HR0881 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0881 LRB097 20871 KXB 67634 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, In 1987, Congress declared March as "Women's History Month" to acknowledge the important role women have played in shaping America; and

WHEREAS, Although women constitute a majority of the nation's population, their achievements and contributions are underrepresented in museums and memorials; and

WHEREAS, Only 10% of the people identified in a recent survey of 18 history textbooks were women; and

WHEREAS, In 1999, the President's Commission on the Celebration of Women in American History called for a women's history museum to be established on The National Mall in Washington, D.C.; and

WHEREAS, The National Women's History Museum, founded in 1996, is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, educational organization dedicated to preserving, interpreting, and celebrating the diverse historic contributions of women and integrating the heritage of women fully into this nation's history; and

WHEREAS, The National Women's History Museum seeks a site on or close to the National Mall and in close proximity to the White House and the U.S. Capitol Building; and

WHEREAS, The National Women's History Museum has identified federally owned property for sale near the National Mall, and 2 congressional bills, the National Women's History Act of 2011, sponsored by Representative Maloney in the House of Representatives as H.R. 1269 and Senator Collins in the Senate as S.80, and the National Women's History Museum and Federal Facilities Consolidation Act of 2011, sponsored in the House of Representatives by Representative Mica as H.R. 2844 and in the Senate by Senator Boozman as S.1870, are currently pending in Congress; and

WHEREAS, There are museums dedicated to flight, postage stamps, buildings, and many other areas of interest but not to women, and yet women comprise 51% of the nation's population; and

WHEREAS, The National Women's History Museum will showcase the full history of women in the United States and the contributions they have made and continue to make in the marketplace, arts and sciences, government, entertainment, education, home, and community; and

WHEREAS, A coalition of 43 women's organizations representing eight million women, which includes the National Foundation for Women Legislators (NFWL), supports the efforts of the National Women's History Museum to establish a permanent residence near the National Mall, the most prominent location for museums to be situated in the nation's capital; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge Congress to enact legislation authorizing the federal government to convey land near the National Mall to the National Women's History Museum for the purpose of constructing a museum chronicling the history of women in American life; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the members of the Illinois Congressional delegation.