{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.merkley.senate.gov/merkley-pingree-lead-bipartisan-bill-to-prevent-demolition-of-the-kennedy-center/", "Merkley, Pingree Lead Bipartisan Bill to Prevent Demolition of the Kennedy Center", "2026-09-29", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "OR", "Jeff Merkley", "M001176", "www.merkley.senate.gov", "merkley", "https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/", "scraper", "The bicameral, bipartisan effort comes amid recent threats from President Trump that the living memorial to JFK could be \u2018ripped down\u2019 unless his name is added to the building\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2013 Oregon\u2019s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Maine Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, Ranking Members of the Senate and House Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittees, today unveiled legislation to protect presidential monuments like the Kennedy Center from demolition. The bicameral, bipartisan Protecting Presidential Memorials Act would prohibit any Congressionally designated memorial honoring a U.S. President\u2014including the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Memorial, and Jefferson Memorial\u2014from being demolished unless authorized by an act of Congress.\n\nLast night, Merkley attempted to pass the Protecting Presidential Memorials Act\u2014which he co-led with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)\u2014by unanimous consent in the Senate, but that effort was blocked by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT).\n\n\u201cTrump\u2019s threats to tear down the Kennedy Center\u2014all because the law says he can\u2019t put his name on the building\u2014are straight out of the authoritarian playbook and should infuriate every American who values our history and the rule of law,\u201d said Merkley. \u201cThe Kennedy Center is one of our nation\u2019s great contributions to the human spirit, honoring our slain president who championed the arts. This one-page bill is a straightforward solution to protect this treasure and other presidential memorials.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Kennedy Center is our nation\u2019s living memorial to President John F. Kennedy\u2014someone who truly cherished the arts. For Donald Trump to attempt to usurp this great memorial by putting his own name above JFK\u2019s\u2014and then threaten to demolish the building if he doesn\u2019t get his way\u2014is beyond the pale,\u201d said Pingree. \u201cWhen Congress designates a place to memorialize a president, no administration should be able to tear it down on a whim. This bill establishes a simple safeguard: if Congress created the designation, only an act of Congress can authorize its demolition.\u201d\n\nThe National Cultural Center was established by Congress in 1958, renamed in honor of John F. Kennedy shortly after his death, and opened to the public in 1971. For more than 50 years, it has celebrated artistic excellence, fostered creativity, and reflected Kennedy\u2019s steadfast belief that equitable access to the arts is essential to democracy.\n\nThe Protecting Presidential Memorials Act is also cosponsored by U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Jack Reed (D-RI).\n\nFull text of the bipartisan bill can be found by clicking here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-30T10:57:52Z", "2026-09-30T10:59:04Z"]], "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://www.merkley.senate.gov/merkley-pingree-lead-bipartisan-bill-to-prevent-demolition-of-the-kennedy-center/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7795481942594051, "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"}