Lawmakers introduce bill to create women’s history Smithsonian

A bipartisan pair of female senators is renewing the push bring a women’s history Smithsonian museum to Washington.

Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced S.959, the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum Act, on Friday.

{mosads}Collins called the museum’s creation “long overdue,” saying in a statement, “A museum dedicated to women’s history would help ensure that future generations understand what we owe to those American women who have helped build, sustain, and advance our society.”

“We need a permanent place to showcase the accomplishments and tell the stories of women throughout our country’s history,” Feinstein said.

Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Brenda Lawrence (D-Mich.) and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) introduced companion legislation in the House on Friday.

The bill would create a council to oversee the planning, design and construction of a future museum, as well as acquire artifacts for it, among other tasks. It would also aid in finding a location on the National Mall to become the site of the museum.

The bipartisan bills come after a congressional commission was created in 2014 to study the potential for a women’s museum in the District of Columbia. 

Maloney first proposed the museum in 1995 and has been pushing for serious consideration of the proposal ever since.

The process of establishing a new Smithsonian museum on the Mall — considered prime real estate in Washington — is known to move at a snail’s pace, since it involves acts of Congress, federal appropriations and coordination with the institution’s Board of Regents.