[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 177 (Wednesday, November 16, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1150]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF A BILL TO REQUIRE THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS TO INSTALL 
THE D.C. SEAL IN THE MAIN READING ROOM ON THE THOMAS JEFFERSON BUILDING

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 16, 2022

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today, I introduce a bill to require the 
installation of the District of Columbia's seal on the stained-glass 
windows in the Main Reading Room of the Thomas Jefferson Building of 
the Library of Congress, where the seals of all the states and 
territories that existed when the building was constructed, except for 
the District, are depicted. D.C.'s seal was readily available at that 
time and should have been included.
  The seals of Hawaii and Alaska are not included in the display 
because they were not states or territories when the building was 
constructed. This fact argues for the inclusion of the District, which, 
after all, was the nation's capital at the time of construction. The 
omission of D.C. was brought to my attention by a District resident, 
Luis Landau, a former docent at the Library.
  The residents of the District have always had all the obligations of 
American citizenship, including paying federal taxes and serving in all 
the nation's wars, including the War of 1812, during which the Capitol 
building, which then housed the Library of Congress, was burned, 
prompting construction of the current Library building with the state 
and territory seals. It is, therefore, without question that the 
District and its residents should receive equal treatment among the 
stained-glass windows that portray the history of the United States. 
D.C. residents deserve to have their history and American citizenship 
recognized.
  There is existing evidence that the D.C. seal should have been 
depicted. The Members of Congress room in the Jefferson Building, which 
is not open to the public, has a painted depiction of the D.C. seal 
included with state seals on its ceiling. This precedent reinforces our 
request to be represented among the stained-glass windows in the Main 
Reading Room, which is open to the public.
  Congress already often includes D.C., or has corrected the omission 
of it, when honoring the states. For example, D.C. now has two statues 
in the Capitol alongside two statues from each of the 50 states. The 
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 requires the 
armed services to display the District flag whenever the flags of the 
states are displayed. Legislation was also enacted to give D.C. a coin 
after it was omitted from legislation creating coins for 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. It is long overdue to display the D.C. seal 
with the seals of the states in the Main Reading Room of the Library of 
Congress.
  I strongly urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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