The Introduction of the Displaying the Flag in Honor of District of Columbia Mayors Act
Floor Speech
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Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the Displaying the Flag in Honor of District of Columbia Mayors Act, a bill that would make a small--but significant to the nearly 700,000 residents of D.C.--change to federal law by adding the Mayor of the District of Columbia to the list of principals for whom the president can order the flags be flown at half-staff. Current law states that the president shall make this order ``upon the death of principal figures of the United States Government and the Governor of a State, territory, or possession, as a mark of respect to their memory.'' Surely the death of a current or former D.C. mayor should qualify as a principal. My bill would add D.C. mayors, who have many of the same responsibilities as state and territory governors, to the current list of officials.
Congress already understands that the District of Columbia deserves a place among the states for certain honors, and this minor addition is not as great as others Congress has already recognized. We have already won congressional recognition of the District of Columbia in situations where the city was overlooked while honoring the states. For example, our legislation ensured that the District of Columbia War Memorial honored only District residents who served in World War I and that D.C.'s Frederick Douglass statue sits in the Capitol alongside statues from the 50 states. I also successfully worked with the U.S. Postal Service to create a D.C. stamp, like the stamps for the 50 states, and worked with the National Park Service to add the D.C. flag alongside the state flags across from Union Station.
Legislation was also enacted to give D.C. a coin after it was omitted from legislation creating coins for the 50 states. Additionally, the flag of the District is displayed among the flags of the fifty states in the tunnel connecting the House office buildings to the Capitol, and legislation was needed to require the armed services to display the District flag whenever the flags of the states are displayed. My bill to add the mayor to the list of principals is a continuation of my efforts to ensure that the District of Columbia receives fair treatment, even when we have no vote on the House floor and no representation in the Senate.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
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