Press Releases

U.S. Reps. Don Beyer (D-VA) and Dina Titus (D-NV) today announced that they will introduce the Arlington National Cemetery Viewshed Protection Act this week to explicitly prohibit construction of President Trump’s proposed “triumphal arch” outside Arlington National Cemetery. Their bill comes in the wake of a vote by Trump appointees on the Commission of Fine Arts to approve designs for the project.

Trump’s arch proposal relies on illegal manipulations of funding without congressional authorization and violates the Commemorative Works Act. As the Trump Administration makes spurious, absurd arguments to support proceeding with construction, this legislation would explicitly prohibit and defund this and any similar projects.

Rep. Beyer who represents a Northern Virginia district in the U.S. House that includes Arlington National Cemetery (ANC), and whose parents, grandparents, and sister are buried at ANC, said:

“Arlington National Cemetery is sacred ground, the resting place for some of our nation’s greatest heroes. It is unthinkable that we would desecrate this hallowed space to build a monument to Donald Trump’s ego.

“Trump’s vanity project would waste taxpayer money, brazenly violate existing law, and become yet another vehicle for his corruption. The Administration has also given no consideration to potential harmful effects on the region including impacts on air safety and traffic on major roadways.

“Worst of all, Trump is not trying to build this arch to commemorate national heroes, servicemembers who lie in Arlington National Cemetery, or to celebrate freedom. He did not dedicate it to the American people or our country’s greatness. Asked who this arch is for, Trump said, simply: ‘me.’ Congress must draw the line at dishonoring our fallen with such naked displays of narcissism, and I therefore call on all members of both parties to join our efforts to block this arch.”

Rep. Dina Titus, Co-Chair of the Congressional Humanities Caucus, who previously led challenges to the Trump Administration’s illegal schemes to fund the arch using the National Endowment for the Humanities budget, said:

“As President Trump strips away the necessary safety nets from Americans who are struggling to afford their basic needs like groceries and healthcare, he builds his unauthorized, grandiose Triumphal Arch. While destroying historical monuments and artifacts important to our American identity, he is erecting monuments to honor himself.

“I am fighting this abuse of taxpayer dollars with Congressman Beyer by introducing legislation that would clearly prohibit President Trump from using federal funds for pet projects like this one. The American people deserve a leader who is responsibly using federal funding for critical government services, not for self-promotion.”

Trump’s proposed arch is plainly illegal under the Commemorative Works Act, which requires congressional approval for memorials on federal land in or near D.C. Underlining that the Arch is not approved by Congress as required by law, the Arlington National Cemetery Viewshed Protection Act would:

• Explicitly prohibit construction of a triumphal arch within Lady Bird Johnson Park, the small island between Arlington Memorial Cemetery and the Potomac River;
• Permanently prohibit the use of federal funds for such an arch; and
• Prohibit the construction of such an arch or similarly-disruptive and non-Congressionally approved structures on any National Park Service lands within the National Capital Region.

In addition to Beyer and Titus, the bill will be cosponsored by Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC) and U.S. Representatives Robert Garcia (CA), Suhas Subramanyam (VA), Bobby Scott (VA), Dan Goldman (NY), Pramila Jayapal (WA), Steve Cohen (TN), Jasmine Crockett (TX), Danny Davis (IL), Dianna DeGette (CO), Lois Frankel (FL), John Larson (CT), Stephen Lynch (MA), Betty McCollum (MN), Morgan McGarvey (KY), Kevin Mullin (CA), Mike Quigley (IL), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA), Mark Takano (CA), Jill Tokuda (HI), Paul Tonko (NY), Rashida Tlaib (MI), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ).

The bill will be introduced during this Friday’s pro forma session of the House; draft text is available here.