[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 133 (Tuesday, September 6, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1190]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  THE INTRODUCTION OF THE DISPLAYING THE FLAG IN HONOR OF DISTRICT OF 
                          COLUMBIA MAYORS ACT

                                  _____
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 6, 2016

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the Displaying the Flag 
in Honor of District of Columbia Mayors Act, a bill that would make a 
small--but significant to the nearly 700,000 residents of D.C.--change 
to federal law by adding the Mayor of the District of Columbia to the 
list of principals for whom the president can order the flags be flown 
at half-staff. Current law states that the president shall make this 
order ``upon the death of principal figures of the United States 
Government and the Governor of a State, territory, or possession, as a 
mark of respect to their memory.'' Surely the death of a current or 
former D.C. mayor should qualify as a principal. My bill would add D.C. 
mayors, who have many of the same responsibilities as state and 
territory governors, to the current list of officials.
  Congress already understands that the District of Columbia deserves a 
place among the states for certain honors, and this minor addition is 
not as great as others Congress has already recognized. We have already 
won congressional recognition of the District of Columbia in situations 
where the city was overlooked while honoring the states. For example, 
our legislation ensured that the District of Columbia War Memorial 
honored only District residents who served in World War I and that 
D.C.'s Frederick Douglass statue sits in the Capitol alongside statues 
from the 50 states. I also successfully worked with the U.S. Postal 
Service to create a D.C. stamp, like the stamps for the 50 states, and 
worked with the National Park Service to add the D.C. flag alongside 
the state flags across from Union Station.
  Legislation was also enacted to give D.C. a coin after it was omitted 
from legislation creating coins for the 50 states. Additionally, the 
flag of the District is displayed among the flags of the fifty states 
in the tunnel connecting the House office buildings to the Capitol, and 
legislation was needed to require the armed services to display the 
District flag whenever the flags of the states are displayed. My bill 
to add the mayor to the list of principals is a continuation of my 
efforts to ensure that the District of Columbia receives fair 
treatment, even when we have no vote on the House floor and no 
representation in the Senate.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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