ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Rep. Chris Van Hollen is sponsoring a measure to put a statue of abolitionist Harriet Tubman at the U.S. Capitol.
The Maryland Democrat is making the announcement Thursday on Harriet Tubman Day, the anniversary of her death in 1913.
In 2012, Maryland lawmakers formed a panel to find an artist and pay for a statue to donate.
Van Hollen's proposal calls for putting a new statue at the Capitol permanently, while not replacing one of Maryland's two statues in the National Statuary Hall. That concept prompted debate between Maryland lawmakers in 2011. Congress would need to approve accepting the donation for the new statue.
Tubman spent nearly 30 years in Dorchester County as a slave before escaping in 1849. She led hundreds of slaves to freedom through the Underground Railroad.
Van Hollen is running for the Senate in the Maryland Democratic primary against Rep. Donna Edwards.
