Press Release: Pelosi Announces House of Representatives Has Accepted Statue of Pierre L’Enfant from District of Columbia

News Release — Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi

February 27, 2020

Contact: Speaker’s Press Office

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the House of Representatives has accepted a statue of engineer, city planner and Revolutionary War veteran Pierre L’Enfant as a gift from the District of Columbia. Since 1864, U.S. states have been invited to contribute up to two statues representing distinguished citizens to the U.S. Capitol. The statue of L’Enfant will be the District’s second statue contribution, giving it equality with the states; in 2013, a bronze statue of the abolitionist Frederick Douglass was accepted by the Joint Committee on the Library and is currently on display in Emancipation Hall. This gift is being accepted today, February 27, which marks 219 years since the passage of the Organic Act of 1801, which denied the citizens of the District Congressional voting rights and the right to self-government. The statue will be moved to the Capitol later this year.

“For more than 200 years, the citizens of the District of Columbia have been dealt the injustice of paying taxes, serving in uniform and contributing to the economic power of our nation while being denied the full enfranchisement that is their right,” said Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “As the House works to restore the District’s voice in our democracy by passing Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton’s D.C. statehood bill this year, which will restore Congressional voting rights and the right to self-government, we are proud to take this step to ensure that the District’s equality is recognized in the halls of the Capitol. Alongside Frederick Douglass, a fierce advocate for D.C. voting rights, this statue will serve as a tribute to the generations of Washingtonians who have fought to right the wrongs of history and ensure that the District has the voice in our democracy that it deserves.”

“When the District of Columbia commissioned the Douglass and L’Enfant statues, it was always our intention to bring them to the Capitol as equal with the states,” Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton said. “Now, with historic momentum as our D.C. statehood bill is headed to the House Floor for passage this year, the L’Enfant statue is a potent symbol that D.C. equality and D.C. statehood are on the way. I want to particularly thank Speaker Pelosi for the unprecedented breakthrough that now allows the District to have two statues in the Capitol, even before the District becomes a state. From the Speaker’s strong endorsement of D.C. statehood, to her unwavering advocacy for D.C. voting rights and home rule, she is moving the District toward the equality our residents have sought for 219 years.”

“Residents of D.C. deserve to have their voice, service and economic contributions recognized in equal measure to every other state. I was proud to oversee the markup and passage of H.R. 1, which endorses D.C. statehood to restore voting rights for D.C.’s citizens,” said Committee on House Administration Chairperson Zoe Lofgren. “Along with D.C.’s first contribution to the collection, abolitionist and voting rights advocate Frederick Douglass, the statue of Pierre L’Enfant is a welcome addition to the collection. I’m pleased to play a role in honoring these local heroes who paved the way for full and equal representation for every American.”

#