National Women's History Museum Floor Speech - May 7, 2014

Thank you, Madam Speaker, and I also want to thank my colleagues Congressmembers Carolyn Maloney and Marsha Blackburn for championing this important issue. I rise in support of HR 863 to establish the Commission to study the potential creation of a National Women's History Museum. This … partisan legislation is a small step to ensuring women's stories are shared, celebrated, and inspire future generations of Americans.

Unfortunately women's stories and accomplishments have consistently been forgotten or presented only as a footnote. Despite the great strides women have made in America, we are still underrepresented in essential sectors such as business government and the critical fields of science technology engineering and mathematics. Research has demonstrated that one of the factors limiting success for women and minorities is the lack of both celebrated specific role models and overall restricted representation.

In other words, simply having a museum showcasing women's accomplishments as an integral part of our history, whether it is individuals who broke barriers, social movements led by women, or the demonstration that women were not necessarily defined by men in their lives, will ultimately lead to our young women and minorities striving to break the glass ceiling and create a more equitable- The Gentlewoman’s time has expired. I grant 30 additional seconds the gentlelady is recognized for an additional 30 seconds.

The National Women's History Museum already hosts online exhibits, but a building complete with permanent access to resources would allow for further research and increased access for our citizens. This legislation allows for the creation of a commission to study the feasibility of creating a permanent museum and prohibits federal funds from being used for this project. I encourage my colleagues to support this long overdue legislation. I go back.