The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“NATIONAL WOMEN'S HISTORY MUSEUM” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Labor was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H2424-H2428 on March 13, 2014.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
NATIONAL WOMEN'S HISTORY MUSEUM
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2013, the Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Tennessee
(Mrs. Blackburn) for 30 minutes.
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, we are so excited about our talking, we didn't realize that the time had to be split, but so be it. We women stand and abide by the rules of the House, and so we will accept the acknowledgment of the change of time.
I will return to directing our attention to Chief Justice Connie Clark in Tennessee. What is so important about her career is that she was first appointed to the State court by a Democrat Governor, again served under a Democrat Governor, and then chief justice under a Republican Governor.
Justice Clark is such an incredible inspiration to women in our State. She has proven herself, has really been devoted to the judiciary and the law field, and is so active in our community, a tremendous role model.
If we step outside of the venue of politics and law, Amy Grant, who is a singer, songwriter, a native of Nashville, has had such a successful music career. Amy Grant became the first artist in Christian music to ever have a platinum record, and she went on to become a crossover sensation in the music world.
Amy Grant has pioneered the Christian music genre, and she has also blazed quite a trail in the music industry.
When we look at the world of sports, another Tennesseean, from Clarksville, Tennessee, which is in my district, Wilma Rudolph, many of you will recognize her name. She was a Tennessee State University track star.
On September 7, 1960, in Rome, she became the first American woman to win not one or two, but three gold medals in the Olympics. She was a track-and-field champion and was regarded as a civil rights and women's rights pioneer and is warmly remembered and treasured in our State.
Pat Summitt, who was the head coach of the Lady Vols at the University of Tennessee and is now the head coach emeritus, she was at the helm of the Lady Vols for 38 seasons. She is the all-time winningest coach in NCAA history--the all-time winningest coach in all of NCAA history. That is men and women's teams.
She is forthright, well-respected, ethical, and a winner in every sense of the word.
Sandra Cochran, who is the president and CEO of Cracker Barrel, Incorporated, she became the president and CEO on September 12 of 2011, following her service as Cracker Barrel's president and chief operating officer. Cracker Barrel is headquartered in Lebanon, Tennessee.
Ms. Cochran was previously CEO at the Nation's third largest book retailer, Books-A-Million. She is serving our community and that country well.
Ms. Cochran is a chemical engineering graduate from Vanderbilt University and a masters of business administration from Pacific Lutheran University.
After graduating from Vanderbilt, she entered the United States Army, where she ultimately served as a captain in the 9th Infantry Division.
There are so many other influential women that come from our State, and we are delighted to know that we will have the opportunity to recognize them and their contributions and the contributions of all women who have contributed to the cause of freedom in that Nation.
I yield to the gentlelady from New York.
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. I thank the gentlelady for giving that overview of the wonderful contributions of women from the great State of Tennessee, and I think it really is historic that the birthplace of the movement for the women's right to vote began in New York and really was completed in the great State of Tennessee. How historic is that?
I must say that the great men who built this Nation and shaped our society did not do it alone. I want to tell you about some of the women from the great State of New York.
First, I would like to speak about one of my mentors, a great friend, a great leader, Geraldine Ferraro, whose run for Vice President inspired me and countless other women who followed her into office.
As a young woman, she demonstrated her extraordinary capacity for hard work and dedication by skipping three grades and graduating high school at the age of 16. After college, she taught second grade in New York public schools and put herself through Fordham Law School at night.
{time} 2030
After her children were born, she spent 13 years as a homemaker, after which she did something that was unusual at the time: she went back to work as an attorney in the Special Victims Bureau of the New York District Attorney's Office.
Later on, she ran for Congress and became an outstanding Member representing Queens, New York. During her three terms in Congress, Ferarro became known as a strong advocate for her district and for issues such as protecting Medicare and Social Security.
Then, in 1984, she literally made history when she became the first female candidate for a major party for Vice President. She is a symbol of the possibility that women could achieve their dreams, break the glass ceiling, and aspire to the highest realm in their chosen profession.
Ferraro is the type of woman I hope inspires my daughters just as she inspired me. Her life is the story girls and boys should hear when they come to our Nation's Capitol, but too often the stories of women are swept under the rug and not remembered. That is why we need this museum.
But Geraldine Ferraro would not have had the opportunity to be such an important trailblazer without the hard work of some of the amazing New York suffragettes: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Lucretia Mott. Their statue is in the rotunda of the Capitol, and it was a bill of Connie Morella's and mine to move the women out of the basement into the rightful living room of the Capitol with the country's other great revolutionary leaders.
