[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 115 (Thursday, July 1, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E730]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     JOINT COMMITTEE ON THE LIBRARY

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                           HON. VIRGINIA FOXX

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, July 1, 2021

  Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, on June 29, 2021, during debate on H.R. 
3005, To direct the Joint Committee on the Library to replace the bust 
of Roger Brooke Taney in the Old Supreme Court Chamber of the United 
States Capitol with a bust of Thurgood Marshall to be obtained by the 
Joint Committee on the Library and to remove certain statues from areas 
of the United States Capitol which are accessible to the public, to 
remove all statues of individuals who voluntarily served the 
Confederate States of America from display in the United States 
Capitol, and for other purposes, one of my colleagues in the majority 
argued that she held no responsibility for delays in approving North 
Carolina's request to replace the Charles Aycock statue, due to the 
Joint Committee on the Library (JCL) only formally organizing on June 
23 for the 117th Congress.
  However, this argument left out important context about the series of 
events related to the JCL this year. As my colleague knows, Democrats 
have controlled both the House and the Senate since January and at any 
time could have passed their respective resolutions appointing members 
to the JCL, allowing it to organize. But it took until April 16 and May 
26 for the House and Senate to pass their respective resolutions. Even 
with those delays, the committee could still have been organized at any 
point after May 26. Yet it still took nearly a month, until June 23, 
for the committee to formally organize. Throughout this entire 
Congress, the Democrats have been in the driver seat of the JCL, 
despite my colleague's representation otherwise.
  It is clear that Democrats have needlessly delayed the work of the 
JCL. Therefore, as I said in my remarks, if Democrats were truly 
concerned about the presence of offensive statues in the U.S. Capitol, 
they might start by being quicker to act on the business of the Joint 
Committee on the Library.

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