resolutions On Ramadan And Diwali, Rep. King Introduces Christmas Bill

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) plans to take the House floor today and introduce a bill (HR 847) recognizing the “importance of Christmas and the Christian faith.”

A spokesman for King told ThinkProgress that the bill was introduced in response to previous resolutions recognizing the Muslim celebration of Ramadan and the Hindu Diwali. King, in fact, mirrored his Christmas resolution on the Ramadan one, according to the spokesman:

The Christmas resolution Congressman King has offered is only being offered because there have been two previous resolutions earlier this year in October, one for the Muslim holiday of Ramadan and one for the Hindu holiday of Diwali.

It was actually entirely unprecedented to even consider them for a vote. Religions have not been singled out and honored previously in Congress. But now that this precedent has been set, Congressman King thought it was important to honor Christmas. This is just simply the exact same language used as the Ramadan resolution on Oct 2.

Yet King didn’t even vote for the Ramadan resolution. King instead joined a handful of right-wing lawmakers, including Reps. Virgil Goode (R-VA) and Tom Tancredo (R-CO), who voted “present.” (They didn’t want to explicitly vote “no” because they didn’t want to be seen “as not commending religion in general.”)

Additionally, it’s questionable whether these religion resolutions are truly “unprecedented,” as King’s office claims. In the 109th Congress, the late JoAnn Davis (R-VA) also introduced a resolution recognizing the “the importance of the symbols and traditions of Christmas.” King voted for that bill.