N.C. congressman seeks 'Elvis Presley Day'

BARTHOLOMEW SULLIVAN Scripps Howard News Service

Posted December 17, 2012 at 4:03 p.m

A North Carolina congressman defeated for re-election last month has introduced a resolution expressing congressional support for designating Jan. 8 as "Elvis Presley Day." Rep. Larry Kissell has already picked up 10 co-sponsors. (SHNS file photo by Charles Nicholas / The Commercial Appeal) (RS)

WASHINGTON - A North Carolina congressman defeated for re-election last month has introduced a resolution expressing congressional support for designating Jan. 8 as "Elvis Presley Day."
Rep. Larry Kissell, D-N.C., has already picked up 10 co-sponsors.
The resolution notes that Presley was born Jan. 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Miss., and "remains one of the most famous American entertainers of all time whose influence on music and whose cultural impact continues today."
It notes that Presley served in the U.S. Army and has been "hailed as the 'King of Rock and Roll.'" It notes that he died in Memphis and that Graceland is on the National Register of Historic Places. And it points out that the 1993 postage stamp featuring Elvis became the most popular commemorative stamp in United States history.
In a statement shortly after introducing the resolution, Kissell, who represents a district east of Charlotte, said that in 1973, a billion people eventually watched the Elvis television broadcast, "Aloha from Hawaii."
"We have many Elvis fans in our district, and on their behalf I have introduced a resolution to express the sense of Congress that Elvis' birthday, January 8, should be celebrated," Kissell said in the statement. "This legislation costs no money to taxpayers and doesn't require a day off for the federal government, but it does celebrate perhaps our first real worldwide cultural icon whose legacy continues to help us export our culture internationally.
"I believe our government can do more than one thing at a time, and that as we continue to try to find a resolution to our budget woes and get our fiscal house in order, we can also find common ground on a simple bill like this one."
The legislation-monitoring website Govtrack.us gives the bill a 31 percent chance of passing before Congress adjourns later this month.
Contact Bartholomew Sullivan of The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn., at sullivanb@shns.com.

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