II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3863 

To direct the Architect of the Capitol to replace the bust of Roger Brooke 

Taney in the Old Supreme Court Chamber of the United States Capitol 

with a bust of Thurgood Marshall to be obtained by the Joint Committee 

on the Library, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 2, 2020 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself and Mr. VAN HOLLEN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration 

A BILL 

To direct the Architect of the Capitol to replace the bust 

of Roger Brooke Taney in the Old Supreme Court Chamber of the United States Capitol with a bust of Thurgood 

Marshall to be obtained by the Joint Committee on the 

Library, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) While sitting in the United States Capitol, 

6 the Supreme Court issued the infamous Dred Scott 

7 v. Sandford decision on March 6, 1857. Written by 


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•S 3863 IS

1 Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney, whose bust sits 

2 inside the entrance to the Old Supreme Court 

3 Chamber in the United States Capitol, this opinion 

4 declared that African Americans were not citizens of 

5 the United States and could not sue in Federal 

6 courts. This decision further declared that Congress 

7 did not have the authority to prohibit slavery in the 

8 territories. 

9 (2) Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney’s author10 ship of Dred Scott v. Sandford, the effects of which 

11 would only be overturned years later by the ratifica12 tion of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the 

13 Constitution of the United States, renders a bust of 

14 his likeness unsuitable for the honor of display to 

15 the many visitors to the United States Capitol. 

16 (3) As Frederick Douglass said of this decision 

17 in May 1857, ‘‘This infamous decision of the Slave18 holding wing of the Supreme Court maintains that 

19 slaves are within the contemplation of the Constitu20 tion of the United States, property; that slaves are 

21 property in the same sense that horses, sheep, and 

22 swine are property; that the old doctrine that slavery 

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

24 the slaveholder to his slave does not depend upon 

25 the local law, but is secured wherever the ConstituVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:14 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3863.IS S3863

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1 tion of the United States extends; that Congress has 

2 no right to prohibit slavery anywhere; that slavery 

3 may go in safety anywhere under the star-spangled 

4 banner; that colored persons of African descent have 

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

6 colored men of African descent are not and cannot 

7 be citizens of the United States.’’. 

8 (4) While the removal of Chief Justice Roger 

9 Brooke Taney’s bust from the United States Capitol 

10 does not relieve the Congress of the historical 

11 wrongs it committed to protect the institution of 

12 slavery, it expresses Congress’s recognition of one of 

13 the most notorious wrongs to have ever taken place 

14 in one of its rooms, that of Chief Justice Roger 

15 Brooke Taney’s Dred Scott v. Sandford decision. 

16 SEC. 2. REPLACEMENT OF BUST OF ROGER BROOKE TANEY 

17 WITH BUST OF THURGOOD MARSHALL. 

18 (a) REMOVAL OF BUST OF ROGER BROOKE

19 TANEY.—Not later than 30 days after the date of enact20 ment of this Act, the Architect of the Capitol shall remove 

21 the bust of Roger Brooke Taney from the Old Supreme 

22 Court Chamber of the United States Capitol. 

23 (b) REPLACEMENT WITH BUST OF THURGOOD MAR24 SHALL.— 


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

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

3 Committee on the Library shall enter into an agree4 ment to obtain a bust of Thurgood Marshall, under 

5 such terms and conditions as the Joint Committee 

6 considers appropriate, consistent with applicable law. 

7 (2) PLACEMENT.—The Architect of the Capitol, 

8 under the direction of the Joint Committee on the 

9 Library, shall place the bust obtained under para10 graph (1) in the location in the Old Supreme Court 

11 Chamber of the United States Capitol where the 

12 bust of Roger Brooke Taney was located prior to re13 moval by the Architect of the Capitol under sub14 section (a). 

15 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

16 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

17 necessary to carry out this Act, and any amounts so ap18 propriated shall remain available until expended. 

Æ 


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