The House voted Wednesday to pass legislation to remove statues on Capitol Hill of people who served the Confederacy or who otherwise worked to defend slavery, a time sparked by racial justice protests across the country.
The legislation was passed in a vote of 305-113. All the “no” votes came from Republican lawmakers, while 72 Republicans voted to remove the statues.
“Imagine what it feels like to be an African American knowing that my ancestors built the Capitol, but there are still monuments to the same people who enslaved my ancestors,” he said. Karen bass
Karen Ruth Bass Africa is on the 2020 political agenda, now make her count as CBC President: Lewis was a ‘quiet figure’ but ‘rock solid’ Pence marks the death of John Lewis: ‘May his example inspire’ MORE (D-Calif.), The leader of the Black Caucus of Congress, said before the vote.
He also noted the fact that the legislation was being passed less than a week after Rep’s death. John Lewis
John Lewis John Lewis’ great legacy Donald Trump may end what George Wallace started for House Democrats preparing a ‘comprehensive’ voting rights bill to honor Lewis (D-Ga.), The civil rights legend who spoke in March 1963 in Washington and suffered a skull fracture by the state police at another march in Selma, Alabama.
“I think it is so appropriate that we do this also in honor of Mr. Lewis. The primary honor for Mr. Lewis, for me, is to obtain a signature on the Voting Rights Act. But this is also a way to honor his legacy because what he fought for every day is the exact opposite of these symbols, “Bass said.
The vote was bipartisan, but divided Republicans, with more than half voting against the legislation. Republican leaders had previously expressed their reluctance to override states’ decisions about which statues to display on Capitol Hill. The two main House Republicans, minority leader Kevin McCarthy
Kevin Owen McCarthyHillicon Valley: Justice Department Charges Chinese Hackers Charged With Attacking COVID-19 Investigation | House votes to ban the use of TikTok on government devices McCarthy presents legislation to sanction foreign hackers attacking the COVID-19 Trump Jr investigation into Cheney: “We already have a Mitt Romney, we don’t need another” MORE (California) and Minipity Whip Steve Scalise
Stephen (Steve) Joseph Scalise Republicans say Biden’s power plan will help Republicans in the Rust Belt States. Republican Legislator: Don’t Think Polls Show Trump Behind Biden 4 Texas Republican Congress Second Round to See MORE (La.), Supported the bill while the representative. Liz Cheney
Elizabeth (Liz) Lynn CheneyBolton defends Cheney amid confrontation with House Conservatives Trump Jr over Cheney: “We already have a Mitt Romney, we don’t need another” Gaetz says Cheney should be removed or resign as Republican leader MORE (Wyo.), The No. 3 House Republican in the ranking, voted no.
Black lawmakers have long called for the Confederate images of the Capitol to be removed, and Wednesday’s vote was a victory for their efforts.
Some said that the vote to remove the Confederate statues should be seen as an initial step toward a better country for all Americans.
“Let us continue correcting the division that exists today, not only on this floor, but in this country. And if we can come together in this case, surely we can come together and make this country, while in places of civil unrest, a better place for all Americans, “said Rep. Rodney Davis
Rodney Lee Davis Dancing Without a Rhythm: Republican Candidates Look Like Elaine in Seinfeld The Hill’s Coronavirus Report: Fauci Says Attention Should Focus On Pausing Reopens Rather Than Returning To Stops; WHO director advocates international unity in pandemic response State and local officials plead with Congress to send more election funds by November MORE (Ill.), The leading Republican on the House Administration Committee who noted that he represents Abraham Lincoln’s home district.
The legislation mandates the removal of the 11 Confederate statues on display in the Capitol complex that are part of the National Statuary Hall collection. Most of the Confederate statues, which were contributed to the collection by southern states, have been on display since the Jim Crow era in the early 20th century.
Under current collection rules, each state contributes two statues and can only replace them if the state legislature and governor accept it. The bill passed Wednesday would require Confederate statues to be removed from public display and either donated to the Smithsonian or returned to the states that contributed them to the Collection of the National Hall of Statues.
The legislation would also replace a bust of former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Roger Taney, author of the 1857 Dred Scott ruling declaring that blacks did not have the rights of citizens, with one of Thurgood Marshall, the first judge of the African American Supreme Court.
