The prominent placement of Nebraska’s new statue of the legendary Chief Standing Bear in Statuary Hall was quite intentional.

So said Sen. Roy Blunt at an unveiling ceremony on Wednesday afternoon. The Missouri senator was introduced as chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, but it was in one of his other capacities that he had shown Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., where he thought the statue should be positioned.

[Johnny Cash is replacing one of the Capitol’s Civil War statues]

“One of my other jobs here, I chair a committee that’s the Joint Committee on the Library, which doesn’t sound like it would be a big deal but it’s the oldest joint committee in the Congress, and it’s the committee assigned with the responsibility to protect our treasures,” Blunt said.

Blunt said that he and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York, who used to be chairman of the committees overseeing internal functions of the Capitol, have long been involved in the approval process.