Congress reaffirms 'In God We Trust' motto

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WASHINGTON, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- The U.S. House of Representatives has reaffirmed "In God We Trust" as the official motto of the United States.

The resolution, which passed 396 to 2 in Tuesday's vote, supports and encourages the public display of the 1956 motto in all public buildings, public schools and other government institutions.

Rep. J. Randy Forbes, R-Va., said he sponsored the resolution to provide "clarity amidst a cloud of confusion about our nation's spiritual heritage."

"A growing, disturbing pattern of inaccuracy and omissions regarding the motto has arisen in the public square, from speeches made by the president of the United States in foreign nations, to the sanitization of 'In God We Trust' from the half-billion-dollar Capitol Visitor Center by American historians," he said in a statement, referring to an effort by historians to preventing the motto from being engraved at the center.

President Obama, in a speech last year in Indonesia, said "E Pluribus Unum" --"Separation of Church and State" -- was the national motto. It was never corrected in the official transcript, Forbes said.

Obama Wednesday chastised Congress for wasting time on the issue.

"That's not putting people back to work. I trust in God, but God wants to see us help ourselves by putting people back to work," Obama said during a speech at Georgetown Waterfront Park Washington where he was pushing for congressional action on jobs legislation.