work of the slave labor task force, chaired by our good friend john lewis and device chaired by blanche lincolnave these plaques. we would not know some of the stories that have come down to us as part of the research. senator lincoln has already told you the story of philip reed. it is so interesting, it bears repeating. as you just learned, he played an unlikely role in finishing the construction of the capital as it appears today. originally from south carolina, he worked in a foundry and owned by thomas crawford, the man who designed the statue of interjection we are all familiar with in lafayette park. it was later -- he was later commissioned to cast the statue of freedom. as senator lincoln pointed out, the plaster model for the statue of freedom was supposed to be displayed in the old house chamber until the time came for it to be disassembled. cast into a statue, and put up over the dome. but there was a problem. a big problem. the italian sculptor, as blanche lincoln pointed out, ended up sacking the model in the house chamber was the only person around who knew how to take it apart.

because of john lewis and senator blanche lincoln, thank you for being here and so many of you. you have given us this privilege to unveil these statues to correct this injustice. i am glad we are doing so in a very strong, bipartisan way. my colleagues in the house, the chairman of the republican national convention, sitting right in front of mr. warrior here. i want to acknowledge the presence of so many members of the congressional black caucus and the associate members of the caucus, congresswoman barbara lee is here today. john lewis and the black caucus have been called the conscience of the congress. today the challenge to the congress that this injustice has presented is at least partially corrected by giving the recognition that we do. has been an honor to work aside mr. cliburn and the black caucus, as i mentioned. i would also like to recognize two other leaders, lorraine miller, the clerk of the house -- and terry who is the ceo of the capital visitor center which houses emancipation hall, named to acknowledge enslaved americans who built the capital. lorraine is sti

blanche lincoln and arkansas, $11 million spent against blanche because she wasn't there on a couple of the lummis test votes. the was a clear message moderate democrats if you're not with the program on the line, this is what's going to happen to you. lagat bob benet and utah. now the summer kautsky came back as a candidate but was originally drum out of her party. look at mike castle as governor, he's a statesman. he would have won that election by 20% but he couldn't get through his primary. that is where a group like this can serve a real purpose. >> exactly. [applause] >> it comes down to this crippling debt that we are carrying. most people understand you can't carry a debt that we are treating as this nation. my grandfather was an italian immigrant and had a little worse restore, probably fourth grade education, but morally, his overview if you will end paabo would always say if you are inclined to want to help people, keep yourself strong and i said what you mean, pappa? he said i don't just mean strong physically and mentally i mean strong financially. and he would show me a

blanche lincoln. >> gracias. -- thank you. [applause] i would like to thank you for being here today enjoining all of us in this incredible opportunity to pay respect and really elevate this monumental task that was a part of our great history in this country. i just want to say a very special thank you to my friend congressman john lewis for those remarks, for his passion, for his steadfast determination in his lap time -- i in his lifetime to do so many good things on behalf of so many people. most of all, his leadership here with the slave labor task force. i had the privilege of working with them when i served in the house. i have been pleased and honored to work with them on this initiative. j.c. watts has also worked hard on this. i want to extend my sincere thanks to the sikes family for joining us here today. i want to take a moment to remember mr. curtis sites who is no longer with us. he was an original member of the slave labor task force and a native of little rock, ark., where he was an original member of the arka