A newly elected Republican lawmaker has filed legislation to reaffirm the Declaration of Independence as America approaches its 250th birthday, arguing the nation should recommit to founding principles as socialist ideas advance on the left. The measure mirrors a congressional tradition of marking major anniversaries and comes alongside a companion Senate action and rising concern about far-left nominees. The debate touches on national pride, political strategy, and the broader cultural fight over how the next generation will learn American history.
Rep. Matt Van Epps, R-Tenn., rolled out the bill as a statement of values and a rebuke to what he describes as a growing socialist strain in the Democratic Party. He told reporters that “Congress did this in America 100 to celebrate the 100th Anniversary,” and he said the timing felt right to remind people of what the country was founded on. The move is meant to place the Declaration front and center on the floor and in the public mind as the nation marks a big milestone.
Van Epps framed the bill as a defensive response to candidates and groups pushing radical ideas in deep-blue districts, arguing those views clash with America’s founding principles. He specifically pointed at a slate of leftist nominees emerging from places like New York City and warned that unchecked momentum could reshape the party’s identity. “These folks that are supported and endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America are antithetical to the founding,” he said.
One high-profile newcomer cited by critics is Democratic congressional nominee Darializa Avila Chevalier, who won a primary upset and promoted positions that alarm mainstream conservatives. She has argued that the deportation of any illegal migrant is wrong, voiced support for the prison abolition movement and questioned Israel’s right to exist. She also co-founded a pro-Palestinian organization at Columbia University that called for “the total eradication of Western civilization.”
Van Epps did not mince words about the ideological stakes, arguing that the country should reject socialism outright. “Socialism, Marxist, leftist ideas have failed every time they’ve been tried in the history of the world,” he said, adding those philosophies are “not America at its core.” For him, this legislation is both symbolic and educational — the idea is to get younger Americans to understand and appreciate the principles that built the nation.
The House schedule is uncertain, with lawmakers departing early for the July 4 recess and intra-party fights slowing business on the floor. A group of conservative Republicans recently disrupted the calendar in protest over priorities like the SAVE America Act and border security, which complicates timing for symbolic measures. That said, the issue has already seen traction in the Senate, which moved a companion resolution without much resistance.
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., who filed a Senate version, pushed the Declaration as a means to restore pride and teach gratitude for the nation’s inheritance. “A generation ago, American pride was nearly universal,” Schmitt said on the Senate floor at the time. “After 9/11, more than 90% of Americans said they were proud to be an American. Today, Gallup puts that number at 58%.”
Schmitt described the document as a handoff from one generation to the next, meant to remind citizens why the founders chose independence and self-government. “That inheritance now rests in our hands, and too many powerful voices in this country teach the next generation to receive it with suspicion instead of gratitude,” Schmitt said. “We are done being ashamed of America. We love our country. We honor the men who built it. We give thanks for the inheritance they placed in our hand, and we intend to keep it.”
Whether the House follows the Senate or the resolutions become rallying points for both parties, lawmakers on the right are making a clear, public case for recommitting to founding ideals. The push taps into a larger narrative about national identity and civic education as political factions compete to define what the nation will teach its children. Timing and turnout will decide how far this reaffirmation goes before the 250th birthday arrives.
