I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6131 To direct the Architect of the Capitol 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 for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 9, 2020 Mr. HOYER (for himself, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Mr. TRONE, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. BASS, and Ms. NORTON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration A BILL To direct the Architect of the Capitol to replace the bust of Roger Brooke Taney in the Old Supreme Court Cham- ber of the United States Capitol with a bust of Thurgood Marshall to be obtained by the Joint Committee on the Library, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 3 Congress finds the following: 4 (1) While sitting in the United States Capitol, 5 the Supreme Court issued the infamous Dred Scott 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 Mar 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6131.IH H6131 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6131 IH v. Sandford decision on March 6, 1857. Written by 1 Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney, whose bust sits 2 inside the entrance to the Old Supreme Court 3 Chamber in the United States Capitol, this opinion 4 declared that African Americans were not citizens of 5 the United States and could not sue in Federal 6 courts. This decision further declared that Congress 7 did not have the authority to prohibit slavery in the 8 territories. 9 (2) Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney’s author- 10 ship of Dred Scott v. Sandford, the effects of which 11 would only be overturned years later by the ratifica- 12 tion of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the 13 Constitution of the United States, renders a bust of 14 his likeness unsuitable for the honor of display to 15 the many visitors to the United States Capitol. 16 (3) As Frederick Douglass said of this decision 17 in May 1857, ‘‘This infamous decision of the Slave- 18 holding wing of the Supreme Court maintains that 19 slaves are within the contemplation of the Constitu- 20 tion of the United States, property; that slaves are 21 property in the same sense that horses, sheep, and 22 swine are property; that the old doctrine that slavery 23 is a creature of local law is false; that the right of 24 the slaveholder to his slave does not depend upon 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 Mar 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6131.IH H6131 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6131 IH the local law, but is secured wherever the Constitu- 1 tion of the United States extends; that Congress has 2 no right to prohibit slavery anywhere; that slavery 3 may go in safety anywhere under the star-spangled 4 banner; that colored persons of African descent have 5 no rights that white men are bound to respect; that 6 colored men of African descent are not and cannot 7 be citizens of the United States.’’. 8 (4) While the removal of Chief Justice Roger 9 Brooke Taney’s bust from the United States Capitol 10 does not relieve the Congress of the historical 11 wrongs it committed to protect the institution of 12 slavery, it expresses Congress’s recognition of one of 13 the most notorious wrongs to have ever taken place 14 in one of its rooms, that of Chief Justice Roger 15 Brooke Taney’s Dred Scott v. Sandford decision. 16 SEC. 2. REPLACEMENT OF BUST OF ROGER BROOKE TANEY 17 WITH BUST OF THURGOOD MARSHALL. 18 (a) REMOVAL OF BUST OF ROGER BROOKE 19 TANEY.—Not later than 30 days after the date of the en- 20 actment of this Act, the Architect of the Capitol shall re- 21 move the bust of Roger Brooke Taney in the Old Supreme 22 Court Chamber of the United States Capitol. 23 (b) REPLACEMENT WITH BUST OF THURGOOD MAR- 24 SHALL.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 Mar 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6131.IH H6131 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6131 IH (1) OBTAINING BUST.—Not later than 2 years 1 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Joint 2 Committee on the Library shall enter into an agree- 3 ment to obtain a bust of Thurgood Marshall, under 4 such terms and conditions as the Joint Committee 5 considers appropriate consistent with applicable law. 6 (2) PLACEMENT.—The Joint Committee on the 7 Library shall place the bust obtained under para- 8 graph (1) in the location in the Old Supreme Court 9 Chamber of the United States Capitol where the 10 bust of Roger Brooke Taney was located prior to re- 11 moval by the Architect of the Capitol under sub- 12 section (a). 13 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 14 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 15 necessary to carry out this Act, and any amounts so ap- 16 propriated shall remain available until expended. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 Mar 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H6131.IH H6131 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS