Black Hills lawmaker testifies on Capitol Hill, urges Congress to pass Dusty Johnson's 'Mount Rushmore Protection Act'

State Senator Helene Duhamel appeared before U.S. House committee Thursday morning

Photo by Uniq Trek on Unsplash

Efforts to retire, change or rename Mount Rushmore have become a popular rallying cry for progressive activists groups of late. 

It’s why Congressman Dusty Johnson wants to pass federal legislation to prevent any efforts to overhaul South Dakota’s most famous attraction.

And he got some help this week on Capitol Hill from Rapid City-area state Senator Helene Duhamel, who testified before Congress Thursday in support of Johnson’s “Mount Rushmore Protection Act.” Both he and Duhamel appeared before members on the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands.

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“This act makes it very clear that we are not going to use one nickel of taxpayer dollars to try and tear down that monument or to change its name,” Johnson said during his opening remarks. “And these are not idle threats.”