[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 109 (Friday, September 15, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S8639]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNITION FOR SLAVE LABORERS WHO WORKED ON CONSTRUCTION OF THE UNITED 
                             STATES CAPITOL

  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Rules 
Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Con. Res. 130 
and the Senate then proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 130) establishing a 
     special task force to recommend an appropriate recognition 
     for the slave laborers who worked on the construction of the 
     United States Capitol.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution 
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be 
laid upon the table, and any statements related thereto be printed in 
the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 130) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 130

       Whereas the United States Capitol stands as a symbol of 
     democracy, equality, and freedom to the entire world;
       Whereas the year 2000 marks the 200th anniversary of the 
     opening of this historic structure for the first session of 
     Congress to be held in the new Capital City;
       Whereas slavery was not prohibited throughout the United 
     States until the ratification of the 13th amendment to the 
     Constitution in 1865;
       Whereas previous to that date, African American slave labor 
     was both legal and common in the District of Columbia and the 
     adjoining States of Maryland and Virginia;
       Whereas public records attest to the fact that African 
     American slave labor was used in the construction of the 
     United States Capitol;
       Whereas public records further attest to the fact that the 
     five-dollar-per-month payment for that African American slave 
     labor was made directly to slave owners and not to the 
     laborer; and
       Whereas African Americans made significant contributions 
     and fought bravely for freedom during the American 
     Revolutionary War: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That--
       (1) the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 
     President pro tempore of the Senate shall establish a special 
     task force to study the history and contributions of these 
     slave laborers in the construction of the United States 
     Capitol; and
       (2) such special task force shall recommend to the Speaker 
     of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore 
     of the Senate an appropriate recognition for these slave 
     laborers which could be displayed in a prominent location in 
     the United States Capitol.

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