House to Vote on Bill Today to Bring D.C.'s Frederick Douglass Statue into U.S. Capitol

Statement

The Office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced that the House will vote later today on a bill, H.R. 6336, to move the District of Columbia's Frederick Douglass statue into the United States Capitol. The bill, proposed by Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA), chairman of the Committee on House Administration, and co-sponsored by Norton, is similar to a concurrent resolution, S. Con. Res. 49, introduced in June by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), chairman of the Committee on Rules and Administration. The statue move was also included in the fiscal year 2013 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill, passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee in June, led by Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-HI) and Subcommittee Chairman Richard Durbin (D-IL).

"I know that residents are as gratified as I am to see the House considering a bill allowing the District's Frederick Douglass statue to be moved into the U.S. Capitol," Norton said. "The city was so intent on having the Douglass statue here that it commissioned the statue and put it on display at One Judiciary Square. The statue would be placed alongside statues of other distinguished Americans and will be only the third statue or bust of an African American in the Capitol. This placement will be a fitting tribute to one of the nation's most important human rights heroes."

Of the 180 statues and busts on display now, the two honoring African Americans are Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Sojourner Truth.

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