Democrat offers bill to expedite removal of Confederate monuments through National Park Service

Rep. Bobby L. Rush, Illinois Democrat, announced legislation Wednesday that would provide federal resources to hasten the removal of the country’s remaining Confederate monuments.

Called the Rejecting and Eliminating the Foul Use of Symbols Exulting (REFUSE) Confederate Principles Act, Mr. Rush explained his bill would establish a program through the U.S. National Park Service — the Emancipation Historic Preservation Program — which would award grants to fund the removal and replacement of monuments honoring the former Confederacy.

More than 1,700 various Confederate monuments are estimated to be on public display throughout the U.S. today, Mr. Rush said in a statement announcing the bill’s introduction.

“These abhorrent commemorative structures, many of which were created long past the conclusion of the Civil War, are located in areas that far exceed the confines of the 11 Confederate States and are a means to uphold Confederate principles and white supremacy,” said Mr. Rush, the representative for Illinois’ first congressional district since 1993.

“It is past time that we eradicate these totems of treason and replace them with symbols that represent the true promise of America, such as the emancipation of Black Americans,” Mr. Rush added. “My bill, the REFUSE Confederate Principles Act would do just that by creating the Emancipation Historic Preservation program, which would provide grants for removing the false idols of the confederacy and replacing them with symbols and structures that we can actually be proud of.”

Mr. Rush quietly introduced the REFUSE Confederate Principals Act in the House of Representatives on Aug. 22 and it was referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

He noted the bill was introduced shortly after the third anniversary of the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Billed as a demonstration held in support of a Confederate monument slated to be removed, the event notoriously culminated in a participant driving their car into a crowd of counterprotesters, killing one person and injuring several others.

In addition to allocating grants for the purposes of removing and replacing Confederate monuments, the bill would also provide funding to help store them for educational purposes.

The REFUSE Confederate Principals Act specifically prohibits the use of funding for “preservation, rehabilitation, restoration or construction of a Confederate symbol,” according to the congressman’s office.