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II
116TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
S. 3423
To direct the Joint Committee on the Library, in accordance with section
1831 of the Revised Statutes, to accept a statue depicting Harriet
Tubman from the Harriet Tubman Statue Commission of Maryland
and display the statue in a prominent location in the Capitol.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 10, 2020
Mr. VAN HOLLEN (for himself, Mr. CARDIN, and Ms. KLOBUCHAR) introduced
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee
on Rules and Administration
A BILL
To direct the Joint Committee on the Library, in accordance
with section 1831 of the Revised Statutes, to accept
a statue depicting Harriet Tubman from the Harriet
Tubman Statue Commission of Maryland and display
the statue in a prominent location in the Capitol.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
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Congress finds the following:
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(1) Harriet Tubman was born into slavery
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under the given name Araminta Ross in Maryland in
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about 1820.
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•S 3423 IS
(2) Beaten severely as a child, she suffered a
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traumatic head injury at the hand of a slave owner
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early in her life, which caused a lifetime of head-
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aches, seizures, and vision difficulties.
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(3) In 1849, she fled north to freedom and then
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immediately returned to Maryland, risking her life to
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free her family.
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(4) She joined the Underground Railroad,
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which was a secret network of free African Ameri-
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cans and White sympathizers who helped runaway
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slaves escape the South.
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(5) She became known as ‘‘the Moses to her
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people’’ as a conductor on the Underground Rail-
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road, risking her life time and time again to return
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to Maryland and lead slaves to freedom.
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(6) When the Civil War began, she became a
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Union spy, organizing an espionage network of
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slaves and freedmen who operated behind Confed-
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erate lines.
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(7) On several occasions, she led military raid-
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ing parties and also tended to the Union wounded
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as an army nurse.
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(8) After the Civil War, she devoted herself to
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women’s suffrage, the care of orphans and invalids,
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and the establishment of freedmen’s schools.
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(9) The Harriet Tubman Statue Commission of
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Maryland has authorized a gift of a statue of Har-
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riet Tubman to the United States Government to
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commemorate her work on behalf of civil rights and
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service to our Nation.
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SEC. 2. AGREEMENT FOR ACCEPTANCE OF STATUE OF HAR-
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RIET TUBMAN; DISPLAY OF STATUE IN CAP-
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ITOL.
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(a) AUTHORIZATION.—Not later than 2 years after
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the date of enactment of this Act, the Joint Committee
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on the Library shall accept from the Harriet Tubman
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Statue Commission of Maryland the donation of a statue
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depicting Harriet Tubman, subject to the terms and condi-
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tions that the Joint Committee considers appropriate.
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(b) DISPLAY IN CAPITOL.—After receiving the statue
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provided under the agreement entered into under sub-
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section (a), the Architect of the Capitol, under the direc-
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tion of the Joint Committee on the Library, shall place
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the statue in a prominent permanent location in the Cap-
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itol.
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(c) COSTS.—All costs associated with the donation,
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including transportation of the statue to, and placement
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in, the Capitol, shall be paid by the Harriet Tubman Stat-
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ue Commission of Maryland.
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Æ
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