--- title: Congressman Wants to Declare Magic a 'National Treasure' description: The resolution says magic needs to be "preserved, understood, and promulgated" canonical: https://time.com/4260478/magic-national-treasure-resolution-congress/ author: NBC News article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-16T01:13:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T15:56:07.662Z article:section: Politics og:title: Congressman Wants to Declare Magic a 'National Treasure' og:description: The resolution says magic needs to be "preserved, understood, and promulgated" og:url: https://time.com/4260478/magic-national-treasure-resolution-congress/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt869dafcaf1aec7c5/69888b26f887dc51ebe950e5/harry-houdini.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: harry-houdini og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Congressman Wants to Declare Magic a 'National Treasure' twitter:description: The resolution says magic needs to be "preserved, understood, and promulgated" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt869dafcaf1aec7c5/69888b26f887dc51ebe950e5/harry-houdini.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Congressman Wants to Declare Magic a 'National Treasure' by [NBC News](https://time.com/author/nbc-news/) ## NBC News Mar 16, 2016 1:13 AM UTC  Illusionist and escape artist Harry Houdini in New York City on July 7, 1912\. That same day he performed his famous stunt in which he was submerged in the East River in a crate and escaped in just under a minute. Illusionist and escape artist Harry Houdini in New York City on July 7, 1912\. That same day he performed his famous stunt in which he was submerged in the East River in a crate and escaped in just under a minute.FPG/Getty Images by [NBC News](https://time.com/author/nbc-news/) ## NBC News Mar 16, 2016 1:13 AM UTC Rep. Pete Sessions is skeptical of global warming and says big government is a waste — but he believes in the power of magic. The conservative Texas Republican introduced a House [resolution](https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-resolution/642/text?resultIndex=12) this week that would officially recognize magic as a “rare and valuable art form and national treasure.” Dropping the names of magicians like Harry Houdini and David Copperfield and referencing writer Arthur C. Clarke and artist Leonardo da Vinci, Sessions’ resolution declares that magic needs to be “preserved, understood, and promulgated.” And it ticks off several reasons why any opposition to “H. Res. 642” should be made to disappear. “Whereas. . . [_Read the rest of the story from our partners at NBC News_](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/magic-national-treasure-declares-texas-congressman-pete-sessions-n539191?cid=par-time%5F20160315) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4260478/magic-national-treasure-resolution-congress/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4260478/magic-national-treasure-resolution-congress/"},"headline":"Congressman Wants to Declare Magic a 'National Treasure'","datePublished":"2016-03-16T01:13:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:56:07.662Z","description":"The resolution says magic needs to be \"preserved, understood, and promulgated\"","url":"https://time.com/4260478/magic-national-treasure-resolution-congress/","keywords":["Congress"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt869dafcaf1aec7c5/69888b26f887dc51ebe950e5/harry-houdini.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"NBC News","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nbc-news/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt869dafcaf1aec7c5/69888b26f887dc51ebe950e5/harry-houdini.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"harry-houdini","caption":"Illusionist and escape artist Harry Houdini in New York City on July 7, 1912. That same day he performed his famous stunt in which he was submerged in the East River in a crate and escaped in just under a minute.","creditText":"FPG/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/congress/","name":"Congress"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4260478/magic-national-treasure-resolution-congress/","name":"Congressman Wants to Declare Magic a 'National Treasure'"}}]}] ```