[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 194 (Wednesday, December 14, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H9817-H9821]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    REPLACEMENT OF BUST OF ROGER BROOKE TANEY WITH BUST OF THURGOOD 
                                MARSHALL

  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (S. 5229) to direct the Joint Committee of Congress on the Library 
to remove the bust of Roger Brooke Taney in the Old Supreme Court 
Chamber of the Capitol and to obtain a bust of Thurgood Marshall for 
installation in the Capitol or on the Capitol Grounds, and for other 
purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 5229

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. REPLACEMENT OF BUST OF ROGER BROOKE TANEY WITH 
                   BUST OF THURGOOD MARSHALL.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       (1) While sitting in the Capitol, the Supreme Court issued 
     the infamous Dred Scott v. Sandford decision on March 6, 
     1857. Written by Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney, whose bust 
     sits inside the entrance to the Old Supreme Court Chamber in 
     the Capitol, this opinion declared that African Americans 
     were not citizens of the United States and could not sue in 
     Federal courts. This decision further declared that Congress 
     did not have the authority to prohibit slavery in the 
     territories.
       (2) Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney's authorship of Dred 
     Scott v. Sandford, the effects of which would only be 
     overturned years later by the ratification of the 13th, 14th, 
     and 15th Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, 
     renders a bust of his likeness unsuitable for the honor of 
     display to the many visitors to the Capitol.
       (3) As Frederick Douglass said of this decision in May 
     1857, ``This infamous decision of the Slaveholding wing of 
     the Supreme Court maintains that slaves are within the 
     contemplation of the Constitution of the United States, 
     property; that slaves are property in the same sense that 
     horses, sheep, and swine are property; that the old doctrine 
     that slavery is a creature of local law is false; that the 
     right of the slaveholder to his slave does not depend upon 
     the local law, but is secured wherever the Constitution of 
     the United States extends; that Congress has no right to 
     prohibit slavery anywhere; that slavery may go in safety 
     anywhere under the star-spangled banner; that colored persons 
     of African descent have no rights that white men are bound to 
     respect; that colored men of African descent are not and 
     cannot be citizens of the United States.''.
       (4) While the removal of Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney's 
     bust from the Capitol does not relieve the Congress of the 
     historical wrongs it committed to protect the institution of 
     slavery, it expresses Congress's recognition of one of the 
     most notorious wrongs to have ever taken place in one of its 
     rooms, that of Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney's Dred Scott 
     v. Sandford decision.
       (b) Removal of Bust of Roger Brooke Taney.--Not later than 
     45 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Joint 
     Committee of Congress on the Library (referred to in this Act 
     as the ``Joint Committee'') shall remove from public display 
     the bust of Roger Brooke Taney in the Old Supreme Court 
     Chamber of the Capitol and the plinth upon which the bust is 
     placed. The bust and plinth shall remain in the custody of 
     the Senate Curator.
       (c) Bust of Thurgood Marshall.--
       (1) Obtaining bust.--Not later than 2 years after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, the Joint Committee shall enter 
     into an agreement to obtain a bust of Thurgood Marshall, 
     under such terms and conditions as the Joint Committee 
     considers appropriate and consistent with applicable law.
       (2) Placement.--
       (A) In general.--The Architect of the Capitol, under the 
     direction of the Joint Committee, shall permanently install 
     the bust obtained under paragraph (1) in a prominent location 
     in the Capitol or on the United States Capitol Grounds, as 
     described in section 5102 of title 40, United States Code.
       (B) Priority for location.--In determining the location for 
     the permanent installation of the bust obtained under 
     paragraph (1), the Joint Committee shall give priority to 
     identifying an appropriate location near the Old Supreme 
     Court Chamber of the Capitol.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Lofgren) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rodney 
Davis) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.


