Smithsonian American Women's History Museum Act

Floor Speech

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Mrs. CAMMACK. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague from the great State of Wisconsin for his leadership on this issue.

I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1329, the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum Act, and I want to start by recognizing my colleague Nicole Malliotakis for her tenacity and her leadership in bringing this legislation to the floor. I thank Nicole for never backing down or giving up.

As you can see, I have my daughter, Augusta Dair, here with me today because I wanted her to be a witness to this incredible moment in our Nation's history where we stood up for all of the women who have helped build this country and told their stories.

That is what this museum is. It is not a political statement. It is a promise, a promise that the women who came before us will not be erased, will not be minimized, and will not be forgotten.

We all know--or at least I thought we knew--that women's history is not a partisan issue. It is American history, full stop. Now, the women whose stories will be told in this museum, I want you to think about what they went through. It wasn't that long ago--1974--that a woman couldn't open a credit card in her own name without her husband's signature. Before that, she couldn't serve on a jury, and before that, she couldn't vote.

Yet, these women, extraordinary, stubborn, gritty, American women, they didn't quit. They persevered. They built something anyway. Now, if that is not an American story, I don't know what is. Quite frankly, it is that story that deserves to be told and have a place on our National Mall.

As Chairwoman of the Republican Women's Caucus, I have had the honor of standing alongside some of the most incredible women who fight every single day not for headlines but for the next generation of girls who need them to know that hard work, courage, and grit will take them further than anyone can ever tell them they couldn't go before.

We believe that these women deserve to be honored, proudly, without political manipulation, which is why I am genuinely baffled that the Democratic Women's Caucus has chosen to oppose this bill. Their reasoning for opposing the bill is because we want biological women's stories to be told--that we want a museum to be dedicated to women, to celebrate women? That is the controversy, Mr. Speaker?

Forgive me, but this issue should never have become partisan. It is common sense. Biological women deserve to have their stories told.

For those who say that this gives the President too much say about what is happening with this museum, that is just nonsense. Representative Malliotakis has already refuted the claim that the President will have that type of power. He cannot.

What this bill does is ensure accountability over a federally funded institution that will represent American history for generations. The Smithsonian belongs to the American people, not to political activists, not to ideological agendas.

I know that millions of women around the country right now are standing with us, and they will not apologize for standing up for women; not today and not ever.

I am here right now on the House floor with my daughter, Augusta Dair, and I can only do this because of the women who came before me. It is those women we strive to honor: the pioneers, the mothers, the scientists, the servicemembers, the entrepreneurs, the educators, the ones who broke barriers before it was fashionable, and the ones who never got a thank- you. They deserve this. Every little girl in America deserves this.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to reject the political noise around this bill, pass this legislation, and ensure that future generations like little Augusta's can walk through these Halls, if she chooses to, and know without question what American women are made of.

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