Women’s Museum Bill Will Proceed
Lawmakers announce they have enough bipartisan co-sponsors

Updated 1:41 p.m. | A bill to establish a women’s history museum in Washington has enough co-sponsors to pass in the House of Representatives, its sponsors announced on Thursday.
A total of 227 House members have signed to the Smithsonian Women’s History Museum Act (H.R. 19) as of this week.
“In the most hostile Congress in history, we have found something we can all agree on and that is a National American Women’s History Museum,” New York Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney said. She introduced the bipartisan bill with California Rep. Ed Royce.
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“We have a majority to pass this important legislation,” Maloney said. “Women are too often left out of textbooks, the halls of Congress, our monuments.”
As a result of this week’s update, the Transportation and Infrastructure, House Administration, and Natural Resources committees all received letters from Maloney and Royce calling for them to hold hearings.
Maloney and Royce are pursuing support from the executive branch, too, and said they told first lady Melania Trump and Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, about their efforts at last week’s Congressional Picnic at the White House.
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The bill has also received bipartisan support in the Senate.
“We also have Sen. [Susan] Collins and Sen. [Dianne] Feinstein who will sponsor in the Senate, giving us the necessarily bicameral support, as well,” Royce said.
Reps. Lois Frankel and Brenda Lawrence, and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, all Democrats, and Republican Rep. Mia Love were also at the news conference.
Maloney pointed out that Holmes Norton was one of the original co-sponsors from 20 years ago. “We’re determined,” she said.
Correction 1:41 p.m. | An earlier version of this story misidentified a committee to which Reps. Maloney and Royce had sent letters.