Stanton met Mott in 1840 when they both were refused seats at the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London on account of their sex. It was there that they first discussed the need for a convention to address the condition of women in the United States. This led to the first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York, which was attended by Anthony. Together, they championed the National American Woman Suffrage Association, dedicating their lives to achieving equality and the right to vote for women.
The activist work of Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Lucretia Mott are the roots under the women's movement in this country. None of them lived to see women gain the right to vote, but it would have been literally impossible without their hard work and dedication. They literally dedicated their lives working daily to raise awareness, build coalitions, and to pass the 19th Amendment.
Without their dedication to women's rights, Alice Paul, the author of the Equal Rights Amendment, would not have been inspired to secure a woman's right to vote. Alice Paul, incidentally, was a relative of my late husband, Clifton Maloney, from the great State of New Jersey. Without their dedication, I would not have been inspired to continue the work on the amendment to our Constitution which we coauthored to ensure equality for women and men in all areas of society.
But there are also countless women whose work has had a tremendous impact on our lives and in our communities. For all intents and purposes, they have been forgotten.
Nellie Bly was one of the most influential journalists of the 19th century. She pioneered the field of investigative journalism at a time when our Nation was rapidly undergoing industrialization. She also emulated the voyage of Mr. Fogg, Jules Verne's character made famous in the classic novel, ``Around the World in 80 Days.'' But Bly pointed out, however, that he made the trip in 72 days.
While working for Joseph Pulitzer's The New York World, Bly went undercover and feigned insanity to report on the deplorable conditions of the Blackwell Island insane asylum. She exposed the horrific physical and emotional cruelty she had seen patients endure. Her work caused an uproar in New York, resulting in more money to help people with mental illnesses and a change in care for the people in the asylum. Bly's work helped open the profession to future generations of women journalists who wanted to write hard news rather than the light features in society columns.
Lillian Wald, another great New Yorker, was a progressive-era reformer setting the standards for modern social work and community nursing. She left medical school in the 1890s to work with poor immigrant families on New York's Lower East Side and founded the Henry Street Settlement, which still serves New Yorkers, and Visiting Nurse Services, which still serves our country and which continues to offer health care and social services to the needy.
Wald tirelessly campaigned for the rights of women and minorities and undertook some amazing humanitarian efforts to improve our country helping to found the United States Children's Bureau, the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and the NAACP. The New York Times nominated her as one of the 12 greatest living American women in 1922, and she later received the Lincoln Medallion for her work as an outstanding citizen of New York.
There are untold numbers of women like those that I have mentioned who have made great contributions to this Nation. In addition to learning about their specific contributions, we are only now gaining a full understanding of how civilization evolves through the power of feminine values and women's enduring traditions.
Nowhere can one find a place for all of these contributions and traditions in one place. That is what we want to accomplish for women. I want to note that there are numerous museums in and around The Mall. We have museums for stamps. We have museums for law and order and for space. We have the great Smithsonian. We have museums for African Americans. We have museums for Indian Americans, and we have museums for the media--the important media. We have over 22 different museums right in this area, but not one is focusing on the valid and incredibly important contributions of women.
They say women hold up half the sky, but where do you find it? It is not in the history books. It is not in the museums. It is nowhere to be found. Now, if all these other museums had sections focused on the contributions of women, maybe we wouldn't need this museum. But they don't.
As my daughter used to say when I would read stories to her at night, she would say: Mommy, Mommy, why aren't there any stories about girls? Why are all the stories about boys? Can't you read me a story about girls? We don't focus on the contributions of women. There is a woman who rode longer and farther than Paul Revere, and nobody even knows her name. Let's build this museum and talk about her contributions, too.
If we and future generations are to learn all the lessons of the past upon which to build a future, we must be aware of the true experiences, the hardships, the successes, and the contributions of women.
I have here some people I feel deserve to be in that museum:
Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court, one of the first elected to serve in the State legislature, an outstanding attorney;
Eleanor Roosevelt, from the great State of New York, an outstanding First Lady who helped so many;
Rosa Parks, who was tired and decided not to give her seat to a White and started an entire civil rights movement that literally changed this country and the opportunities for all people; and
Sally Ride, the great astronaut who went into space.
We don't really chronicle the women scientists and the explorers, all these incredibly important women.
Marsha, I know--I know--that we would not have these hearings and we would not have the momentum--we have over 84 cosponsors of our bill now. This would not have happened without your hard work and your leadership. I know she has been reaching out to her colleagues that chair these committees, to the leadership of the majority and others to move this effort forward and to gain momentum. So on behalf of the women I am privileged to represent, I want to thank you for all of your hard work. It is historic.