                             General Leave

  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on this measure under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. 
I rise in support of this bill.
  This bill, which passed the Senate by unanimous consent last week, 
directs the Joint Committee on the Library to remove the bust of Chief 
Justice Roger Taney, which now sits in the Old Supreme Court Chamber 
and to add a bust of Justice Thurgood Marshall here in the Capitol 
complex.
  S. 5229 is the Senate's version of H.R. 3005, a bill which, for the 
second Congress in a row, passed the House in an overwhelmingly 
bipartisan vote.
  The United States Capitol is a beacon of democracy, freedom, and 
equality. It is visited by millions of people each year. What and who 
we choose to honor in this building should represent our values.
  Chief Justice Taney, who in the infamous Dred Scott decision declared 
that African Americans could never be citizens of the United States and 
had no constitutional rights, does not meet this standard.
  As Senator Charles Sumner said during the 1865 debate on the bill 
originally authorizing the Taney bust, and I quote Senator Sumner, ``I 
speak what cannot be denied when I declare that the opinion of the 
Chief Justice in the

[[Page H9818]]

case of Dred Scott was more thoroughly abominable than anything of the 
kind in the history of courts. Judicial baseness reached its lowest 
point on that occasion.'' More than 150 years later, those words still 
ring true.
  Who better to add to the Capitol complex than Justice Thurgood 
Marshall? Justice Marshall was a pillar of the civil rights movement 
and a tireless fighter for justice and equality. From his early days as 
a litigator, fighting to end Jim Crow and school segregation, to his 
appointment as the first African-American United States Supreme Court 
Justice, Justice Marshall is among the most important figures of 
American history.
  Although I am disappointed that S. 5229 does not go as far as the 
House-passed bill did to rid the Capitol of statues and busts of white 
supremacists and those who served the Confederacy, we should not allow 
the perfect to be the enemy of the good. Let's take this opportunity to 
rid our Capitol of the bust of the man who does not deserve the honor 
and add one of a man who unquestionably does.
  Now, some may argue that this action is an attempt to erase and 
forget our history. Nothing could be further from the truth. We must 
never forget our Nation's shameful periods of slavery, segregation, and 
racism, but this is about who we choose to honor, who we choose to 
literally put on a pedestal and display as emblematic of our values.
  I urge all my colleagues to join me in supporting S. 5229, and I 
reserve the balance of by time.
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume. When Americans from across the country come to visit 
their Capitol, they are greeted by statues of some of the most 
influential men and women in our Nation's history: American 
trailblazers like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham 
Lincoln, who happens to hail from my home State of Illinois. I am proud 
to serve as the Representative of our 16th President's former home, 
tomb, and the old State Capitol where President Lincoln delivered his 
House Divided speech in 1858. In that speech, Lincoln spoke out against 
slavery, including the Dred Scott decision, and delivered one of his 
most profound statements.
  I will quote the President, ``A house divided against itself cannot 
stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave 
and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved--I do not 
expect the house to fall--but I do expect it will cease to be divided. 
It will become all one thing or all the other.''
  While I am proud to hail from the land of Lincoln and see him, among 
others, who have fought for freedom represented in our Capitol, I also 
recognize that there are some symbols that were donated nearly 100 
years ago that are not representative of our Nation today, a Nation 
that learns from our past and continues to strive to be a more perfect 
Union.
  For anyone watching today's floor debate, it probably sounds 
familiar. That is because we voted at least twice in the last 2 years 
on legislation that would remove the bust of Roger B. Taney from the 
Old Supreme Court Chamber, and it is a move that I support, but 
previous legislation has gone nowhere in the Senate because its scope 
was much larger and aimed to remove several statues beyond that of Mr. 
Taney.
  While I can appreciate that the bill before us today is more narrow 
in scope and that we are continuing the important discussion about 
which statues belong in the U.S. Capitol, I am disappointed that this 
bill didn't go through regular order and didn't go through the regular 
legislative process and come before the Committee on House 
Administration that is the committee that has jurisdiction over this 
issue.
  Furthermore, this bill directs the Joint Committee on the Library to 
carry out the removal of the Taney bust. I point out, though, how 
antiquated the Joint Committee on the Library has become. It only meets 
once per Congress to organize, and any actual work of the committee is 
carried out by the Committee on House Administration and the Senate 
Rules Committees. Moving forward, I think we need to examine the 
effectiveness of the joint committee remaining in its current form.

