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Managing America: Civil Rights

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Week Ending June 19, 2009

H.CON.RES.135 Directing the Architect of the Capitol to place a marker in Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center which acknowledges the role that slave labor played in the construction of the United States Capitol, and for other purposes.

“In May of 2005, House and Senate Leadership announced appointments to a Task Force to study the contributions of enslaved African Americans in building the U.S. Capitol. The Task Force was also charged with the task of developing recommendations to the Congress concerning appropriate recognition of these efforts. In support of this effort, in June 2005, the Architectural Historian of the Architect of the Capitol provided a report on the contributions of slave laborers to the construction of the Capitol.”

The bill requires the Architect of the Capitol, subject to the approval of the Committee on House Administration and the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, to design, procure, and place in a prominent location in Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center a marker that acknowledges the role that slave labor played in the construction of the United States Capitol.

In the development of the marker, the Architect must consider the recommendations of the Slave Labor Task Force Working Group; ensure that the marker includes stone quarried by slaves in the construction of the Capitol to the greatest extent possible; and ensure that the marker includes a plaque or inscription that describes the purpose of the marker.

Sponsor:  Rep. John Lewis (GA-5^th)

Vote: On motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 399 - 1 (Roll no. 478).

Cost to the taxpayers: CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would cost less than $300,000, subject to the availability of appropriated amounts.

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