WASHINGTON — The Senate recently approved a resolution designating Tuesday, Sept. 25, as “National Lobster Day.” It’s one of more than four dozen such resolutions that have cluttered the 2018 calendar with designations of days, weeks, and months for a variety of special interests.
Last Thursday was “United States Intelligence Professionals Day” and Saturday was “National Day of the American Cowboy.” This week, the Senate celebrated “National Whistleblower Appreciation Day” on Monday and this Friday is “National Ernie Pyle Day.”
Aside from Lobster Day, the Senate has recognized September as “National Month for Renters” and “Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Awareness Month.”
Senator Angus King, an Independent from Maine, sponsored the “Lobster Day” resolution this year — as he has done over the last four years to designate September 25 as a day to encourage people to observe Lobster Day “with appropriate ceremonies and activities.”
Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy have supported celebrating the “historic and economic importance of lobster” to small businesses and restaurants from Hartford to Niantic.
“We will continue to support this uniquely New England product and ensure that federal regulations continue to help the lobster industry succeed,” the senators said in a joint statement.
The lobster industry has suffered in recent years across southern New England, with the haul now only about a quarter of what was taken in 1997 — a peak year. Lobstermen in Long Island Sound have been hardest hit. New York and Connecticut now account for just 16 percent of the lobster taken in southern New England, according to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
The Senate resolution offers up some plaudits for lobster noting, among other things, that it is an “excellent, versatile source of lean protein that is low in saturated fat and high in vitamin B12” and “throughout history, United States presidents have served lobster at their inaugural celebrations and state dinners with international leaders.”
Indeed, lobster has been featured at some of the most lavish state dinners.
Poached Maine lobster was on the menu for the state dinner President Obama held to honor Chinese president Hu Jintao in 2011 and again in 2015 for Chinese President Xi Jinping. Prince Charles and Princess Diana dined on lobster mousse at a state dinner hosted by President Reagan in 1985. And, in 1977 President Carter hosted 28 heads of state to celebrate the signing of the Panama Canal Treaty where dinner included Maine lobster en Belle-Vue.
In case you missed it, here’s a few notable days from earlier this year as designated by the Senate.
February 28 was “Rare Disease Day,” March 22 was “National Rehabilitation Counselors Appreciation Day,” May 5 was “National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls,” June 20 was “American Eagle Day,” and thanks to Senator Richard Blumenthal April 11 was “Sesquicentennial of Connecticut’s Navy Installation.”
Here’s a list of days, weeks, and months the Senate has designated in 2018.
S.Res.390 January 2018 – National Stalking Awareness Month – Sen. Klobuchar, Amy, D-MN
S.Res.381 January 21-27, 2018 – National School Choice Week – Sen. Scott, Tim, R-SC
S.Res.403 February 2018 – American Heart Month – Sen. Hirono, Mazie K., D-HI
S.Res.403 February 2, 2018 – National Wear Red Day – Sen. Hirono, Mazie K., D-HI
S.Res.397 February 5-9, 2018 – National School Counseling Week – Sen. Murray, Patty, D-WA
S.Res.400 February 11-17, 2018 – National Tribal Colleges and Universities Week – Sen. Heitkamp, Heidi, D-ND
S.Res.423 February 28, 2018 – Rare Disease Day – Sen. Brown, Sherrod, D-OH
S.Res.419 February 26-March 4, 2018 – National Eating Disorders Awareness Week – Sen. Capito, Shelley Moore, R-WV
S.Res.425 March 2018 – National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month – Sen. Enzi, Michael B., R-WY
S.Res.448 March 2018 – National Women’s History Month – Sen. Feinstein, Dianne, D-CA
S.Res.422 March 2, 2018 – Read Across America Day – Sen. Collins, Susan M., R-ME