                              {time}  1515

  I support removing the bust of Taney and believe statues like his 
only divide us as a Nation and do not represent the freedoms so many 
Americans have fought and died for.
  It is also important to take a moment to reflect on the fact that for 
the past 1,005 days, these halls, while getting more people more 
recently, have been largely closed to the public. And many Americans 
have not had the opportunity to come visit their Member of Congress nor 
appreciate all the history, the art, and the statues that are displayed 
in the Capitol.
  That being said, I look forward to the people's House fully opening 
come January 3 under a new majority.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I will note that I currently chair the 
Joint Committee on the Library, and I welcome the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. 
Hoyer), our majority leader.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding, and I 
thank the ranking member, Mr. Davis, for his support of this 
legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, the Capitol Building is the wellspring of American 
democracy, freedom, and equality. We don't always live that out as 
perfectly as we would like, but it is that simple.
  Every time I walk to the floor, Mr. Speaker, I pass sandstone blocks 
quarried and hewn centuries ago by enslaved Black Americans. It is a 
tragic irony that the people's House was built by Americans who were 
originally excluded from those extraordinary first three words of our 
Constitution, ``We the People.''
  While we cannot remove the stones and bricks that were placed here in 
bondage, we can ensure that the movable pieces of art we display here 
celebrate freedom; not slavery, not sedition, not segregation. That is 
why I sponsored legislation, which the House passed earlier this 
Congress, that would have removed the statues of those who supported 
slavery and segregation from the Capitol as well as the bust of Chief 
Justice Roger Brook Taney from the Old Senate Chamber.
  That bill was cosponsored by Mr. Clyburn, the Democratic whip; by 
Joyce Beatty, the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus; and 
Karen Bass, who was then the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus 
and is about to be the mayor of Los Angeles.
  That bill regarding whether ``all men are created equal,'' in his 
disgraceful Dred Scott ruling, Roger Brook Taney argued this: The 
general words above quoted, that is, all men are created equal, would 
seem to embrace the whole human family, and if they were used in a 
similar instrument at this day--which was 1858--would be so understood.
  I want you to think about that for a second. He said that when they 
acted in 1787, they said that all men were created equal. Today, of 
course, we would say all people are created equal. But Taney observed 
in 1858 that those words said some 70 years prior to that would lock 
them into the bigotry and division. And so he interpreted not in terms 
of what they would believe in 1858 but what they believed in 1787.
  He went on to say: But the enslaved African-American race were not 
intended to be included and formed no part of the people who framed and 
adopted this Declaration.
  His narrow-minded, orginalist philosophy failed to acknowledge 
America's capacity for moral growth and for progress.
  Indeed, the genius of our Constitution is that it did have moral 
growth. It did have expanded vision. It did have greater wisdom. 
Taney's ruling denied Black American citizenship, upheld slavery, and 
contributed, frankly, to the outbreak of the Civil War. That is why I 
and so many others advocated for his statue's removal from the Maryland 
State House.
  When I was sworn into the Maryland Senate in January of 1967, Roger 
Brook Taney's statue stood on the east front of the Capitol of Maryland 
in Annapolis. It has since been removed. Governor Hogan, a Republican, 
led that effort to remove it.
  The Maryland legislature led by Democrats supported that effort. And

[[Page H9819]]

