[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 34 (Tuesday, February 21, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E137]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           INTRODUCTION OF THE ALBERT PIKE STATUE REMOVAL ACT

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 21, 2023

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to introduce the Albert Pike 
Statue Removal Act, which would require the permanent removal of the 
statue of Confederate General Albert Pike from federal land near 
Judiciary Square in the District of Columbia, which was illegally torn 
down in 2020 and is in storage. The bill also would authorize the 
Secretary of the Interior to donate the statue to a museum or similar 
entity. In the 116th Congress, the House Committee on Natural Resources 
passed this bill by voice vote. This bill is part of a series of statue 
and memorial removal bills I am introducing during Black History Month.
  This statue, which was dedicated in 1901, was constructed using both 
federal and private funds. The Freemasons, of which Pike was a member, 
donated the majority of the money needed to build and install the 
statue.
  I oppose destroying Confederate statues, because I believe they 
should be moved to more appropriate settings, like museums, to avoid 
erasing an important part of history from which Americans must continue 
to learn. Pike, a Confederate general who served dishonorably and was 
forced to resign in disgrace, represents the worst of the Confederacy. 
Soldiers under his command were found to have mutilated the bodies of 
Union soldiers, and he was ultimately imprisoned after his fellow 
Confederate officers reported that he had been misappropriating funds. 
Adding to the dishonor of taking up arms against the United States, 
Pike dishonored even his Confederate military service. He certainly has 
absolutely no claim to be memorialized in the Nation's capital. Even 
those who do not want Confederate statues removed will have to justify 
affording Pike any honor considering his dishonorable history.
  After meeting with the Freemasons, I believe the best course of 
action is to remove the statue and find a more appropriate place for 
it. Given the statue's divisive nature, the Freemasons themselves 
support the statue's removal.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

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