Additionally, the bill instructs the Joint Library Committee, which oversees the placement of works of art on Capitol Hill, to remove specific representations of other figures with stories of advocating for white supremacy: Charles Aycock, who served as governor. North Carolina; John C. Calhoun, former Vice President and member of Congress; James Paul Clarke, former senator and governor of Arkansas; and John Breckinridge, the former vice president and senator from Kentucky who was expelled from the Senate after joining the Confederate Army.
Taney’s bust is currently on display in the former Supreme Court chamber on the Senate side of the Capitol. And it’s been controversial from the time a Illinois senator proposed showing it there in 1865. Abolitionist senator Charles Sumner (Mass.) Said at the time that “Taney’s name must appear on the page of history.” The trial begins now; and an emancipated country will impose the stigma it deserves. ”
While lawmakers currently lack the authority to unilaterally remove the statues, they can decide where to display them on Capitol Hill. During her first period as a speaker, Nancy Pelosi
Nancy PelosiPelosi calls the coronavirus the ‘Trump virus’ Democrats criticize the Republican Party for alleviating the coronavirus: where’s your bill? McConnell indicates he will present the bill for the Republican Party coronavirus this week MORE (D-Calif.) He moved a Virginia statue of Robert E. Lee, the commander of the Confederate Army, from a prominent location a few steps from the Capitol rotunda to a floor below in a room known as the Crypt.
Since then, Pelosi has taken further steps to rid the Capitol of works of art honoring people who served the Confederacy. Last month, he ordered the removal of four off-camera portraits displayed in the House of Former Presidents who either held senior leadership positions in the Confederacy or enlisted in his army.
Democrats have tried to contrast with President Trump
Donald John Trump More than a dozen people injured in shootings near Chicago funeral home Players of the Cleveland Indians meet with team leaders to discuss the possible name change Pelosi calls the coronavirus the ‘Trump virus’ MORE, who defended the Confederate images and threatened to veto a defense policy bill on a bipartisan provision to demand the removal of the names of Confederate officers from military bases.
“Today, the House is taking a long-standing and historic step to ensure that the people we honor here on our Capitol represent the highest ideals of our nation and not the worst in its history,” said the leader of most the camera Steny Hoyer
Steny Hamilton Hoyer House Democrats preparing a ‘comprehensive’ voting rights bill to honor Lewis’s Democratic leaders want the next coronavirus relief bill to close before July 31. Hoyer asks Republican lawmaker to apologize in the House of Representatives for addressing Ocasio-Cortez MORE (D-Md.) Before the vote.
Most Republican lawmakers voted “no” on Wednesday, arguing that removing statues of Confederate figures could lead to a slippery slope. The Republican Party had refused to take steps to remove the images when they had the majority, including in 2017 after the violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
“If we remove the monuments to every person in this building who ever made a bad decision,” said the representative. Tom McClintock
Thomas (Tom) Milller McClintockCook Shifts 20 House Districts to Democrats Democrats begin cracking down on lawmakers Hoyer says Democratic leaders reflected on the need for masks on House floor MORE (R-Calif.), “Well, this would be a very arid place.”
Some of the statues targeted by the legislation are already in the process of being removed. Arkansas plans to replace its statues of Clarke and Uriah Milton Rose, a lawyer who backed the Confederacy, with musician Johnny Cash and civil rights activist Daisy Gatson Bates.
Florida is also replacing its statue of Edmund Kirby Smith, a Confederate general, with civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune.
The House has taken additional legislative steps this week to remove the Confederate images. Earlier this week, the House passed its version of the annual defense policy bill with a provision to require the name change of military bases in honor of Confederate officers.
And beginning Thursday, the House is slated to take a package of government spending with measures to order the National Park Service to remove “all physical Confederate memorial works” within 180 days and prohibit the use of funds from taxpayers for construction projects at military installations appointed by Confederate officers. unless they are being changed.
Democrats in the House of Representatives are planning to unveil the voting rights legislation later this week in honor of Lewis. It is expected to build on a bill that Democrats passed in December to reinstate a provision in the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that established a process for states with a history of voter suppression to obtain federal authorization before making changes to electoral laws.
Updated at 6:45 pm
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