Hoyer Statement on House Passage of Legislation to Honor Former SCOTUS Justices with Statues in the U.S. Capitol

Statement

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement tonight after the House passed S. 3294, which would authorize the display of two busts of former Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the Capitol:

"I was proud to join with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to celebrate Women's History Month by paying tribute to the first two women to serve on the Supreme Court: Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The legislation we approved this evening would authorize busts of each to be displayed permanently in the U.S. Capitol, honoring these great jurists and trailblazers. The Senate has already approved this legislation, whose House companion was introduced by Rep. Lois Frankel, and I hope President Biden will sign it without delay.

"This legislation complements the bill I introduced, and which the House passed last year, to ensure that the statues and busts we place in the Capitol reflect the best of America, and that we ought to remove those that honor individuals who promoted slavery, segregation, and sedition -- including by replacing the bust of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney, who wrote the Dred Scott ruling in 1857, with one of Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American to serve on our highest court. I hope the Senate will take up that legislation and match its commitment to honoring national heroes in this temple to American democracy with a determination to end the unjust celebration of those whose actions brought shame to our nation. As tours resume in the Capitol and school groups bring young Americans to learn their country's history, we ought to make sure that the historical figures we honor here truly reflect the values we wish to model in future generations of our people."

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