A National Museum for Women's History
(By Rep. Renee Ellmers, R-NC)
Throughout history, conservative women have impacted our nation's future and become an important voice in our democratic republic. We have proven ourselves as pioneers, innovators, leaders and decision-makers. We have created and contributed to many aspects of history--be it agriculture, medicine, politics, philosophy, science, and art. We have touched countless lives and shaped history, yet rarely does society teach, recognize or display our contributions--and it is time for this to change. In an effort to change this, I have joined my colleagues in advocating to establish the National Women's History Museum (NWHM) in Washington D.C.
Young women deserve a space to call their own--a physical space they can visit to hear and read about those who came before them and changed history. We need a tangible place that encourages our girls to wonder, to feel empowered, and to inquire about the people who fought to provide them with the freedom and opportunities they enjoy today. We need to share the stories of the strong women who have shaped our past and present so that young girls can learn the true meaning of perseverance and courage. There are too many women whose achievements have gone unrecognized and too many women whose efforts have been underappreciated. With such a vibrant history, it is a shame that we have yet to formally establish a museum dedicated to honoring their accomplishments. However, we are making strides.
This past December, my friend Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) sponsored legislation with Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) to create a commission that would recommend site locations and funding for the NWHM. This bill would have no additional cost for taxpayers, as the commission would be entirely paid for without federal funds. Information gathered by the commission would then be relayed to both the president and Congress. This past December, Reps. Blackburn and Maloney testified before the House Committee on Administration to relay the importance of establishing this commission. Joan Wages, president and CEO of the National Women's History Museum, an organization dedicated to establishment of the museum, also testified. Yet, nearly four months later, there has been no movement on this bill. With more than 82 bipartisan co-sponsors in the House, 19 in the Senate, and a plethora of national women's groups supporting the bill, there is no excuse for this inaction.
As one of only 19 Republican women in the House of Representatives, I see firsthand how our underrepresentation can impact our future opportunities. But as we continue to increase our ranks, our daughters need an environment to learn about the conservative heroes who made this possible--women like Jeanette Rankin, Sandra Day O'Connor and Condoleezza Rice. These women have earned their place in history, and our girls should have every opportunity to study them and feel inspired by their contributions.
If there were a museum that honored and proudly displayed our history, perhaps more women would be encouraged to run for political office, to seek out top-tier leadership positions, or to launch a new business. By establishing the NWHM on the National Mall, the notion of conservative women holding office could become less of a rarity and more of the norm.
As Republican women, we must continue to demonstrate that conservative principles--like fiscal responsibility, individual liberty, and a strong defense--are values worth pursuing. We need to make women's history a part of mainstream society. We need to have our story told, and we need to lead the way for other young conservative women. Let's honor our mothers and daughters by providing them with a place to learn and feel inspired. Let's establish the National Women's History Museum in Washington, D.C.
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The Women You Don't Know--Yet
(By Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, Sen. Susan Collins and
Sen. Barbara Mikulski)
(Editor's note: Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-New York), Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland) are part of a bipartisan effort in Congress to establish the National Women's History Museum in Washington.
Did you know that the ``frequency hopping'' technology that is vital to much of our military technology and helps keep your cell phone and your GPS devices secure was developed and patented by a famous movie star?
Did you know that there was an amazing 16-year-old patriot who outdid Paul Revere, riding 45 miles in the pouring rain to warn New York colonial militias that ``the British are coming''?
Did you know that there was a secret agent, code named
``355,'' who worked for George Washington's band of spies, the Culper Ring? The agent supplied key intelligence on British activities during the Revolutionary War, and she was so good at keeping a secret that we still don't know her real name.
If you don't know about all these people, it's understandable. Their stories aren't told widely or often--perhaps because they were all women. For some reason or other, when the story, of our country is told, women--really great women--have tended to be left out of the telling.
You see the results everywhere you look:
A survey of U.S. history textbooks found that only 10% of the individuals identified in the texts were women;
Less than 8% of the 2,560 national historic landmarks chronicle the achievements of women;
Of the 210 statues in the U.S. Capitol, only 15 are of female leaders.
That's the bad news. The good news is that thanks to a strong bipartisan effort in Congress, we may soon be one step closer to addressing this imbalance by establishing a National Women's History Museum in Washington. Together, we have introduced a common-sense bill to move this idea forward.
We have more than 73 bipartisan co-sponsors in the House, 19 in the Senate and a national coalition of women's groups behind us. We recognize money is tight--that's why we're not asking for taxpayer support. Private donations would fund the museum's construction and operation.
