{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://mikejohnson.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2915", "Speaker Johnson Submits Letter for Bossier Semiquincentennial Time Capsule", "2026-07-01", "2026", "2026-07", "Republican", "House", "LA", "Mike Johnson", "J000299", "mikejohnson.house.gov", "mikejohnson", "https://mikejohnson.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2014 On the eve of America\u2019s 250th Anniversary, Speaker Johnson contributed a letter to the 2026 Bossier Community Time Capsule, which will remain sealed until America\u2019s tricentennial in 2076. In the letter, Speaker Johnson outlined his journey to Congress and the Speakership, the genius of America\u2019s constitutional republic, and emphasized the importance of maintaining our Republic by recommitting to the timeless principles our nation was founded upon. The time capsule was sponsored by Keep Bossier Beautiful in conjunction with the Bossier Parish Police Jury and Keep America Beautiful.\n\n\u201cAs our nation marks this momentous anniversary, we face questions about the very nature of our Republic. How to preserve our God-given rights against government intrusion? How best to champion individual liberty? And, how to restore our moral and religious foundations, which our Founders saw as essential to maintaining this Republic? These are age-old questions that every generation has tackled since the dawn of our country,\u201d Speaker Johnson wrote. \u201cBut today, it is our duty and our responsibility as freedom-loving Americans to answer them anew, and while honoring the timeless truths of Scripture upon which our nation was founded.\u201d\n\nRead the full letter here or below:\n\nTo my future fellow Americans:\n\nGreetings from 2026! My name is Mike Johnson, U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives and proud representative of Louisiana\u2019s Fourth Congressional District, which spans from Shreveport to Monroe and down to Lake Charles.\n\nAs America marks its Semiquincentennial, we look back to acknowledge the miracle of our founding and the countless miracles that have followed, as much as we look ahead to you, our future countrymen. It is in that spirit that I write this letter, to share what America looks like today and what we hope the future holds for this great country, which we are blessed to call home.\n\nAs the 56th Speaker of the House, I am fortunate to lead Congress at a time of profound change. My colleagues first elected me to this position during a time of great tumult in the history of the institution, and after serving less than 6.8 years in Congress, the second fastest tenure before receiving this honor. This is the first time someone from Louisiana has held this historic position, something deeply meaningful to me as the son of a Shreveport firefighter and the first person in my family to graduate from college.\n\nNone of this incredible journey would have been possible without the steadfast support of my beautiful wife, Kelly, and our four children, Hannah, Abby, Jack, and Will, and God\u2019s faithful hand upon our lives.\n\nSince my first election to Speaker, I have led the Republican Party through a polarized era of politics and under one of the smallest majorities in American history. I am also proud to be the first U.S. Speaker to ever address the British Parliament, and only the third to be invited to address the Israeli Knesset. It is not lost on me the critical role the U.S. plays in shaping the policies and actions of countries around the globe. Being in this position comes with the enormous weight of preserving the God-honoring, timeless truths that undergird America\u2019s founding \u2013 which contain the necessary ingredients for human flourishing \u2013 and of stewarding these principles beyond our borders.\n\nWe began this fateful year with an auspicious victory abroad. America\u2019s greatest athletes competed in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, capturing a record 12 gold medals. Both the U.S. Men\u2019s and Women\u2019s Hockey Teams triumphed over Canada in dramatic overtime thrillers to secure dual gold medals. For the men, it was their first gold in 46 years since the famous 1980 \u201cMiracle on Ice.\u201d\n\nIn April, NASA achieved a major space exploration milestone with the Artemis II lunar flyby, setting a record for the farthest journey from Earth in human history. King Charles III made his first visit to the United States as monarch, which culminated in a historic address to a Joint Session of Congress. And at this very moment, the 2026 FIFA World Cup is underway in communities across our country.\n\nIn a matter of days and under the leadership of President Donald Trump, America will celebrate its 250th anniversary in historic fashion, from the Great American State Fair to one of the grandest displays of fireworks here in our nation\u2019s capital. Recently, I was proud to lead tens of thousands of Americans in prayer on our National Mall to rededicate this great country as one nation under God in celebration of 250 years of American Independence.\n\nAs our nation marks this momentous anniversary, we face questions about the very nature of our Republic. How to preserve our God-given rights against government intrusion? How best to champion individual liberty? And, how to restore our moral and religious foundations, which our Founders saw as essential to maintaining this Republic? These are age-old questions that every generation has tackled since the dawn of our country. But today, it is our duty and our responsibility as freedom-loving Americans to answer them anew, and while honoring the timeless truths of Scripture upon which our nation was founded.\n\nWe embrace the challenge of this generation with you, our future fellow Americans, in our hearts and prayers. And while we acknowledge that our work to preserve this grand experiment in self-liberty remains unfinished, we take solace knowing that God\u2019s hand rests firmly upon our country, just as it has since the very beginning of our Founders\u2019 fight for freedom.\n\nAs John Quincy Adams, our nation\u2019s 6th president and a relentless fighter against the scourge of slavery, once said, \u201cDuty is ours. Results are God\u2019s.\u201d It\u2019s your duty now to recommit to the timeless, foundational principles enshrined in our nation\u2019s birth certificate. As you take the baton of freedom on this 300th anniversary, do not do so lightly. Take it boldly and courageously, as the signers of the Declaration did, and with the full weight of history and destiny on your shoulders.\n\n###", 1, "2026-07-02T06:20:02Z", "2026-07-02T06:21:32Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://mikejohnson.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2915"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 3.0057248659431934, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}