{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://norton.house.gov/media/press-releases/norton-introduces-bill-place-dc-seal-library-congress-alongside-state-seals-1", "Norton Introduces Bill to Place D.C. Seal in Library of Congress Alongside State Seals", "2025-11-25", "2025", "2025-11", "Democrat", "House", "DC", "Eleanor Holmes Norton", "N000147", "norton.house.gov", "norton", "https://norton.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) introduced a bill to install the official seal of the District of Columbia alongside seals of the states in the Library of Congress. Currently, the stained-glass windows in the historic building portray the seals of all states and territories that existed when the building was constructed, except for the D.C. seal, even though it was readily available at the time. The bill is part of Norton\u2019s \u201cFree and Equal D.C.\u201d series of bills.\n\n\u201cD.C. and its residents deserve equal representation in all aspects, including in the Library of Congress\u2019 stained-glass windows that portray the history of the United States,\u201d Norton said. \u201cD.C. residents have always had all the obligations of American citizenship, including serving in the military during all our country\u2019s wars since the American Revolution. D.C. residents served in the War of 1812, when the Capitol building, which then housed the Library of Congress, was burned. They should receive the same credit for fulfilling those costly obligations that residents of the states receive, including symbolic representation in the Library of Congress.\u201d\n\nCongress often includes the District, or has corrected the omission of the District of Columbia, when honoring the states. For example, the World War II Memorial includes a column representing the District, and D.C. has two statues in the Capitol alongside two statues from each state. Many examples of D.C.\u2019s current representation in ceremonies and symbols established to honor the states directly result from Norton\u2019s efforts.\n\nIn 2013, after a nearly 13-year legislative fight led by Norton, the District\u2019s first statue, depicting Frederick Douglass, was unveiled in the Capitol. In February of 2022, D.C.\u2019s second statue, depicting Pierre L\u2019Enfant, was unveiled in the Capitol. The enacted National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2013 contained a Norton provision requiring the armed services to display the D.C. flag whenever the flags of the states are displayed. In addition, Norton succeeded in getting legislation enacted to give D.C. a coin after it was omitted from legislation creating coins for the states. D.C.\u2019s Duke Ellington coin is in circulation today. Norton also successfully worked with the U.S. Postal Service to create a D.C. stamp, like the stamps for the states. She also got the National Park Service to fly the D.C. flag alongside the state flags at Union Station.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:52:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://norton.house.gov/media/press-releases/norton-introduces-bill-place-dc-seal-library-congress-alongside-state-seals-1"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.2362939305603504, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}