Congressman Jamie Raskin Named Honorary Co-Chair of Campaign to Build a Thomas Paine Memorial in Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08) announced his new role as
Honorary Co-Chair of the Thomas Paine Memorial Association during the June 8, 2023, Thomas
Paine Day online celebratory event.
Thomas Paine is the patriot who helped inspire the American Revolution with his pamphlet
Common Sense.
Congressman Raskin accepted his new duties at the request of the Thomas Paine Memorial
Association (TPMA), the national organization authorized by Congress to “establish a
commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its environs.” Congressman Raskin
authored and sponsored the authorizing legislation, H.R.6720, which was signed into law by
President Joseph R. Biden on Dec. 27, 2022.
TPMA is engaging with the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission, which has a goal
of unveiling the monument in 2026, coinciding with the 250 th anniversary of the adoption of the
Declaration of Independence in 1776. All funds for building and maintaining the monument will
be raised through private efforts led by TPMA.
“Paine was the voice of democracy, freedom, and change in the interests of humanity. He was the
voice of common sense. He was the voice of The Age of Reason,” Raskin said.
Margaret Downey, president of TPMA, said, “A friend to humanity and a foe to tyrants, Thomas
Paine championed the rights of the ‘common’ people and believed emphatically in the dignity
and rights of all humans, which drove him to challenge the divine rights of kings, forever
changing the course of history.”

Contact information for TPMA is below:
Email: Info@ThomasPaineMemorial.org
Website: www.ThomasPaineMemorial.org
Phone: 610-357-9432
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