the irony is if you are on the east Capitol front, prior to his 
removal, you would have gone from Roger Brook Taney; if you had walked 
through the Annapolis State House, some 500 feet, come out on the west 
side, walked down the steps, you would have walked into the Thurgood 
Marshall Park.
  What a historic vision of the growth of America, of the change of 
America, of the opening up and more equal America.
  I advocated for this statue being removed in Maryland and for this 
bust to be removed from the entrance to the Old Senate Chamber.
  I am glad that this is passing in a bipartisan fashion.
  I am disappointed the Senate isn't ready to remove all the statues in 
the original bill. I am glad that we agree that Taney's bust needs to 
go immediately.
  Mr. Speaker, I will continue to work with my colleagues next Congress 
to remove the other statues.
  I look forward to advancing that mission with Democratic Whip  Jim 
Clyburn, Chairwoman Barbara Lee, who I did fail to mention--she was the 
principal sponsor of this bill--and Chairwoman Joyce Beatty; all of 
them, along with former Representative Karen Bass.
  They happen to be all Democrats, but there were Republicans, many, 
many Republicans, supporting this effort because they, too, stand for 
equality and justice. They played an important part in developing the 
prior versions of this bill and its reality.
  Our legislation, as has been observed, would also commission a new 
bust for Justice Thurgood Marshall, not to be put outside of the Old 
Senate Chamber, because the historian rightly observed, he was not a 
member of the Old Senate Chamber, but it will be placed at some 
appropriate place in the Capitol as the first African American to sit 
on the Supreme Court of the United States.
  As a towering civil rights leader, a defender of our founding 
principles, and the first Black Supreme Court Justice, Marshall is a 
Marylander worthy of a place of honor in these historic halls.

  In removing Taney's bust, I am not asking that we would hold Taney to 
today's moral standards. On the contrary, let us hold him to the 
standard of his contemporaries: Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, 
Abraham Lincoln, whom the gentleman mentioned, and all of those of 
their time who understood that the enslavement of others has always 
been an immoral act.
  Figures like Taney belong in history textbooks and classroom 
discussions, not in marble and bronze on public displays of honor. Yes, 
we ought to know who the Roger Brook Taney is, a man who was greatly 
admired in his time in the State of Maryland, but he was wrong.
  Over 3 million people visit our Capitol each year. The people we 
choose to honor in our Halls signal to those visitors which principles 
we cherish as a Nation. For Black Americans who have grown up in 
segregation, faced racial violence, and still confront institutional 
racism, today, seeing figures like Taney honored here is a searing 
reminder that the past is present. It need not be, however, our future.
  Just last year, the January 6 insurrectionists carried Confederate 
flags through the Capitol's corridors, desecrated the poster outside my 
office honoring my friend John Lewis, and screamed racial slurs at 
police officers as they protected the lives and defended our Capitol.
  That was a modern manifestation of the hatred of our past. As our 
friend Elijah Cummings used to say, ``We are better than this.'' And it 
need not be our future.
  Taney represents that which holds our country back: Exclusion, 
injustice, complacency, and prejudice.
  Thurgood Marshall conveys that which drives America forward: 
Inclusion, equality, perseverance, and justice.
  Every Member of this body, all 435, talk in those terms. Such a 
change would show visitors that America does not shy away from our 
past; we rise above it to seize a better future.
  It would show them that only in America could a man use the same 
court that wrongly upheld the enslavement of his own ancestors to 
expand the Constitution's promise of the blessings of liberty. It would 
show them that ``We the People'' means all the people.
  Vote ``yes'' to celebrate freedom and democracy and justice in this 
Capitol.
  Vote ``yes'' to declare that the hatred of our past need not and must 
not define our future.
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, before my good friend from 
Maryland leaves the floor, I want to ensure that something is entered 
into the Congressional Record.
  That I, Rodney Davis from Illinois, was minus 3 years old when my 
good friend, Mr. Hoyer, was sworn into the Maryland State Senate. To 
have a friend like Steny Hoyer, to be able to go out, like I am here in 
a few weeks, knowing that you have a bipartisan piece of legislation 
like this that is going to make Taney a gone-y when it comes to the 
statues here in the U.S. Capitol, and to know that we are talking and 
being able to have that bipartisan conversation is what I came here to 
do.
  Steny, I know I am not supposed to address you here, but I am glad to 
yield to you if you would like to say something.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. 
Hoyer).
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend for yielding. I would 
say that we are going to miss my friend who has been a person willing 
to work across the aisle on principles that this bill reflects, and I 
thank him for that. We will miss him.
  I will remain here. I will not be majority leader, but I will remain 
working on behalf of the principles that are the best in our country. 
They are not Republican principles or Democratic principles; they are 
American principles. And that, I think, is what we all should, and most 
of the time, do.
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
Maryland for his friendship.
  I thank him for sparring with me over many issues over the years. We 
have had a great time with that. There is one thing I know about Leader 
Hoyer and a lot of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle here, they 
have a great sense of humor. They enjoy the ability to get to know one 
another on a humorous, friendly level. That allows us, in my opinion, 
to be able to get to know each other better, to govern together. Today 
is going to be a great example of that.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee), my colleague on the Committee on the 
Judiciary.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairwoman of the House 
Administration Committee for her leadership. I also thank our resident 
historian, Congressman Hoyer of Maryland, for constantly reminding us 
of the better virtues of our history.

