Norton to Lead a Mark-Up for a National Women's History Museum in the Nation's Capitol (9/24/09)
Norton to Lead a Mark-Up of Bill for a National Women's History Museum in the Nation's Capital
September 24, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC - Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) waived the vote in the subcommittee she chairs and instead led mark-up today in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee of H.R. 1700, "The National Women's History Museum Act of 2009," a bill, she co-sponsored with Reps. Carolyn B. Maloney (NY), and other women in the House. The bill directs the General Services Administration (GSA) to sell property on the National Mall for the construction of a National Women's History Museum to "research collect, and showcase the contributions of women in professional fields, as well as honor women's roles in nurturing their families and communities." Norton said, "Women are indispensable to the functioning of society, but absent from the Mall and other prominent monument sites in Washington. We are overdue in giving women their due." The Congresswoman, who chairs the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management, decided to take the bill directly to the full committee after struggling through committee rules concerning the disposal of federal property and difficult "scoring rules" raised by the Congressional Budget Office.
The bill directs GSA to sell the parcel bounded by 12th St. SW, Independence Ave, the Forrestal Building, and Maryland Avenue, at fair market value. Norton said she is particularly proud of the women who have raised funds and have persisted with the effort to build a museum for women in the nation's capital. Norton has been a strong proponent of the museum, not only because of its importance to women, but also because of its significant potential to bring to D.C., a major tourist town, new visitors and to encourage others to stay longer.