GOP Bill Would Let Frederick Douglass Represent D.C. Inside Capitol

The District of Columbia may soon be able to be represented among the statues representing all states in the union inside the halls of the Capitol.

Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.), chairman of the Committee on House Administration, introduced a bill yesterday joining forces with Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) to have D.C.’s Frederick Douglass statue moved into the Capitol’s Emancipation Hall.

The statue, which has been on display at One Judiciary Square, would represent the District while honoring a great American civil rights hero, Norton said.

“I am grateful to Chairman Lungren for proposing this bill,” she 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.”

The bill is similar to a resolution introduced in June by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), chairman of the Committee on Rules and Administration.

“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,” Norton said.