# What This Bill Does

This bill is about adding a stained glass panel to the Library of Congress. Right now, the main reading room of the Thomas Jefferson Building at the Library of Congress has stained glass panels displaying the seals of all 50 states. The bill directs the Librarian of Congress to get a stained glass panel showing the seal of Washington, D.C. and install it alongside the state seals.

The practical effect is pretty straightforward: Washington, D.C. would finally get representation in this display. Currently, only the states are shown, which means the nation's capital is left out. This bill fixes that by adding D.C.'s seal to the collection. It's a symbolic gesture that recognizes D.C. as part of the country's official landscape, at least in this particular display.

This is a very narrow bill that doesn't affect most people's daily lives. It's mainly about the aesthetics and symbolism of a famous library's reading room. The only real cost would be designing, creating, and installing the new stained glass panel, which would come from the Library of Congress's existing budget. For visitors to the library, it simply means they'd see one additional panel when looking at the display—a visual acknowledgment that Washington, D.C. exists and belongs in this representation of American geography.

To direct the Librarian of Congress to obtain a stained glass panel depicting the seal of the District of Columbia and install the panel among the stained glass panels depicting the seals of States, which overlook the Main Reading Room of the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building.

Norton, Eleanor Holmes

<html><body><p>This bill requires the Librarian of Congress to obtain a stained glass panel depicting the seal of the District of Columbia and install it among the panels depicting the seals of states that overlook the Main Reading Room of the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building. </p></body></html>