Bill to Rename Fort McHenry Visitor and Education Center after Senator Paul Sarbanes Passes Congress

Last week, the U.S. Senate passed H.R. 6826, legislation designating the Visitor and Education Center at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine as the "Paul S. Sarbanes Visitor and Education Center." This bill was crafted and led in the U.S. House by Congressman Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.), while Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen (both D-Md.) introduced an identical, companion bill in the U.S. Senate.

H.R. 6826 is cosponsored by the entire, bipartisan Maryland delegation in the United States House of Representatives who spearheaded its passage in the House on December 3, 2024. With passage of the measure in the Senate, it will be sent to President Joe Biden to be signed into law.

“During his time in the House of Delegates, the U.S. House of Representatives, and as our state’s second-longest serving United States Senator, Paul Sarbanes was a tireless advocate on behalf of all Marylanders. Fort McHenry, a powerful symbol of Maryland’s pride and patriotism, is a fitting place to honor his legacy, and Congress’s passage of this legislation will help pay tribute to all that Paul did for our state and our nation,” said Senator Chris Van Hollen.

“The late Senator Sarbanes was a champion of Fort McHenry, and he firmly believed that the site is critical to understanding and appreciating our national heritage and our national identity,” said Congressman Kweisi Mfume. “I am overjoyed that this bill has been triumphantly passed out of the Congress, and I am thankful for the partnership of the bipartisan, Maryland congressional delegation whose unified front made this bill’s advancement attainable,” he concluded. 

“Senator Paul Sarbanes was known for his strong commitment to his principles, to public service and to the people of Maryland. He had a long and distinguished career, but he never forgot his Baltimore roots. He saw Fort McHenry as a national treasure in the city and a site worth celebrating. This legislation acknowledges his long-term advocacy for the preservation of the site and the improvement of the visitor experience. He left an indelible mark in the Senate and in Maryland, and the ‘Paul S. Sarbanes Visitor and Education Center’ at Fort McHenry will be a symbol of his long-standing legacy,” said Senator Ben Cardin.

"For decades, my family has cherished Fort McHenry's rich history and its tremendous vistas of the Chesapeake Bay. My father, Paul Sarbanes, deeply understood Fort McHenry's role as the beating heart of Baltimore, and he worked tirelessly for many years to lift up and preserve this treasured site," said Congressman John Sarbanes (D-MD-03). "Among my father's proudest achievements was securing a new visitor center for the fort to better welcome growing crowds and ensure it remained accessible to all. There is no finer tribute to his legacy than naming the visitor center at Fort McHenry in his honor. The Sarbanes family is deeply grateful to Rep. Mfume for his leadership in the House, to Senator Cardin for his leadership in the Senate, and to the entire bipartisan Maryland delegation for their support in making this possible."

Background: H.R. 6826 

• H.R. 6826 would name the visitor and education center at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine (Fort McHenry) in Baltimore, Maryland, as the "Paul S. Sarbanes Visitor and Education Center.''
• Fort McHenry is known as the site of the 1814 attack by British troops against 1,000 American soldiers.
• The resistance of Baltimore's Fort McHenry during bombardment by the Royal Navy inspired the poem "Defence of Fort M'Henry," which later became the lyrics to "The Star-Spangled Banner," our national anthem.
• The Honorable Paul S. Sarbanes served the State of Maryland in the House of Representatives for six years and in the U.S. Senate for three decades.
• During his tenure, Senator Sarbanes helped secure funding for construction of the new visitor center at Fort McHenry, increasing capacity and visitor access. 
• Senator Sarbanes worked to introduce numerous bipartisan bills that eventually established the Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail as the 26th such trail in our nation. It covers Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Maryland, telling the stories of the events, people, and places that led to the birth of our national anthem.
• Naming the visitor and education center at Fort McHenry would honor Senator Sarbanes' long history of service to Maryland and his connection with the Fort McHenry site.

Read the bill text HERE.