A vital part of recognizing equal rights for women is acknowledging and commemorating the deep and lasting contributions women have made throughout history. When young people visit our nation's capital, they should have a chance to be just as inspired by women's accomplishments as men's.
We establish and operate museums, not just as some kind of giant drawer in which to store our memorabilia but as way to celebrate our accomplishments, affirm our shared values and preserve the full and accurate story of our common history. And unfortunately, only half of that story is presently being told.
The stories of courageous and pioneering Americans such as abolitionist Harriet Tubman, astronaut Sally Ride, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and the founder of the Girl Scouts, Juliette Gordon Low, will inform and inspire future generations.
The remarkable women who helped to make this country what it is today deserve to have their histories told and preserved for the ages. Their stories of success are the stories that will inspire and encourage millions of women. Our daughters and our sons deserve the chance to learn the story--the full story--of how this amazing country came to be.
And by the way, the movie star inventor? That was Hedy Lamarr.
The 16 year-old who rode farther than Paul Revere was Sybil Ludington.
And the spy, code named ``355''? Well, we still don't know the name--but we know the patriot was a ``she.''
And just wait until you see all the other amazing women and American history you'll learn about one day soon when the National Women's History Museum opens.
Mrs. BLACKBURN. I thank the gentlelady from New York.
I want to yield to the gentlelady from Wyoming for some other comments on our conversation this evening.
Mrs. LUMMIS. I thank the gentlelady from Tennessee and New York.
The gentlelady from New York mentioned the name of a woman who, at The New York World, was a trailblazer for women journalists. Today, my daughter, a journalist, a graduate of Columbia's Pulitzer School of Journalism, is a journalist at The New York World; and without that kind of leadership on the part of women, we wouldn't have the opportunities for ourselves and our children to lead. That is why we need to memorialize what women have done, so women and young girls can envision themselves in these roles.
I was recently in Moscow, and we toured the Museum of the Cosmonauts there, and the efforts the United States has currently with Russia, Russia now leading the international space station, so we can continue those efforts. We met with an American woman astronaut and a Russian male cosmonaut. We were led on this tour, and you could see the little kids flock to them as heros. Well, women and girls need role models. The women in this room are role models.
All of us here this evening are at an age when we remember what it was like not to have intermural women's sports in high school, what it was like to have to wear skirts to high school and to junior high and grade school, not even having the opportunity to wear pants. I remember when I applied for my first job, I was told that we are not going to hire a woman to be an agricultural loan officer because men don't like to ask women for money--and it was legal. It was legal for them to say that to me in a job interview, and they hired the man instead of me.
Well, it just made me mad, and it made me determined. I know by looking at the ages of my colleagues here this evening that you each had similar experiences somewhere in your careers. Our own daughters can't even imagine being told that. This is recent history. These are the kinds of stories that we need to be able to share, what we even went through.
It is a recent history, and it is a long-fought battle. That is why I am so proud, so proud, A, to serve with these wonderful women Members of Congress today who are leading this effort, so proud to be a woman Member of this institution, and, B, so proud that you are going to leave this legacy that will create and memorialize the history of women in the United States in order to provide an exemplary and visionary picture for our own daughters, granddaughters, and Americans long after we are gone.
Thank you so much to the gentlelady from Tennessee, to the gentlelady from New York, to the wonderful woman from Ohio with whom I served on the House Appropriations Committee. You are fine leaders, exemplary women. I have great respect for the work you are doing this evening.
Mrs. BLACKBURN. How true it is that we have to take the time to pause and paint that vision for future generations so that they do know the trails that have been blazed and the roadblocks that have been removed to make their way easier so that they are able to excel, to achieve, to have, and to do. Isn't that what we would desire for them to be able to do, to dream big dreams and make those dreams come true and to have role models and examples who may have been through those same struggles and found a way to make it work?
I yield to the gentlelady from Ohio.
Ms. KAPTUR. I thank Congresswoman Blackburn so much and Congresswoman Maloney. I share the same passion as Congresswoman Lummis. We want to just lift you and be a part of this team for H.R. 863. We hope that everyone listening this evening will cosponsor this important legislation.
As I listened to you talk, I thought I would give some background, having lived through it here. You talk about museums, Congresswoman Maloney, and you go around the Capitol itself, it is a museum, and you go: This doesn't look like America.
