105th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, 105 years ago today, Congress passed the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote under the Constitution for the first time ever. In the 240-year history of our country, the passage of the 19th Amendment is, without question, one of America's best moments. It was one of the greatest leaps ever in our march to become a more perfect Union, but it was also, more importantly, a great culmination of decades of sacrifice, struggle, and persistence, much of which was centered in Upstate New York, I am proud to say, in Seneca Falls and other places. We cannot possibly name the countless women and Americans who sacrificed in ways big and small to secure for women the right to vote, but we honor their memories all the same.

Today, I am wearing this yellow rose to honor that historic observance, and there will be a viewing for the original signed copy of the 19th Amendment today in the Capitol. I will be stopping by, and I encourage my colleagues to do the same, because it was truly a landmark moment for America.

Of course, we celebrate today's anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment being mindful of the great task still in front of us. More than a century stands between this generation and the generation that made it possible for women to vote, but in many ways, we still share in their struggle for greater justice and greater equality. We still carry the same moral duty they bore to make our Nation a more faithful reflection of our founding ideals. The march for equality for women and for all Americans is still not over.

When the fundamental right of women to make their own choices about their bodies has been stolen from them, the march is still not over. When women are told by hard-right politicians that their healthcare decisions are not theirs to make and that they must travel, in some instances, across State lines and across time zones to access basic reproductive care, the march is still not over. When a radical, conservative, MAGA majority of the Supreme Court overturned decades of precedent by repealing the protections of Roe v. Wade, the march is still not over.

On this 105th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, we must confront the ugly truth: that women, sadly, have fewer freedoms than they did just a few years ago. Let's remember that. As we are all commemorating the right to vote on this 105th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, we must confront the ugly truth that women, sadly, have fewer freedoms than they did just a few years ago.

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