[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 98 (Thursday, June 18, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E930-E931]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF A BILL TO DIRECT THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON THE LIBRARY TO 
ACCEPT A STATUE DEPICTING PIERRE L'ENFANT FROM THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 18, 2015

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today I introduce a bill to direct the Joint 
Committee on the Library to accept a statue depicting Pierre L'Enfant 
from the District of Columbia and to provide for the permanent display 
of the statue in the United States Capitol.
  Pierre L'Enfant was born in France in 1754. He was an engineer and an 
architect, and he traveled to the United States to serve with the 
United States in the Revolutionary War. In March 1791, L'Enfant was 
hired to develop the design for the District of Columbia. L'Enfant's 
design for the city was so remarkable that it remains and is cherished 
today in the nation's capital and throughout this country. L'Enfant's 
design envisioned a federal and residential city with diagonal streets 
propelling from Congress and the President's home, beautiful boulevards 
on local streets and neighborhoods, and open spaces for monuments, 
memorials and historical structures, all of which largely remain 
intact, protected as a historical treasure.
  In 2006, the residents of the District of Columbia chose L'Enfant as 
one of the top ten Americans that have given distinguished service to 
the District, and the selection committee created by the D.C. 
Commission on the Arts and Humanities chose L'Enfant as the second 
statue from the District of Columbia to be

[[Page E931]]

placed in the United States Capitol. The District's first choice for a 
statue was Frederick Douglass, and I am pleased that the Douglass 
statue now sits in Emancipation Hall. Because the United States Capitol 
does not currently appropriately recognize the contributions of Pierre 
L'Enfant, and because D.C. residents and stakeholders chose L'Enfant as 
a distinguished Washingtonian, this bill would require the Joint 
Committee on the Library to place the Pierre L'Enfant statue in the 
United States Capitol.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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