  To my dear friend as well, a Congressman who was eloquent on the 
floor of his age but also his recognition of the importance of this 
legislation, I thank him for the bipartisan support.
  Mr. Speaker, let me acknowledge my friends that have supported this 
legislation, including Joyce Beatty, Karen Bass, now mayor of Los 
Angeles, Barbara Lee,  Jim Clyburn, and my cosponsorship as well, 
because we knew what was important and what had to be done.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support S. 5229, that is a downsizing of 
the House bill to direct the Joint Committee of Congress on the Library 
to remove the bust of Roger Brook Taney in the Old Supreme Court 
Chamber of the Capitol and to obtain a bust of Thurgood Marshall for 
installation in the Capitol or on the Capitol grounds and to be able to 
lift America up.
  It is important to lift America up to her better angels in the 
understanding of the richness of our history. Those of us who are 
African Americans came first in the bottom of the belly of a slave 
boat. We have never had that acknowledged. But it was acknowledged in 
the Dred Scott decision when it was affirmed with this effort of Roger 
Brook Taney to say that we were less than a person, that it was all 
right to make those who were slaves not a human being; that our 
children were raised under that, and our grandchildren were raised 
under that.
  I remind people that slaves were so long in slavery that they were 
born slaves, lived as slaves, and died as

[[Page H9820]]

slaves, which brings me to the importance of H.R. 40, the Commission to 
Study Slavery and Develop Reparation Proposals. We must get our hands 
around this issue of slavery and not be afraid of it.

