by Jake Dima
Confederate statues would be removed from the Capitol under a provision included in the Democrat House Appropriations Committee’s 2021 draft budget bill released Monday.
The nearly $4.2 billion funding proposal would mandate the removal of monuments to Confederate generals and would also call into question those statues of people who have “unambiguous records of racial intolerance,” according to a press release from the Appropriations Committee.
The architects of the bill consider former 19th century vice president John Calhoun, as well as Roger Taney, the 5th chief justice of the United States, to be emblematic of racial intolerance, and called for their statues to be returned to donor states, the release said.
House Democrats have also set their sights on removing statues of early 1900s era North Carolina Gov. Charles Aycock and former Arkansas Senator James Paul Clark. The statues, all located within Capitol bounds, would be donated back to the states that contributed them, according to the bill.
The 2021 funding bill also includes a nearly $255 million salary boost to House officers and employees, a $1.5 million payout to the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and $464 million to Capitol Police — the same as the current budget year — with the stipulation that they increase transparency. Language in the proposed bill allows for the hiring of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, sometimes dreamers, in the legislative wing of the House, according to the release.
“Finally, I am especially proud that this funding bill allows DACA recipients to work in the halls of Congress,” Democratic Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan, House Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee chairman, said in the release. “The United States is the only country Dreamers have ever known. These young people deserve to work here, and the House of Representatives will be a better institution because of their service.”
The 2021 funding proposal is $207 million or 5.2% higher than 2020’s Appropriations Committee budget, according to the release.
President Donald Trump has roundly condemned the removal of Confederate monuments amid nationwide calls to remove reminders of racism in American history.
Very sad to see States allowing roving gangs of wise guys, anarchists & looters, many of them having no idea what they are doing, indiscriminately ripping down our statues and monuments to the past. Some are great works of art, but all represent our History & Heritage, both….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 25, 2020
Historical statues have been torn down and vandalized in numerous states following the death of George Floyd, who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for over eight minutes. Dozens of monuments have garnered attention from unruly protesters and rioters, according to a list compiled by The Hill.
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Jake Dima is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Confederate Statue” by Billy Hathorn. CC BY-SA 3.0.
