National Women's History Museum Act Of 2009

Floor Speech

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Ms. NORTON. I thank you for yielding. And I thank the ranking member of the subcommittee for working with me to make sure that this bill came to the floor today. I especially thank my good friend, the original sponsor of this bill, the gentlewoman from New York, who has worked tirelessly to make sure this bill got done. And I want to take note of the women who for 10 years have never given up on this idea.

I had to overcome a presumption against transferring Federal property, so I encountered many difficulties in trying to get this bill through. But women never say no, and that is very important to achieving what is long overdue, this bill.

And note what the mission of the National Women's Museum is: to research, collect and showcase the contributions of women in professional fields as well as honor women's roles in nurturing their families and communicates. Women are absent from the Mall. Women are absent from prominent government sites. Part of it has to do with inequality of women in our society, that they haven't as often done what comes to light, but even when what comes to light comes, they are not recognized. That's why we need a women's museum. We note that this year there are women winning Nobel Prizes in science and economics, which shows you that you are going to have a lot to honor in this museum very quickly.

We went through regular order. The Women's museum has to buy the parcel at market value. They have 5 years to raise the money or it reverts back to the government. That is regular order; that's the way it always is when we transfer a property. But the women are geared up and ready to go, and I thank all concerned for making this bill possible today, especially my partner in this enterprise, the gentle lady from New York, and most of all the women themselves who refused to give up and now have what they deserve.

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