A bill to provide for setting aside the first Thursday in May as the date on which the National Day of Prayer is celebrated.
Public Law 100-307 · S. 1378 · 100th Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by Ronald Reagan (R) on May 5, 1988 · Commemorations
Sponsor: Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-SC)
Cosponsors (18): Sen. Howell Heflin, Sen. Chuck Grassley,
Passage votes
- HouseVoice vote
- SenateVoice vote
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Amends Federal law to direct the President to set aside and proclaim the first Thursday in May in each year as a National Day of Prayer. (Current law directs the President to set aside and proclaim a suitable day each year, other than a Sunday, for such purpose.)
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Post Office and Civil Service Committee · House · discharged from, markup by, referred to
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 13 actions.
- May 5, 1988Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 100-307.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- May 4, 1988PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
- May 2, 1988FloorFloor · Passed House by Voice Vote.
- FloorFloor · Called up by House by Unanimous Consent.
- CommitteeCommittee · Discharged from House Post Office and Civil Service Committee
- Apr 27, 1988CommitteeCommittee · Markup by House Post Office and Civil Service Committee
- Apr 25, 1988CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Post Office and Civil Service Committee
- Apr 22, 1988FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Voice Vote.
- Apr 20, 1988CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Senate Judiciary Committee
- Apr 14, 1988CommitteeCommittee · Markup by Senate Judiciary Committee
- Jun 17, 1987CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Judiciary Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the Senate
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.