REP. MALONEY'S WOMEN'S HISTORY MUSEUM BILL

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Powerful NY Women working to pass Maloney’s National Women’s History Museum bill this year.

Two Senators stand in the way of bipartisan legislation that passed the House 383 to 33 


Photos By: James Edstrom
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Rita Cosby With Carolyn Maloney And Christine Quinn




NY Post's Richard Johnson With Carolyn Maloney



Jean Afterman With Carolyn Maloney And Rita Cosby



Carolyn Maloney With Dottie Herman



Carolyn Maloney With Kathleen Turner



Mary Asta




NEW YORK -- Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12) held a strategy session yesterday to engage some of New York’s most powerful women in the effort to build a National Women’s History Museum. Attendees included 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. Joan Wages, President of the National Women’s History Museum non-profit, helped guide the discussion.



Maloney successfully passed her legislation in the House of Representatives, but two Senators, Mike Lee of Utah and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma are holding up the bill. On May 7, the House voted to approve the legislation by a vote of 383 to 33. All 20 women members of the Senate support the bill. 



“The women of New York, which is the birth place of the Women’s Movement, believe that when their daughters and sons visit Washington to learn about the history of their country, they should have a chance to hear the full story – not just half of it,” said Maloney. “A Congressional Commission on building a National Women’s History Museum has near unanimous support. More than 90 percent of the House, every member of the House’s Republican leadership, and all 20 women "Senator"s support it, but two men stand in the way. We are going to do everything we can over the next 4 months to change their minds and get this bill passed.”



Melissa Mark-Viverito
“The American History we learned as children and which children are being taught in classrooms throughout the country today doesn’t tell the entire story,” said Joan Wages, President & CEO of the National Women’s History Museum. “When girls don’t see themselves in textbooks they learn that to be female is to be invisible. Conversely, when they do learn about accomplished women in history they become more aware of the possibilities in their own lives. For boys, it’s important to see accomplished women in history so they are aware that women were also important in shaping our nation and that their female classmates (and eventually colleagues) have real value. Educating Americans about the accomplishments and contributions women have made to shaping this nation will enable both women AND men to see that gender should not be a factor in deciding what you can and can’t do.” 



The bill, H.R. 863, would create a national commission to prepare a report containing recommendations for establishing and maintaining a National Women’s History Museum in Washington, D.C. The eight-member commission would have 18 months to produce the report and submit it to Congress for approval.



According to the Congressional Budget Office, the commission and the museum would have no significant impact on federal spending. The bill authorizes the commission to raise private money to cover its costs, and a 501(c)3 organization, National Women’s History Museum (NWHM), is already raising the funds necessary to pay for the commission.


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