                              {time}  1530

  The very fact that the bust will be removed, again, in the words that 
were said by my colleague, it will get rid of the horribleness of what 
happened, the outrage of what happened.
  I believe the placing of Justice Thurgood Marshall's bust will be a 
grand step forward, a mighty step forward.
  It is absurd. It is horrible. It is without understanding.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support it.
  As well, if I might, I want to raise S. 2607, the Tom Suozzi bill, 
Iran Hostages Congressional Gold Medal Act, and say that it is long 
overdue.
  I met with the hostages' family members who had lived through this 
tyranny and had lived through it for many days, 53 hostages, which 
occurred on November 4, 1979. As I recall, they were held for over a 
year. There were many attempts to free them.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Levin of Michigan). The time of the 
gentlewoman has expired.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the 
gentlewoman from Texas.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, they remained heroes and patriots, and 
I believe this is the minimum that we can do to give to those hurting 
families still, those children that I met, those grandchildren that I 
met that wondered what happened to their families.
  Here we, as a Nation, will recognize that time of their lives when 
they never gave in to tyranny and never gave up their belief in the 
values of this Nation.
  Again, we remind ourselves that democracy is precious, and it is not 
free. We must fight for it at every turn. Those who were held hostages 
as American citizens fought at every turn.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support S. 2607, as well as S. 
5229. They both represent the best of what America is, and they both 
represent telling our story, our history, and honoring it. This is a 
great democracy, and we must show it every day.
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am still waiting a bit. I sent a text to my colleague 
from North Carolina, who is supposed to come down. I apologize if this 
extends the votes this evening, but I don't think we will know the 
difference between 10:30 and 10:35. We will be all right.
  This is a day, too, that I remind my colleagues and say thank you for 
working with the Senate to narrow the scope of this bill to the 
egregious statue that we talked about today, and that is of Roger 
Taney.
  Roger Taney helped create in our Nation's history one of the most 
disgusting Supreme Court decisions that we have ever seen.
  But in the end, it was the leadership of people like Abraham Lincoln, 
who represented my great State of Illinois and some of the counties 
that I currently represent right here in this institution, it was his 
leadership that he learned here in the House that he was able to then 
take on his path to become President at the most consequential time in 
our Nation's history.
  The history of Abraham Lincoln and the leadership it took from him 
and the dedication it took to end the vile practice of slavery in this 
country, it is leadership and that historical lesson that we need to 
continue to teach for generations to come.
  My colleague from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) talked about teaching about 
the bad decisions of people like Roger Taney in courts all across this 
country and institutions all across this country decades and centuries 
ago. They belong in our textbooks, and they belong in our history 
lessons.
  This is my fear, Mr. Speaker. My fear is that we are forgetting that 
even the darkest parts of our Nation's history, the darkest parts of 
the Civil War, the darkest parts of world history, need to be taught, 
or many in future generations will forget how far we have come.
  They will forget how, right now, the leadership and the dedication of 
so many people like Thurgood Marshall, Abraham Lincoln, and so many 
others that have served here in our government and throughout this 
country put us where we are today, where we have the most diverse 
Congress in our Nation's history.
  We are the House that is representative of the people. Diversity is 
seen everywhere you turn here in this institution and on this floor.
  That is, in part, because people stepped up like Abraham Lincoln 
after the dreadful Dred Scott decision and said enough is enough and 
corrected bad parts of our history.
  But now, in today's day and age, you see people who didn't get the 
textbooks that taught all the history, didn't get the history lessons 
that they needed, defacing and destroying statues of Abraham Lincoln. 
Wow.
  We have to be very careful that we don't let political correctness 
and uneducated decisions be put forth that will then inspire 
individuals to think that somehow every great leader in our Nation who 
is remembered with a statue in communities, even outside this Capitol 
and throughout our great Nation, are part of a problem. We need to do a 
better job.
  That is the reason we need to open this Capitol back up. Part of the 
best education to understand our Nation's history is allowing Americans 
to get back into our hallways to be able to see the statues that we 
debate about here on the floor.
  We can't educate the future leaders of America on the history of our 
government if they can't see, feel, and touch the history that exists 
right here in our Capitol.
  Today, this bill that we are going to pass is a good thing. Tomorrow, 
and long after I am gone, my fear is that we will continue to have 
legislation put forward that will, unfortunately, go a lot further than 
removing the bust of Roger Taney. Let us, as Americans, be very 
careful.
  Mr. Speaker, I see that my colleague has another speaker. I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Green).
  Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding 
the time.
  And still I rise today, a proud graduate of the Thurgood Marshall 
School of Law, a son of the segregated South, and a person who believes 
that this is a great day in the history of this country.
  To have this legislation pass means a lot to my generation. To those 
of us who had to sit in the back of the bus, the balcony of the movie, 
and go to the back doors of restaurants, it means a lot.
  It means a lot for me to simply say this: I associate myself 
completely, totally, and absolutely with the words of the Honorable 
Steny Hoyer.
  I heard his speech. I was moved by what he said, and I came to the 
floor to let the world know that we have made a large, gigantic, huge 
step in terms of bending the arc of the moral universe toward liberty 
and justice for all.
  I am grateful, and I thank the gentlewoman again for yielding time.
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance 
of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, it is inspiring to hear my colleagues from both sides of 
the aisle throughout any debate talk about their passions, talk about 
what matters most to their constituents. Mr. Green has always been 
passionate about what matters most to his constituents, as I hope I 
have been over the last 10 years.
  Mr. Speaker, I have to apologize. This might be one of the last times 
that I stand up and offer remarks on the House floor. A lot of my 
colleagues here must have been praying together because finally, 
finally, I have lost my voice. I sound like Peter Brady from ``The 
Brady Bunch.'' My apologies.
  I am so thankful for the friendships that I have been able to make 
over the 10 years that I have served in this institution. But I want to 
make sure that I address some issues that we are talking about today in 
regard to statue removals, in regard to how we ensure that history, 
even all the darkest parts, are taught to all Americans, because that 
is the way we learn.
  I learned, because I lived it, Abraham Lincoln's history. I take for 
granted what we have available in my district that epitomizes the 
strength of Abraham Lincoln.

