Statements On Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Mr.President, today I rise to speak about the introduction of the Confederate Monument Removal Act. This legislation would properly remove certain statues on display in the Capitol as part of the National Statuary Hall Collection so they can be exhibited elsewhere in the proper historical context. I am proud to introduce this legislation today and I want to thank Representative Barbara Lee for her leadership in the House on this bill.
On July 2, 1864, a law was enacted that created the National Statuary Hall Collection, which allows states to select two statues of deceased individuals to be displayed in the Capitol. States are supposed to choose people ``who have been citizens thereof, and illustrious for their historic renown or for distinguished civil or military services.'' Figures like George Washington, Samuel Adams, and Dwight D.

Eisenhower grace the collection and are prominently on display in the Capitol. The collection is meant to honor patriots who served, sacrificed, or made tremendous contributions to our Nation.

People who served the Confederate States of America do not deserve that honor. These are individuals who took up arms against the Union and inflicted catastrophic death and suffering among United States citizens. Simply put, they fall well short of that high bar.

Moreover, the presence of these statues in the National Statuary Hall
Collection ignores the context in which these monuments were first erected. Statues of Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis were erected across the United States in the post- Reconstruction era and during the civil rights movement as symbols of white suppression and defiance of Federal authority. They do not represent Southern heritage and those who advocate thus are engaging in revisionist history and are whitewashing our past.

That is why I am introducing the Confederate Monument Removal Act, a bill that would mandate the removal of all eleven statues of people who voluntarily served the Confederate States of America from the National Statuary Hall Collection in the Capitol within 120 days. The list of statues that would be removed includes Joseph Wheeler of Alabama, Uriah Milton Rose of Arkansas, Edmund Kirby Smith of Florida, Zebulon Vance of North Carolina, Alexander Hamilton Stephens of Georgia, Edward Douglas White of Louisiana, Jefferson Davis of Mississippi, James Zachariah George of Mississippi, Wade Hampton of South Carolina, Robert E. Lee of Virginia, and John Kenna of West Virginia.

The legislation would allow a State who selected the statue to be displayed in the collection to reclaim the statue if they pay for its transportation back to the State. If a State declines to reclaim it back, it would turn possession of the statue over to the Smithsonian, an institution that is more than capable of displaying the statues in the proper historical context and where a constructive dialogue can take place about our Nation's history.

I am grateful that this legislation is endorsed by organizations such as the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

Some have argued that this will lead to the removal of other statues and monuments of prominent figures who played an important role in our Nation's history. That is plainly false. This bill only touches on those who were traitors against their Country and whose statues were erected as a symbol of white supremacy.

It is true that the Confederate Monument Removal Act does not remove certain statues in the Capitol that some people find offensive and who arguably should not be honored in such a way. For instance, the bill would not remove the statue of John C. Calhoun, a white supremacist and a vigorous defender of slavery. This is a conversation we as a Nation must have regarding how to best tell the truth of our past.

But surely we can all agree that people who took up arms against their Country should not be venerated in the Capitol, a place all Americans should feel welcomed, encouraged, and inspired. These statues must be moved not just because of who they were in the past, but because of who we are now as a Nation and who we must be to ensure an even better and brighter future for generations to come.

I am proud to introduce the Confederate Monument Removal Act and I urge its speedy passage.

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