On the recordDecember 15, 2010
I support H.R. 5493, authorizing the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands each to display a statue here in the Capitol. I thank the gentleman from American Samoa, Eni Faleomavaega, who has championed this idea to include the territories for many years. And I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who support the non- state areas of our country each having one statue of a distinguished person they regard as worthy of praise and commemoration displayed here. Currently, the National Statuary Hall Collection holds statues from all 50 states. Each has produced native sons or daughters who exemplify the state's sense of itself or who have played a significant role in the history of this great United States of America. H.R. 5493 will recognize that the non-state areas of our Nation have also contributed and sacrificed for America. As Americans, we, too, would like to share our experience and our pride, as embodied in one individual, with the rest of the American people here in our Capitol. I ask that my colleagues support H.R. 5493.
