FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Rep. Matt Van Epps, R-Tenn., told the Daily Signal he will introduce a bill on the House floor Thursday to reaffirm the values of the Declaration of Independence in honor of its 250th anniversary and in response to the sweeping rise of socialism.
“Socialism is antithetical to the principles of the Declaration of Independence,” Van Epps told the Daily Signal in a statement Wednesday. “The idea of private property and entrepreneurship is intrinsic in the Founders’ idea of inalienable rights. In reality, a socialist regime would undermine—not protect—Americans’ rights to ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.’”
The Declaration of Independence Reaffirmation Act seeks to “reaffirm and re-adopt the Declaration of Independence as an Organic Law of the United States.”
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., introduced the bill in the Senate chamber earlier this month, where it received unanimous approval.
Schmitt told the chamber that America is forgetting the values that bind Americans to the Founding: “America’s deepest crisis is a loss of memory.”
“Only 28% of Democrats say they’re proud of America’s 250-year history,” he said. “Only 11% say America is the greatest country in the world. Only 27% plan to display the American flag this 4th of July.”
“That is a national forgetting made visible,” Schmitt warned.
Forgetting American values will result in the deterioration of the nation and the character of its leaders, Schmitt argued.
“A people that forgets its heroes will soon be ruled by men who despise them,” he told the Senate.
Darializa Avila Chevalier, who just won the Democrat primary for New York’s 13th Congressional District, calls herself a “democratic socialist” and co-founded Columbia University Apartheid Divest, an organization that pledged itself to the “total eradication of Western civilization.”
The organization also posted “Marg bar Amrika” after American airstrikes in February that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Translated from Persian, the statement reads: “Death to America.”
Chevalier is projected to win her election in November and become a New York member of Congress. Her campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Van Epps agreed with Schmitt’s warning: “I have been disheartened over the last several years, seeing the Left disrespect our Founding and now seeing the socialist takeover of New York.”
“I can’t express vehemently enough how antithetical socialism is to the entire American experiment,” Van Epps told the Daily Signal.
“Let Congress repass the Declaration of Independence. Let the American people hear it again. Let the children of this republic learn that they are heirs to heroes. Let the enemies of this republic learn that Americans still know who they are,” Schmitt told the Senate chamber. “And let this generation take its place in the long line of patriots who understood that freedom is inherited only when it’s fought for.”
If the bill passes the House, it will go to President Donald Trump’s desk for signing.
“I chose to introduce the Declaration of Independence Reaffirmation Act of 2026 because I believe America and our Founding are worth celebrating,” Van Epps told the Daily Signal. “The best way to raise a patriotic generation is to teach them to love our country. That’s what this bill is all about.”
[Editor’s note: This story originally was published by The Daily Signal.]