S.Res.415 March 2, 2018 – National Speech and Debate Education Day – Sen. Grassley, Chuck, R-IA
S.Res.420 March 3, 2018 – World Wildlife Day – Sen. Coons, Christopher A., D-DE
S.Res.405 March 18-23, 2018 – National CACFP Week – Sen. Klobuchar, Amy, D-MN
S.Res.418 March 21, 2018 – National Rosie the Riveter Day – Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr., D-PA
S.Res.447 March 22, 2018 – National Rehabilitation Counselors Appreciation Day – Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr., D-PA
S.Res.446 March 25, 2018 – National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day – Sen. Isakson, Johnny, R-GA
S.Res.471 March 29, 2018 – Vietnam Veterans Day – Sen. Burr, Richard, R-NC
S.Res.484 April 2018 – Parkinson’s Awareness Month – Sen. Isakson, Johnny, R-GA
S.Res.490 April 2018 – Financial Literacy Month – Sen. Reed, Jack, D-RI
S.Res.479 April 2018 – National Donate Life Month – Sen. Heitkamp, Heidi, D-ND
S.Res.476 April 2018 – National 9-1-1 Education Month – Sen. Klobuchar, Amy, D-MN
S.Res.440 April 2018 – Second Chance Month – Sen. Portman, Rob, R-OH
S.Res.449 April 1-7, 2018 – National Asbestos Awareness Week – Sen. Tester, Jon, D-MT
S.Res.472 April 5, 2018 – Gold Star Wives Day – Sen. Burr, Richard, R-NC
S.Res.458 April 11, 2018, – Sesquicentennial of Connecticut’s Navy Installation – Sen. Blumenthal, Richard, D-CT
S.Res.377 April 18, 2018 – Military Retiree Appreciation Day – Sen. Warren, Elizabeth, D-MA
S.Res.478 April 21-29, 2018 – National Park Week – Sen. Daines, Steve, R-MT
S.Res.483 April 29-May 5, 2018 – National Senior Corps Week – Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon, D-RI
S.Res.498 April 29-May 5, 2018 – National Small Business Week – Sen. Risch, James E., R-ID
S.Res.517 May 2018 – Older Americans Month – Sen. Collins, Susan M., R-ME
S.Res.531 May 2018 – National Brain Tumor Awareness Month – Sen. Daines, Steve, R-MT
S.Res.510 May 2018 – National Bladder Cancer Awareness Month – Sen. Menendez, Robert, D-NJ
S.Res.480 May 1, 2018 – Silver Star Service Banner Day – Sen. Blunt, Roy, R-MO
S.Res.516 May 1-7, 2018 – National Physical Education and Sport Week – Sen. Klobuchar, Amy, D-MN
S.Res.401 May 5, 2018 as the – National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls – Sen. Daines, Steve, R-MT
S.Res.512 May 13-19, 2018 – National Police Week – Sen. Grassley, Chuck, R-IA
S.Res.506 May 15, 2018 – National Senior Fraud Awareness Day – Sen. Collins, Susan M., R-ME
S.Res.468 May 19, 2018 – Kids to Parks Day – Sen. Wyden, Ron, D-OR
S.Res.528 May 20-26, 2018 – National Public Works Week – Sen. Inhofe, James M., R-OK
S.Res.554 June 2018 – National Post-Traumatic Stress Awareness Month – Sen. Heitkamp, Heidi, D-ND
S.Res.568 June 2018 – Great Outdoors Month – Sen. Daines, Steve, R-MT
S.Res.532 June 4-10, 2018 – Hemp History Week – Sen. Wyden, Ron, D-OR
S.Res.551 June 18-June 22, 2018, – National GI Bill Commemoration Week – Sen. Carper, Thomas R., D-DE
S.Res.547 June 19, 2018 – Juneteenth Independence Day – Sen. Wicker, Roger F., R-MS
S.Res.553 June 20, 2018 – American Eagle Day – Sen. Alexander, Lamar, R-TN
S.Res.554 June 27, 2018 – National Post-Traumatic Stress Awareness Day – Sen. Heitkamp, Heidi, D-ND
S.Res.574 July 13, 2018 – Collector Car Appreciation Day – Sen. Burr, Richard, R-NC
S.Res.595 July 26, 2018 – United States Intelligence Professionals Day – Sen. Warner, Mark R., D-VA
S.Res.589 July 28, 2018 – National Day of the American Cowboy – Sen. Enzi, Michael B., R-WY
S.Res.558 July 30, 2018 – National Whistleblower Appreciation Day – Sen. Grassley, Chuck, R-IA
S.Res.345 August 3, 2018 – National Ernie Pyle Day – Sen. Young, Todd C., R-IN
S.Res.336 September 2018 – Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Awareness Month – Sen. Warren, Elizabeth, D-MA
S.Res.312 September 2018 – National Month for Renters – Sen. Cassidy, Bill, R-LA
S.Res.599 September 25, 2018 – National Lobster Day – Sen. King, Angus S., Jr., I-ME
S.Res.592 October 9, 2018 – National Ada Lovelace Day – Sen. Wyden, Ron, D-OR
