[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 16, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E638]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF BILL TO DISPLAY THE FLAG IN HONOR OF THE DISTRICT OF 
                          COLUMBIA MAYORS ACT

                                  _____
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 16, 2017

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce a bill that would make a 
small but significant change to federal law by adding the Mayor of the 
District of Columbia to the list of named principals for whom the 
President can order the U.S. flag 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 cunent 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. This bill is a continuation of our ``Free 
and Equal D.C.'' series to ensure fair recognition of the nearly 
700,000 citizens of the District of Columbia.
  Congress already acknowledges that D.C. deserves a place among the 
states for certain honors, and this addition is not as great as others 
Congress has already recognized. We have already won congressional 
recognition of D.C. 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. We 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. Legislation was 
needed to require the armed services to display the District flag 
whenever the flags of the states are displayed. With this 
acknowledgement, it is not too much to ask Congress to add the Mayor to 
the list of principals who are recognized upon their deaths.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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