For three decades, we have been trying to hang portraits of women who chaired committees in this institution, and it has been a herculean struggle. We finally rehung a portrait in the Education and the Workforce Committee for Mary Norton, who chaired that committee. She wrote some of the most important legislation in this country and was the first woman ever to chair that committee. They had her portrait in a closet--in a closet--just like these statues of suffragettes had to be brought up into the main Capitol.
{time} 2045
When I first arrived in Congress, there were only the statues. There was the portrait of Pocahontas in the main room, and then the statue on the very top, Liberty, on the top of the Capitol. But as you looked at the other portraits, you never saw women. Well, Congressman Bob Ney of Ohio, who headed House Administration many years ago, heard our plea and he finally arranged to have Jeannette Rankin, a Republican and progressive from Montana, but it took us until the 21st century to do it. She was actually elected before the 19th Amendment was passed to the Constitution. She came from Montana, and we didn't even have her portrait in the Capitol hung.
In addition, Shirley Chisholm of New York, she is now hung on the first floor. She was the first woman of color to run for President of the United States.
The lack of their presence to me is just so blatant, and that is why I want to thank both of you marvelous, marvelous Members and women for seeing this gap in American history.
Even the Women's Room in the Capitol is behind closed doors so the general public doesn't always see the women. It is very interesting. I think we are about to open another door and allow the fullness of American history to come forward.
I would like to place in the Record the names of citizens from northern Ohio:
Toledo's Geraldine Macelwane, appointed the first woman on the Lucas County Common Pleas bench. She won election for four consecutive terms;
Julia Bates, our current county prosecutor in Lucas County, Ohio, and Ohio Supreme Court Justices Alice Robie Resnick and Maureen O'Connor, the only two women ever in American history to be elected to the supreme court of our State;
In northern Ohio, we have sent many fine women. Obviously, Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, who serves with us now, and Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones before her, the first two African American women ever elected to Congress from the State of Ohio, now joined by Joyce Beatty of Columbus; Mary Rose Okar; and State legislators Nina Turner, Capri Cafaro, Shirley Smith, Nikki Antonio, Nan Baker, Sandra Williams, Barbara Boyd, Theresa Fedor Edna Brown, Linda Furney and Marijean Valiquette, all women who were trailblazers on the political front.
Toledo has had a woman mayor, Donna Owens. Tina Skeldon Wozniak is a Lucas county commissioner; and Anita Lopez, our county auditor.
Sister Ann Francis Klimkowski was the founding president of Lourdes University, and all of the sisters, the Roman Catholic sisters--the Franciscans, the Sisters of Notre Dame, the Sisters of Mercy, the Sisters of St. Joseph, and the Ursuline Sisters who served selflessly across this country in hospitals and schools and gave themselves to their communities almost unrecognized. There was a traveling display of them that finally went around the country, and I hope that becomes a part of this museum. They gave their lives for us.
All of those women helped build us and on whose shoulders we are standing, and, as with Congresswoman Lummis, I just wish to place in the Record--when I was young, I thought I would go to the Air Force Academy, and when I sent my letter in and was rejected because I was a woman, I didn't really completely put it together in my mind. I just tried to do something else, and so I applied to Notre Dame University, and was rejected because I was a woman. They didn't allow women to be students there in those days. And then finally to the FBI. I thought it would be great to work for my country. I would be a female Elliot Ness. And, of course, I was rejected because a woman.
So another door always opened, but in the area in which I grew up, it wasn't possible.
Finally, let me say in memory of our mother, who was never able to obtain her degrees until after she retired. She had a very hard life, and received her high school degree after she went on Social Security. One of her very first jobs was working in a restaurant where, when the minimum wage went into effect her boss, who was an animal, basically cashed the check with the additional amount in it, and then he kept the difference. We didn't have enforcement at the Department of Labor. So each of us have stories about what happened in our lives, and they deserve recording in a museum for the women of America.
Mrs. BLACKBURN. I thank the gentlelady for sharing those stories and her insight and what she has experienced in her career and seeking to remove those barriers to overcome obstacles and to make the way smoother for future generations.
Indeed, as Congresswoman Maloney and I move forward on H.R. 863, we do, as the gentlewoman from Ohio said, invite and are hopeful that every Member of this body will join us in supporting this legislation and that they will pay attention to the hearing on March 25, and we commend Chairman Hastings and the House leadership for moving this bill forward, for making it a priority and saying, let's have the hearing, let's move the bill forward to markup, let's support women who are willing to give of their time, their talent and efforts, raise all the money for the museum, for the exhibits, for the upkeep, for the endowment, and to make what has been a dream for decades, make it a reality in this great Nation.
I thank my colleagues for joining us tonight, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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