Norton Co-Sponsors Bill to Bring D.C.’s Frederick Douglass Statue into U.S. Capitol

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As Congress left town yesterday for its August recess, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) co-sponsored a bill introduced by Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA), Chairman of the Committee on House Administration, that would move the District's Frederick Douglass Statue into the Capitol's Emancipation Hall. The bill, H.R. 6336, marks the first time in the House that D.C. has seen the possibility of having the Douglass statue brought into the Capitol. The bill is similar to a concurrent resolution 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 am grateful to Chairman Lungren for proposing this bill to bring D.C.'s Frederick Douglass Statue into Emancipation Hall, within the U.S. Capitol. The statue, which has been on display at One Judiciary Square, will join statues displayed within the Capitol from every state in the nation, and pay tribute to a deserving American civil rights hero," Norton said. "Having a statue to represent the District in the Capitol has been one of my longstanding priorities, and I am pleased to be an original co-sponsor of legislation designed to make that priority a reality. With the chairmen of both the House and Senate committees with jurisdiction over the Capitol building supporting this measure, I believe we have a good chance of making this happen during this session of Congress."

Published: August 3, 2012