National Women's History Museum
Legislation | Documents/Reports | Links | Press Releases
On February 27, 2013, I introduced the Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Women’s History Museum Act, H.R. 863, which would establish a commission to report recommendations to the President and Congress concerning a National Women’s History Museum in Washington, DC, across from the National Mall. The construction and operation of the museum would not cost taxpayers one dime, since these costs would be raised by the nonprofit National Women's History Museum, Inc. (NWHM).
On May 7, the House voted 383 to 33 to establish a commission on the creation of a National Women’s History Museum in Washington, DC. This bipartisan bill had the support of leaders from both parties, including Speaker John Boehner, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer. It passed despite being strongly opposed by conservative groups including Heritage Action, Susan B. Anthony List, Concerned Women for America, the Eagle Forum, and the Family Research Council.
As in the past, the bill faces a high hurdle in the Senate. A companion bill, introduced by Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Barbara Mikulski of Maryland and sponsored by all 20 women of the Senate, is being held at the desk, but time is running out. Similar legislation passed the Senate in the 108th and 109th Congresses.
Majority Leader Reid hotlined the bill on June 5, but the bill was removed from the hotline at the last minute because a Senator objected. Senators Mike Lee and Tom Coburn are opposing the legislation.
Women’s history is largely missing from textbooks, memorials, museum exhibits and many other venues. In contrast, men have hundreds of years of written history available to reflect upon and use for inspiration. Of the 210 statues in the United States Capitol, only nine are of female leaders. Less than five percent of the 2,400 national historic landmarks chronicle women's achievement and a recent survey of eighteen history textbooks found that only ten percent of the individuals identified in the text were women.
The museums and memorials in our nation’s Capitol demonstrate what we value. We have museums dedicated to flight, postage stamps, law enforcement and many other important people and issues of interest, but not to women. This bill would provide women, comprising 53% of our population, a long overdue home on our National Mall to honor their many contributions that are the very fabric of our country.
Legislation:
02/27/2013 - H.R. 863, Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Women's History Museum Act of 2013 [113th Congress]
9/14/2012 - H.R. 6421, Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Women's History Museum Act of 2012 [112th Congress]
03/30/2011 - H.R. 1269, National Women's History Museum Act of 2011 [112th Congress]
10/14/09 - H.R. 1700, National Women’s History Museum Act of 2009 [111th Congress]
10/14/09 - Current co-sponsors of H.R. 1700 [111th Congress]
More on National Women's History Museum
NEW YORK – Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) and leading women today gathered in Manhattan to launch the #BecauseOfHer campaign. The social media effort features women sharing the stories of the women who inspired their lives, and aims to draw attention to the effort to build a National Women’s History Museum (NWHM) in Washington DC that would chronicle those stories. Rep. Maloney and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) authored a bill (H.R. 863) to create a privately funded commission to make recommendations for a NWHM.
WASHINGTON — The effort in Washington to build a new museum on the National Mall commemorating women’s achievements is running into one big obstacle: men.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) spearheaded the creation of a women’s history museum, which passed the House, 383-33, in May.
The legislation was slated to be fast-tracked in the Senate, but GOP Sens. Mike Lee (Utah) and Tom Coburn (Okla.) took the museum off the expedited calendar — putting the project at risk of having to restart in the House next year.
NEW YORK -- Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12) is hosting a strategy session today to engage some of New York’s most powerful women in the effort to build a National Women’s History Museum. Attendees include Actress and Advocate Kathleen Turner, Metropolitan Museum of Art President Emily Rafferty, TV Personality Rita Cosby, New York Yankees Assistant General Manager Jean Afterman, Esq., New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer.
The House on Wednesday approved a commission to study building a women’s history museum in Washington, advancing an effort that has beenstalled in Congress for more than a decade. Drafted by Representatives Carolyn B. Maloney, Democrat of New York, and Marsha Blackburn, Republican of Tennessee, the bill would create an eight-member panel to examine potential locations, including on or near the National Mall, and construction and maintenance details. The bill must be approved by the Senate, and the museum itself would require congressional approval.
Last night, the House approved a bill that could finally make a national women’s history museum a reality. It's a pretty big deal. You might not realize that, because you might not know how long the fight for such a structure has been going on (more than a decade) or how many roadblocks it has hit along the way. Regardless, H.R. 863 just passed the House, so if you, too, want to see a national, female-focused museum created, you should celebrate, because it is a big deal.
Take a trip to Washington and along the Washington Mall, you can visit a natural history museum, or one devoted to space, or even a museum full of Asian art. Congresswomen Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Carolyn Maloney of New York want a women’s history museum on or near the Mall, too.
On Wednesday, the House overwhelmingly passed a bill that will set up a commission to get such a museum built. But whose history will it tell?
WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives today passed legislation introduced by Reps. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) to form a Congressional Commission on the Potential Creation of a National Women's History Museum in Washington, DC. The bipartisan legislation (H.R. 863) passed by a vote of 383 to 33 and now heads to the Senate, where Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) are leading the charge.
The House on Wednesday in an overwhelming 383-33 vote approved a measure to create a commission to study building a national women's history museum, despite concerns from some conservatives.
The bill would set an 18-month timeline for an eight-member panel to report recommendations for bringing a women's history museum on or near the National Mall.
All of the votes in opposition came from Republicans.
Washington (CNN) – The election-year attention on women lands directly on the House floor Wednesday, after Republican leaders decided to allow a vote on a National Women's History Museum, changing their approach to the issue.
The U.S. House overwhelmingly voted, 383-33, to establish a bipartisan commission to make recommendations for building a National Women’s History Museum in Washington, D.C.
“It would be the first national women’s history museum in Washington, and the first in the United States of America and I believe the first in the entire world that would chronicle the important contributions of American women through America,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., who co-sponsored the bipartisan legislation with Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.