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HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, In 1987, Congress declared March as "Women's
3History Month" to acknowledge the important role women have
4played in shaping America; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Although women constitute a majority of the
6nation's population, their achievements and contributions are
7underrepresented in museums and memorials; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Only 10% of the people identified in a recent
9survey of 18 history textbooks were women; and
 
10    WHEREAS, In 1999, the President's Commission on the
11Celebration of Women in American History called for a women's
12history museum to be established on The National Mall in
13Washington, D.C.; and
 
14    WHEREAS, The National Women's History Museum, founded in
151996, is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, educational organization
16dedicated to preserving, interpreting, and celebrating the
17diverse historic contributions of women and integrating the
18heritage of women fully into this nation's history; and
 
19    WHEREAS, The National Women's History Museum seeks a site
20on or close to the National Mall and in close proximity to the

 

 

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1White House and the U.S. Capitol Building; and
 
2    WHEREAS, The National Women's History Museum has
3identified federally owned property for sale near the National
4Mall, and 2 congressional bills, the National Women's History
5Act of 2011, sponsored by Representative Maloney in the House
6of Representatives as H.R. 1269 and Senator Collins in the
7Senate as S.80, and the National Women's History Museum and
8Federal Facilities Consolidation Act of 2011, sponsored in the
9House of Representatives by Representative Mica as H.R. 2844
10and in the Senate by Senator Boozman as S.1870, are currently
11pending in Congress; and
 
12    WHEREAS, There are museums dedicated to flight, postage
13stamps, buildings, and many other areas of interest but not to
14women, and yet women comprise 51% of the nation's population;
15and
 
16    WHEREAS, The National Women's History Museum will showcase
17the full history of women in the United States and the
18contributions they have made and continue to make in the
19marketplace, arts and sciences, government, entertainment,
20education, home, and community; and
 
21    WHEREAS, A coalition of 43 women's organizations
22representing eight million women, which includes the National

 

 

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1Foundation for Women Legislators (NFWL), supports the efforts
2of the National Women's History Museum to establish a permanent
3residence near the National Mall, the most prominent location
4for museums to be situated in the nation's capital; therefore,
5be it
 
6    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
7NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
8we urge Congress to enact legislation authorizing the federal
9government to convey land near the National Mall to the
10National Women's History Museum for the purpose of constructing
11a museum chronicling the history of women in American life; and
12be it further
 
13    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
14presented to the members of the Illinois Congressional
15delegation.