Robert E. Lee Statue Removal Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 970) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to develop a plan for the removal of the monument to Robert E. Lee at the Antietam National Battlefield, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 970
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Robert E. Lee Statue Removal Act''. SEC. 2. REMOVAL AND DISPOSAL OF MONUMENT.
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the National Park Service, shall remove and appropriately dispose of the Monument to General Robert E. Lee at the Antietam National Battlefield.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 970 introduced by my friend, Representative Brown of Maryland, a member of the Committee on Natural Resources and vice chair of the House Committee on Armed Services.
Mr. Brown's bill directs the National Park Service to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee from the Antietam National Battlefield in Maryland. This 24-foot statue of General Lee was dedicated in 2003, 138 years after the end of the Civil War. It was commissioned and placed by a private citizen on private land that the National Park Service later acquired in 2005.
As our Nation continues to wrestle and reckon with racial inequality and injustice, it is past time that we take stock of these symbols that we display and the stories that we tell about our past, present, and future.
For example, the statue at issue here is not historically accurate and it simply serves to glorify the ``Lost Cause'' narrative. It does not belong on a national battlefield.
I thank Representative Brown for his hard work in bringing attention to this issue, and I urge swift passage of this bill.
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Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, before I reserve after those beautiful remarks, I include in the Record an email from the CBO. From: David Hughes Sent: Tuesday, December 1, 2020 2:51 PM To: Lim, Sarah Subject: Re: Suspension planning.
Hi Sarah: Good to hear from you. On a preliminary basis:
H.R. 970, Robert E. Lee Removal, Brown, D-MD; no direct spending or revenue effects.
H.R. 5458, Rocky Mountain 1, Neguse, D-CO; no direct spending or revenue effects.
H.R. 5459, Rocky Mountain 2, Neguse, D-CO; no direct spending or revenue effects.
H.R. 7098, Saguaro Expansion, Grijalva, D-AZ; no direct spending or revenue effects.
H.R. 7489, Long Bridge Act of 2020, Wittman, R-VA; no revenue effects. Enacting H.R. 7489 would result in an insignificant net decrease in direct spending over the 2021- 2030 period. Best, David Hughes, Analyst, Congressional Budget Office.
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Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, we were unable to get an official score, but this email confirms on a preliminary basis that all of the remaining bills have no spending effect. They also have no revenue effect, with the exception of H.R. 7489, which has a net revenue decrease.
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Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I simply thank my colleagues from Maryland for the eloquence and moral clarity they have brought to this issue.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this long overdue and much-needed legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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