Congressman Faleomavaega announced today that he and the Representatives of the Virgin Islands, Guam, and Puerto Rico have introduced H.R. 4070, legislation to permit each of the territories of the United States to provide and furnish a statue to be placed in the Statuary Hall collection in the U.S. Capitol Building.

 “The original legislation enacted in 1864 authorized each state to provide two statues honoring citizens of the state to be placed in the Old House Chamber in the U.S. Capitol, now known as Statuary Hall,” Faleomavaega said.  “This legislation would amend the law to allow each of the territories of American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and Puerto Rico to provide one statue to be included in the Statuary Hall collection.”

 “If this legislation is enacted, the territorial statues will be a source of great pride to our community, allowing us to see a citizen of our territory honored in the same way that other significant figures in our nation’s history have been.  Our inclusion in this exhibit will also serve to educate visitors to our nation’s capital about the contributions of our territories to the history of our great nation,” Faleomavaega added.  “Because there will be no cost to the American taxpayer I expect that this measure will not be controversial.”

 “I am pleased that my colleagues from the Virgin Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico and I are united in our efforts to advance this legislation.  This legislation would symbolically acknowledge that our Territories are an important, integral part of our national heritage,” Faleomavaega concluded.