The Alabama state flag, along with other banners from across the country, has been removed from the U.S. Capitol due to concerns that some include Confederate imagery.

The banners, which hang in the tunnel to the Capitol, will be replaced with images of the state quarters.

Rep. Candice Miller, R-Michigan, chairman of the Committee on House Administration, said the flags were removed prior to renovations on the tunnel between the Rayburn House Office Building and the U.S. Capitol. Once complete, a print of each state's commemorative coin will be displayed in place of the flags.

The tunnel is used by lawmakers and staffers traveling between the two buildings.

Miller said the change was prompted by concerns that some of the flags - most notably Mississippi's - contained Confederate imagery.

"Given the controversy surrounding Confederate imagery, I decided to install a new display," Miller said. "I am well aware of how many Americans negatively view the Confederate flag, and, personally, I am very sympathetic to these views. However, I also believe that it is not the business of the federal government to dictate what flag each state flies."

The state flags will remain in other areas, she said.

"It is common practice for each member of Congress to display their state flag, alongside of the American flag, outside their individual offices and in this way all state flags are displayed on Capitol Hill," she added.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., had called on Congress to remove all items with Confederate flag imagery, including his own state's flag. Thompson issued a statement praising the committee's decision.

"I am pleased that the Architect of the Capitol will no longer display symbols of hatred and bigotry in the esteemed halls of the United States House of Representatives,'' he said. "As I said last summer, this is the People's House and we should ensure that we, as an institution, refuse to condone symbols that seek to divide us.''

Controversy over the Confederate flag erupted last year when a white gunman allegedly shot nine people in a historically black church in Charleston, S.C. Images released after the incident showed the shooter, Dylann Roof, posing with the Confederate flag. Several states, including Alabama, removed the Confederate flag from state properties after the shootings.

Thompson said he hopes Mississippi will follow the federal government's lead.

"I can only hope that this understanding will somehow reach the hearts and minds of the elected officials in the State of Mississippi and they will follow suit and rid our state of this ultimate vestige of slavery and bigotry," he said.