GovTrack’s Bill Summary
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H.R. 5493 (111th): To provide for the furnishing of statues by the District of Columbia and territories and possessions of the United States for display in Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol.
- Introduced:
- Jun 09, 2010 (111th Congress, 2009–2010)
- Sponsor:
- Del. Eleanor Norton [D-DC0]
- Status:
- Died (Passed House)
The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. H.R. stands for House of Representatives bill.
Library of Congress Summary
The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.
12/15/2010--Passed House amended.
Authorizes the President to invite the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to each provide and furnish a statue, in marble or bronze, of a deceased person who has been a citizen of such jurisdiction, and illustrious for his or her historic renown or for distinguished civic or military services, such as it may deem to be worthy of this national commemoration.
Requires the statues to be placed in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol. Prohibits a statue of any individual from being placed in Statuary Hall until 10 years after the individual's death.
Prescribes requirements and administrative procedures for replacement of such statues.
House Republican Conference Summary
The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.
This summary can be found at http://www.gop.gov/bill/111/2/hr5493.
Background
According to the Architect of the Capitol (AOC), the National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol is comprised of statues donated by individual states to honor persons notable in their history. The entire collection now consists of 100 statues—two each contributed by all 50 states. Washington, D.C., however, is not a state. When ratified in 1789, the Constitution provided for the creation and governance of a permanent home for the national government. Article I, Section 8, Clause 17, called for the creation of a federal district to serve as the permanent seat of the new national government. Thus, Washington, D.C. is a federal district under the control of Congress. Other non-state U.S. territories, such as Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, and the Virgin Islands, are not represented by statues in the Capitol. Thus, D.C. would be the first non-state to be authorized to place statues of famous residents inside Statuary Hall.
Summary
H.R. 5493 would authorize the president to invite the District of Columbia to provide two statues of “illustrious” and deceased D.C. citizens for display in Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol. The bill would require D.C. to pay any costs of providing and furnishing the statue. In addition, no statue of any individual may be placed in Statuary Hall until 10 years after the date of the individual's death. Finally, the bill would specify procedures by which D.C. could replace statues displayed in Statuary Hall as it deemed fit.
Cost
According to CBO, enacting H.R. 5493 would have no significant impact on the federal budget.
House Democratic Caucus Summary
The House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.
So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference’s summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That’s because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.
We’ll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.