117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5229 

AN ACT 

To direct the Joint Committee of Congress on the Library 

to remove the bust of Roger Brooke Taney in the Old 

Supreme Court Chamber of the Capitol and to obtain 

a bust of Thurgood Marshall for installation in the Capitol or on the Capitol Grounds, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
2 

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1 SECTION 1. REPLACEMENT OF BUST OF ROGER BROOKE 

2 TANEY WITH BUST OF THURGOOD MAR3 SHALL. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) While sitting in the Capitol, the Supreme 

6 Court issued the infamous Dred Scott v. Sandford 

7 decision on March 6, 1857. Written by Chief Justice 

8 Roger Brooke Taney, whose bust sits inside the en9 trance to the Old Supreme Court Chamber in the 

10 Capitol, this opinion declared that African Ameri11 cans were not citizens of the United States and 

12 could not sue in Federal courts. This decision fur13 ther declared that Congress did not have the author14 ity to prohibit slavery in the territories. 

15 (2) Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney’s author16 ship of Dred Scott v. Sandford, the effects of which 

17 would only be overturned years later by the ratifica18 tion of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the 

19 Constitution of the United States, renders a bust of 

20 his likeness unsuitable for the honor of display to 

21 the many visitors to the Capitol. 

22 (3) As Frederick Douglass said of this decision 

23 in May 1857, ‘‘This infamous decision of the Slave24 holding wing of the Supreme Court maintains that 

25 slaves are within the contemplation of the Constitu26 tion of the United States, property; that slaves are 
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1 property in the same sense that horses, sheep, and 

2 swine are property; that the old doctrine that slavery 

3 is a creature of local law is false; that the right of 

4 the slaveholder to his slave does not depend upon 

5 the local law, but is secured wherever the Constitu6 tion of the United States extends; that Congress has 

7 no right to prohibit slavery anywhere; that slavery 

8 may go in safety anywhere under the star-spangled 

9 banner; that colored persons of African descent have 

10 no rights that white men are bound to respect; that 

11 colored men of African descent are not and cannot 

12 be citizens of the United States.’’. 

13 (4) While the removal of Chief Justice Roger 

14 Brooke Taney’s bust from the Capitol does not re15 lieve the Congress of the historical wrongs it com16 mitted to protect the institution of slavery, it ex17 presses Congress’s recognition of one of the most no18 torious wrongs to have ever taken place in one of its 

19 rooms, that of Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney’s 

20 Dred Scott v. Sandford decision. 

21 (b) REMOVAL OF BUST OF ROGER BROOKE

22 TANEY.—Not later than 45 days after the date of enact23 ment of this Act, the Joint Committee of Congress on the 

24 Library (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Joint Committee’’) 

25 shall remove from public display the bust of Roger Brooke 
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1 Taney in the Old Supreme Court Chamber of the Capitol 

2 and the plinth upon which the bust is placed. The bust 

3 and plinth shall remain in the custody of the Senate Cura4 tor. 

5 (c) BUST OF THURGOOD MARSHALL.— 

6 (1) OBTAINING BUST.—Not later than 2 years 

7 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Joint 

8 Committee shall enter into an agreement to obtain 

9 a bust of Thurgood Marshall, under such terms and 

10 conditions as the Joint Committee considers appro11 priate and consistent with applicable law. 

12 (2) PLACEMENT.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Architect of the 

14 Capitol, under the direction of the Joint Com15 mittee, shall permanently install the bust ob16 tained under paragraph (1) in a prominent lo17 cation in the Capitol or on the United States 

18 Capitol Grounds, as described in section 5102 

19 of title 40, United States Code. 

20 (B) PRIORITY FOR LOCATION.—In deter21 mining the location for the permanent installa22 tion of the bust obtained under paragraph (1), 

23 the Joint Committee shall give priority to iden-
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1 tifying an appropriate location near the Old Su2 preme Court Chamber of the Capitol. 

Passed the Senate December 8, 2022. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5229 

AN ACT 

To direct the Joint Committee of Congress on the 

Capitol Grounds, and for other purposes. shall for installation in the Capitol or on the Capitol and to obtain a bust of Thurgood MarTaney in the Old Supreme Court Chamber of the Library to remove the bust of Roger Brooke