HJRES 63119th CongressIn Committee

Redesignating the Robert E. Lee Memorial as the "Arlington House National Historic Site".

Introduced: Feb 27, 2025

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

This joint resolution proposes to redesignate the site at Arlington House that is owned and managed by the National Park Service (NPS) and currently dedicated as a memorial to Robert E. Lee. If enacted, the site would be renamed the Arlington House National Historic Site and would be treated in all federal law and records as such. It would repeal the previous designations created by two prior joint resolutions (1955 and 1972), effectively removing the formal “Robert E. Lee Memorial” designation from the legal framework and replacing it with the Arlington House National Historic Site designation. The NPS would continue to administer the property under its new name, and all federal references to the site would be updated accordingly.

Key Points

1Redesignation: The site would be officially renamed the Arlington House National Historic Site, reclassifying its recognized status under federal law.
2Repeal of prior designations: The 1955 joint resolution (Public Law 84-107) and the 1972 joint resolution (Public Law 92-333) that previously designated the site as a memorial to Robert E. Lee would be repealed.
3Broad reference updates: Any reference in law, regulation, map, document, or other federal record to the site would be treated as referring to the Arlington House National Historic Site.
4Administration remains the same: The site would continue to be owned and administered by the National Park Service.
5Legislative process: The measure is introduced in the House by Rep. Beyer (with several cosponsors) and would proceed through the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and the Committee on Armed Services; it would need passage by both houses and the President’s signature to become law.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected- National Park Service and federal management of Arlington House; visitors and interpretive programming tied to the site; funding and administrative resources tied to the NHS designation.Secondary group/area affected- Public and scholarly audiences researching Civil War memory, Confederate history, and national historic site designations; local communities with ties to Arlington and the surrounding region.Additional impacts- Administrative and branding changes: signage, maps, brochures, digital content, and official documents would need updating to reflect the new name.- Public perception and historical memory: the renaming may influence how the site is discussed in public discourse and education about Civil War history and Confederate memory.- Legal and regulatory alignment: subsequent laws, regulations, and references would align with the new designation, which could affect how the site is described in federal materials and potentially in related historic preservation contexts.

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