{"bills":[{"photos":{"featured":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/hres642-114/featured_recognizing-magic-as-a-rare-and-valuable-art-form-and-national-treasure-1459455546.jpg","featured_large":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/hres642-114/featured_large_recognizing-magic-as-a-rare-and-valuable-art-form-and-national-treasure-1459455546.jpg","shareable":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/bills/hres642-114.png"},"introduced_on":"2016-03-14","title_override":"Is Magic a \"National Treasure?\"","summary_override":"

This resolution recognizes magic — as in, supernatural forces and magic tricks — as a “rare and valuable art form and national treasure.”

The resolution, introduced by Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), contains 33 arguments as to the importance of magic, including that it:

“Is an art form with the unique power and potential to impact the lives of all people,\"
“Enables people to experience the impossible,”
“Fulfills some of the highest ideals and aspirations of our country,” and
“Is timeless in appeal and requires only the capacity to dream.”

The bill further claims that “many technological advances can be directly traced to the influential work of magicians.”

The legislation credits magic with inspiring a wide variety of individuals, from artist Leonardo da Vinci to Eric Hogue, the clown-turned-mayor of Wylie, Texas. (Hogue, incidentally, brought the issue of magic’s under-acknowledgement to Rep. Sessions’ attention.) The bill also praises magician David Copperfield — another supporter of the legislation — and his therapeutic magic training program.

Finally, the resolution asserts that “magic has not been properly recognized as a great American art form,” and that it should be supported and preserved through a national effort.","official_title":"Recognizing magic as a rare and valuable art form and national treasure.","short_title":null,"popular_title":null,"short_summary":"Recognizes magic as a rare and valuable art form and national treasure.\n\nSupports efforts to make certain that magic is preserved, understood, and promulgated.","summarized":true,"cost":0,"cost_commentary":"","impact":"Magicians, people who love magic, Congress ","argument_for":"By acknowledging magic as an art, this resolution could help magicians compete for nonprofit funding and protect their intellectual property rights.","argument_against":"There is no need for Congress to formally recognize magic as an art form. This resolution is silly and a complete waste of time.","bill_type":"hres","published":true,"type":"FederalBill","id":"hres642-114","bill_id":"hres642-114","formal_id":"H. Res. 642","chamber":"house","congress":114,"last_action_at":"2016-03-14T00:00:00.000Z","active":false,"enacted":false,"enacted_at":null,"vetoed":false,"last_vote_at":null,"debated_on":null,"congress_url":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th/house-resolution/642","plain_text_url":"https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-114hres642ih/html/BILLS-114hres642ih.htm","shareable_image_url":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/bills/hres642-114.png","congress_full_text_url":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th/house-resolution/642/text","is_current_congress":false,"last_version_on":"2016-03-14","related_bill_ids":[],"progress":"Introduced","house_passage_result":false,"senate_passage_result":false,"position_count":353,"committees":[{"name":"Committee on Oversight and Reform","chamber":"house","committee_id":"HSGO","subcommittee":false}],"links":{"rollCalls":"/api/roll_calls?bill_id=hres642-114","details":"/api/bills/hres642-114/details","sharingMessage":"/api/sharing_messages/hres642-114","positionsFor":"/api/bills/hres642-114/positions/for","positionsAgainst":"/api/bills/hres642-114/positions/against"},"upcoming":false,"cosponsors_count":14,"slug":"hres642-114-recognizing-magic-as-a-rare-and-valuable-art-form-and-national-treasure","latest_chamber_votes_id":null,"official_url":null,"target_video":true,"following":false,"vote_count":2744,"yea_vote_count":716,"nay_vote_count":2021,"passed_house":false,"passed_senate":false,"vote_id":null,"my_position_id":null,"topic_ids":["arts,-culture,-religion"],"issue_ids":["arts-culture-religion"],"sponsor_id":241}],"votes":[],"issues":[{"id":"arts-culture-religion","name":"Arts, Culture, Religion","slug":"arts-culture-religion","description":"Vote on the latest federal legislation regarding Arts, Culture and Religion. Legislation encompasses media (TV, Film, and Books), Music, Performing Arts, Libraries and Historical Resources. Make your voice heard about the issues you care about. \r\n","page_title":"Legislation regarding Arts, Culture and Religion - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/arts-culture-religion/black_arts-culture-religion-1429042041.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/arts-culture-religion/grey_arts-culture-religion-1429042041.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/arts-culture-religion/white_arts-culture-religion-1429042041.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false}],"users":[{"name":"T","vote_count":1198,"photos":{"large":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/default-2.png","small":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/default-2.png","tiny":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/default-2.png"},"links":{"following":"/api/users/P9ogyNr9/following","followers":"/api/users/P9ogyNr9/followers"},"about_me":null,"twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":null,"youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":null,"issue_count":131,"is_following":null,"influence_score":1030,"influence_level":30,"follower_count":6,"following_count":3,"position_count":136,"id":"P9ogyNr9","partner_id":null}],"bill_position":{"flagged":false,"id":"f30d7298-41a4-4fc5-9ec6-b3812a139dd1","argument_for":"If congress must waste time making empty declarations, better something interesting like this than the usual pc-driven drivel. ","argument_against":null,"show_argument_for":true,"show_argument_against":false,"upvote_count":0,"upvotes_for_count":0,"upvotes_against_count":null,"has_upvoted":false,"endorsement_count":0,"links":{"self":"https://www.causes.com/positions/f30d7298-41a4-4fc5-9ec6-b3812a139dd1"},"body":"If congress must waste time making empty declarations, better something interesting like this than the usual pc-driven drivel. ","stance":"yea","created_at":"2016-04-02T03:17:26.511Z","shareable_image_url":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/positions/f30d7298-41a4-4fc5-9ec6-b3812a139dd1.png","note_color":null,"note_text":null,"bill_id":"hres642-114","user_id":"P9ogyNr9","endorser_ids":[]}}

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Is Magic a "National Treasure?"