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Title 2 — The CongressRelease 119-73not60

§2132 Replacement of Statue in Statuary Hall

Title 2 › Chapter 30— OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF CAPITOL COMPLEX › Subchapter V— HISTORICAL PRESERVATION AND FINE ARTS › Part D— Miscellaneous › § 2132

Last updated Apr 3, 2026|Official source

Summary

A State can ask the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress to let it replace a statue it gave for display in Statuary Hall. The State must have its legislature and Governor approve the request. The statue to be replaced must have been on display at least 10 years, unless the Joint Committee waives that rule for a good reason. If approved, the Architect of the Capitol will make an agreement with the State. The new statue must follow the same rules as other State statues, and the State must pay all costs (design, building, moving, removing the old statue, and any unveiling). The Joint Committee must approve any transfer of ownership of the removed statue to the State. A removed statue cannot be put back in the Capitol unless a federal law says it can. The Architect of the Capitol, with the Joint Committee’s approval and advice from the Commission of Fine Arts when asked, may move and place State statues inside the Capitol. This covers statues received before and on or after December 21, 2000.

Full Legal Text

Title 2, §2132

The Congress — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)Any State may request the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress to approve the replacement of a statue the State has provided for display in Statuary Hall in the Capitol of the United States under section 2131 of this title.
(2)A request shall be considered under paragraph (1) only if—
(A)the request has been approved by a resolution adopted by the legislature of the State and the request has been approved by the Governor of the State, and
(B)the statue to be replaced has been displayed in the Capitol of the United States for at least 10 years as of the time the request is made, except that the Joint Committee may waive this requirement for cause at the request of a State.
(b)If the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress approves a request under subsection (a), the Architect of the Capitol shall enter into an agreement with the State to carry out the replacement in accordance with the request and any conditions the Joint Committee may require for its approval. Such agreement shall provide that—
(1)the new statue shall be subject to the same conditions and restrictions as apply to any statue provided by a State under section 2131 of this title, and
(2)the State shall pay any costs related to the replacement, including costs in connection with the design, construction, transportation, and placement of the new statue, the removal and transportation of the statue being replaced, and any unveiling ceremony.
(c)Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to permit a State to have more than two statues on display in the Capitol of the United States.
(d)(1)Subject to the approval of the Joint Committee on the Library, ownership of any statue replaced under this section shall be transferred to the State.
(2)If any statue is removed from the Capitol of the United States as part of a transfer of ownership under paragraph (1), then it may not be returned to the Capitol for display unless such display is specifically authorized by Federal law.
(e)The Architect of the Capitol, upon the approval of the Joint Committee on the Library and with the advice of the Commission of Fine Arts as requested, is authorized and directed to relocate within the United States Capitol any of the statues received from the States under section 2131 of this title prior to December 21, 2000, and to provide for the reception, location, and relocation of the statues received on and after December 21, 2000, from the States under such section.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section was classified to section 187a of former Title 40, prior to the enactment of Title 40, Public Buildings, Property, and Works, by Pub. L. 107–217, § 1, Aug. 21, 2002, 116 Stat. 1062.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Location of StatuesHouse Concurrent Resolution 47, passed Feb. 24, 1933, 47 Stat. Part 2, 1784, provided: “That the Architect of the Capitol, upon the approval of the Joint Committee on the Library, with the advice of the Commission of Fine Arts, is hereby authorized and directed to relocate within the Capitol any of the statues already received and placed in Statuary Hall, and to provide for the reception and location of the statues received hereafter from the States.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

2 U.S.C. § 2132

Title 2 — The Congress

Last Updated

Apr 3, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60