[[Page H9821]]

  If you ever want to see our Nation's history in action, I invite you. 
Come to my district, and I will take you to the Abraham Lincoln 
Presidential Library and Museum, where many of my colleagues that have 
come and taken me up on that offer have been able to walk into a room 
and see an original copy, an original. They didn't have Xerox machines 
or copy machines back then. They had to handwrite the original copies 
of the Emancipation Proclamation.
  That is what Abraham Lincoln means to our Nation's history and 
society's history and the ills that even existed after Abraham Lincoln 
was assassinated.
  We have to do better in this country. We can do better, and we are 
doing better. But in the end, we live in the greatest country in the 
history of the world that sends the most diverse people to our Nation's 
Capitol to stand here and debate freely how to govern our great Nation.
  We will fight, and we will argue, but in the end, we will shake 
hands, disagree, walk away, and understand that we are better because 
we are not separated. We are not just Republicans and Democrats; we are 
Americans.
  When tragedy hits the country, we come together in this House, and we 
stand together as Americans. I hope that continues even in the more 
polarizing environment that we have seen in this House in my lifetime.
  I want to make a prediction that I hope doesn't come true. I hope 
that we can change that by setting an example in this House. I hope we 
don't try to continue to separate ourselves. I predict there will come 
a day when people will be allowed into a restaurant based upon their 
political affiliation or not. That is sad. I hope I am wrong.
  I see so many opportunities in our Nation right now that are taken by 
those who don't want us to believe in each other. They are taken away 
by social media posts that will continue to try and divide us.
  I came here 10 years ago and got the ability to have dinner when I 
was in freshman orientation in Statuary Hall. I looked down and saw the 
plaque that sits in Statuary Hall that says Abraham Lincoln, his desk 
sits here, when he served one term in the House of Representatives.
  It hit me that day. It sent chills that I have some pretty big shoes 
to fill, representing some of the same geography that Abraham Lincoln 
did when he was here centuries ago.
  I knew we had a lot of work to do, and I will tell you, this 
institution has done big things over my decade serving here.
  There are things like this, though, that I hope send a message to our 
Nation that we will stand up against those parts of our Nation's 
history like Roger Taney, the most dreadful parts of our Nation's 
history.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge everyone, especially my colleagues on the other 
side of the aisle, to please ensure that history continues to be taught 
in our Nation's schools, that we learn about people like Roger Taney so 
that people in America don't repeat the same disastrous decisions that 
we saw happen with the Dred Scott decision.
  Mr. Speaker, I think I have said enough. I support this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Chairperson Lofgren of the House 
Administration Committee, for her work on this legislation. I will tell 
the chair that while we didn't always agree on issues coming in front 
of our committee, and we didn't always agree on how to run this 
institution, I always enjoyed being able to serve with her. It may not 
be reciprocated, but that is okay.

                              {time}  1545

  But in the end, you have a great team that I really enjoyed working 
with. I sincerely hope that this institution becomes less polarized. I 
certainly hope this institution becomes an institution where we can all 
govern together and make this country even greater than it is today.
  Vote for this bill.
  Let's get rid of Roger Taney.
  Let's make him a gone-y once again.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I would simply ask that all Members support 
this bill.
  There have been a lot of really bad Supreme Court cases over the 
years, but I don't think it can be said better than Senator Charles 
Sumner said all the way back in 1865: The Dred Scott decision was more 
thoroughly abominable than anything of its kind in history.
  Chief Justice Taney, the author of this dreadful decision, is really 
a scar on America and should not be in a place of honor in our Capitol.
  Support this bill, and we will remove that stain.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, S. 5229.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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