A memorial fountain in Washington, D.C.'s Chevy Chase Circle honoring Francis G. Newlands — a U.S. Senator who championed racist housing covenants and white supremacist ideology — would be removed under this bill. The National Park Service would be directed to take down the memorial and transfer or dispose of it. Newlands, despite his role in Western water reclamation, openly advocated for racial segregation and restricting citizenship rights for non-white Americans.
Congressional Summary
Francis G. Newlands Memorial Removal Act This bill directs the Department of the Interior to remove or permanently conceal the name of Francis Newlands on the grounds of the memorial fountain located at Chevy Chase Circle in the District of Columbia and take other specified actions.Specifically, Interior mustremove the brass plaque bearing the name Senator Francis G. Newlands from the grounds of the memorial fountain located at Chevy Chase Circle in the District;remove from the south end of the memorial fountain's face, the stone, tablet-like projection bearing the name of Francis Griffith Newlands and a related inscription;remove or permanently conceal the name Newlands carved into the upper face of the memorial fountain's coping stones; andoffer the items removed to the descendants of Francis Griffith Newlands for a 60-day period, and if not claimed within that period, direct the removed items to be maintained by the National Park Service as federal property and accessioned into the Rock Creek Park museum collection.
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Senate
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in Senate
- Action Date
- 2025-07-22
- Date Added
- 2026-04-06