III
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 511
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 10, 2008
Mrs. McCaskill (for herself, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Obama, Mr. Coburn, Mrs. Clinton, and Mr. Webb) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
April 24, 2008
Reported by Mr. Leahy, without amendment
April 30, 2008
Considered and agreed to
RESOLUTION
Recognizing that John Sidney McCain, III, is a natural born citizen.
Whereas the Constitution of the United States requires
that, to be eligible for the Office of the President, a person must be a
natural born Citizen
of the United States;
Whereas the term natural born Citizen
, as
that term appears in Article II, Section 1, is not defined in the Constitution
of the United States;
Whereas there is no evidence of the intention of the Framers or any Congress to limit the constitutional rights of children born to Americans serving in the military nor to prevent those children from serving as their country’s President;
Whereas such limitations would be inconsistent with the
purpose and intent of the natural born Citizen
clause of the
Constitution of the United States, as evidenced by the First Congress's own
statute defining the term natural born Citizen
;
Whereas the well-being of all citizens of the United States is preserved and enhanced by the men and women who are assigned to serve our country outside of our national borders;
Whereas previous presidential candidates were born outside of the United States of America and were understood to be eligible to be President; and
Whereas John Sidney McCain, III, was born to American citizens on an American military base in the Panama Canal Zone in 1936: Now, therefore, be it
That John Sidney McCain, III, is a
natural born Citizen
under Article II, Section 1, of the
Constitution of the United States.