[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3005 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 3005
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 12, 2021
Received
May 24, 2022
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To direct the Joint Committee on the Library to replace the bust of
Roger Brooke Taney in the Old Supreme Court Chamber of the United
States Capitol with a bust of Thurgood Marshall to be obtained by the
Joint Committee on the Library and to remove certain statues from areas
of the United States Capitol which are accessible to the public, to
remove all statues of individuals who voluntarily served the
Confederate States of America from display in the United States
Capitol, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. REPLACEMENT OF BUST OF ROGER BROOKE TANEY WITH BUST OF
THURGOOD MARSHALL.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) While sitting in the United States Capitol, the Supreme
Court issued the infamous Dred Scott v. Sandford decision on
March 6, 1857. Written by Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney,
whose bust sits inside the entrance to the Old Supreme Court
Chamber in the United States Capitol, this opinion declared
that African Americans were not citizens of the United States
and could not sue in Federal courts. This decision further
declared that Congress did not have the authority to prohibit
slavery in the territories.
(2) Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney's authorship of Dred
Scott v. Sandford, the effects of which would only be
overturned years later by the ratification of the 13th, 14th,
and 15th Amendments to the Constitution of the United States,
renders a bust of his likeness unsuitable for the honor of
display to the many visitors to the United States Capitol.
(3) As Frederick Douglass said of this decision in May
1857, ``This infamous decision of the Slaveholding wing of the
Supreme Court maintains that slaves are within the
contemplation of the Constitution of the United States,
property; that slaves are property in the same sense that
horses, sheep, and swine are property; that the old doctrine
that slavery is a creature of local law is false; that the
right of the slaveholder to his slave does not depend upon the
local law, but is secured wherever the Constitution of the
United States extends; that Congress has no right to prohibit
slavery anywhere; that slavery may go in safety anywhere under
the star-spangled banner; that colored persons of African
descent have no rights that white men are bound to respect;
that colored men of African descent are not and cannot be
citizens of the United States.''.
(4) While the removal of Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney's
bust from the United States Capitol does not relieve the
Congress of the historical wrongs it committed to protect the
institution of slavery, it expresses Congress's recognition of
one of the most notorious wrongs to have ever taken place in
one of its rooms, that of Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney's
Dred Scott v. Sandford decision.
(b) Removal of Bust of Roger Brooke Taney.--Not later than 45 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Joint Committee on the
Library shall remove the bust of Roger Brooke Taney in the Old Supreme
Court Chamber of the United States Capitol.
(c) Replacement With Bust of Thurgood Marshall.--
(1) Obtaining bust.--Not later than 2 years after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Joint Committee on the
Library shall enter into an agreement to obtain a bust of
Thurgood Marshall, under such terms and conditions as the Joint
Committee considers appropriate consistent with applicable law.
(2) Placement.--The Joint Committee on the Library shall
place the bust obtained under paragraph (1) in the location in
the Old Supreme Court Chamber of the United States Capitol
where the bust of Roger Brooke Taney was located prior to
removal by the Architect of the Capitol under subsection (b).
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS AND REMOVAL PROCEDURES FOR STATUES IN NATIONAL
STATUARY HALL.
(a) Requirements.--Section 1814 of the Revised Statutes (2 U.S.C.
2131) is amended by inserting ``(other than persons who served
voluntarily in the military forces or government of the Confederate
States of America or in the military forces or government of a State
while the State was in rebellion against the United States)'' after
``military services''.
(b) Statue Removal Procedures.--
(1) In general.--
(A) Identification by architect of the capitol.--
The Architect of the Capitol shall identify all statues
on display in the United States Capitol that do not
meet the requirements of section 1814 of the Revised
Statutes (2 U.S.C. 2131), as amended by subsection (a).
(B) Removal by joint committee on the library.--The
Joint Committee on the Library shall arrange for the
removal of each statue identified by the Architect of
the Capitol under subparagraph (A) from any area of the
United States Capitol which is accessible to the public
by not later than 120 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(2) Return of statues.--A statue which is removed under
this subsection and which was provided for display by a State
shall be returned to the State, and the ownership of the statue
transferred to the State, if the State so requests and agrees
to pay any costs related to the transportation of the statue to
the State.
(3) Replacement of statues.--A State that has a statue
removed under this subsection may replace such statue in
accordance with the requirements and procedures of section 1814
of the Revised Statutes (2 U.S.C. 2131) and section 311 of the
Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2001 (2 U.S.C. 2132).
(c) Storage.--The Architect of the Capitol shall keep any statue
removed under this section in storage pending the return of the statue
to the State.
SEC. 3. REMOVAL OF CERTAIN OTHER STATUES AND BUSTS.
(a) Confederate Statues and Busts.--
(1) Removal.--Not later than 45 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Joint Committee on the Library,
together with the Curator of the House of Representatives or
the Curator of the Senate (as the case may be), shall remove
all Confederate statues and Confederate busts from any area of
the United States Capitol which is accessible to the public.
(2) Definitions.--
(A) Confederate statue.--In this subsection, the
term ``Confederate statue'' means a statue which was
provided by a State for display in the United States
Capitol that depicts--
(i) any individual who served voluntarily
at any time as a member of the Armed Forces of
the Confederate States of America or of the
military of a State while the State was in open
rebellion against the United States; or
(ii) any individual who served as an
official of the Government of the Confederate
States of America or as an official of a State
while the State was in open rebellion against
the United States.
(B) Confederate bust.--In this subsection, the term
``Confederate bust'' means a bust which depicts an
individual described in clause (i) or (ii) of
subparagraph (A).
(b) Other Statues.--Not later than 45 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Joint Committee on the Library shall remove
the statue of Charles Brantley Aycock, the statue of John Caldwell
Calhoun, and the statue of James Paul Clarke from any area of the
United State Capitol which is accessible to the public.
(c) Storage.--The Architect of the Capitol shall keep any statue or
bust removed under this section in storage.
(d) Exclusion of Statues Subject to Other Removal Procedures.--This
subsection does not apply with respect to any statue which is subject
to removal under section 2.
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be
necessary to carry out this Act, and any amounts so appropriated shall
remain available until expended.
Passed the House of Representatives June 29, 2021.
Attest:
CHERYL L. JOHNSON,
Clerk.