[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 117 (Wednesday, July 12, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E966]
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 
 AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE PERMANENT DISPLAY OF THE STATUE IN THE UNITED 
                             STATES CAPITOL

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 12, 2017

  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 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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