ESTABLISHING A COMMISSION TO STUDY THE 

POTENTIAL CREATION OF A NATIONAL WOMEN’S HISTORY MUSEUM 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE 

COMMITTEE ON HOUSE 

ADMINISTRATION 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

Held in Washington, DC, December 11, 2013 

Printed for the use of the Committee on House Administration 

( 

Available on the Internet 

www.fdsys.gov 


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(II) 

COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION 

CANDICE S. MILLER, Michigan, Chairman 

GREGG HARPER, Mississippi 

PHIL GINGREY, M.D., Georgia 

AARON SCHOCK, Illinois 

TODD ROKITA, Indiana 

RICHARD B. NUGENT, Florida 

ROBERT A. BRADY, Pennsylvania, Ranking 

Minority Member 

ZOE LOFGREN, California 

JUAN VARGAS, California 

PROFESSIONAL STAFF

KELLY CRAVEN, Staff Director 

KYLE ANDERSON, Minority Staff Director 


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ESTABLISHING A COMMISSION TO STUDY 

THE POTENTIAL CREATION OF A NATIONAL 

WOMEN’S HISTORY MUSEUM 

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2013 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 

COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION, 

Washington, DC. 

The committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:39 a.m., in room 

1310, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Candice S. Miller 

(chairman of the committee) presiding. 

Present: Representatives Miller, Harper and Lofgren. 

Staff Present: Kelly Craven, Staff Director; Peter Schalestock, 

Deputy General Counsel; Yael Barash, Legislative Clerk; Salley 

Wood, Communications Director and Deputy Staff Director; Bob 

Sensenbrenner, Senior Counsel; Mary Sue Englund, Director of Administration; Kyle Anderson, Minority Staff Director; Matt Pinkus, 

Minority Senior Policy Advisor; Matt Defreitas, Minority Professional Staff; Khalil Abboud, Minority Deputy Counsel; Thomas 

Hicks, Minority Senior Counsel; Mike Harrison, Minority Chief 

Counsel; Greg Abbott, Minority Professional Staff; and Eddie 

Flaherty, Minority Chief Clerk. 

The CHAIRMAN. Good morning, everyone. I call to order the Committee on House Administration for today’s hearing on establishing 

a commission to study the potential creation of a National Women’s 

History Museum. And first of all, the hearing record will remain 

open for 5 legislative days so that Members might be able to submit any materials that they wish to be included as well. 

And we do have a quorum present, so we may proceed. 

First of all, I want to thank our witnesses for taking the time to 

testify before the committee today. We have one witness here, and 

our other witness is on her way, hopefully coming down the hallway here. And we will proceed as we can here this morning, but 

we certainly want to thank them for their continued dedication and 

persistence in this very important and, I think, frankly, long overdue acknowledgement of women’s contributions throughout the history of our great Nation. 

Both of my distinguished colleagues, Mrs. Blackburn, who again 

I say will be here shortly, and Mrs. Maloney as well, have joined 

many of our colleagues from both Chambers in the House and in 

the Senate in leading this initiative to create a museum here in the 

Nation’s Capital to recognize the accomplishments of great American women. And each day certainly as we walk through the halls 

of Congress, we see some of the different sculptures that are in the 


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halls of American pioneers like Susan B. Anthony or Rosa Parks, 

Helen Keller. We certainly are reminded of the great contributions 

that women have played in our very rich history, often despite of, 

quite frankly, or because of the great adversity that they have 

overcome. 

Jeannette Rankin, whose statue adorns Emancipation Hall in the 

Capitol Visitors Center, was not only the first woman elected to the 

House of Representatives, she was a Republican from Montana, but 

she was actually elected in 1916, which was 4 years before women 

were even guaranteed the right to vote in our Constitution, which 

I think is a remarkable thing to note. 

And women’s contributions are certainly not just social or political, but more and more each day, they are economic as well. And 

with over 65 million women in the workforce today, women are 

quickly transforming corporate America. 

The contribution of women in our Nation’s history is huge, really, 

very immense. They have aided and served alongside our patriots 

during the Revolutionary War; women like Clara Barton, who 

aided and nursed our soldiers in the field in the Civil War; in my 

home State of Michigan, certainly Rosie the Riveter. My grandmother was one of the Rosies helping to build our arms, all of our 

armaments. We were the arsenal of democracy, which built the armaments that literally led the entire world to peace, quite frankly, 

helped our troops achieve victory. 

And today they work in every facet of our economy, up to and 

including CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies. And again, as a point 

of personal privilege, I have to mention, coming from Michigan, 

that just this week Mary Barra was announced as the new CEO 

of General Motors, which is the first time a woman has ever headed one of our domestic auto companies, ever. That is really breaking the glass ceiling, so to speak; a good car gal. 

But women have stepped to the forefront of innovation, business, 

politics, you name it, whether within their own communities, their 

State, or certainly across the entire Nation, and their stories are 

important to share, as their accomplishments make up the very 

fabric of our Nation. It is our responsibility to keep this history 

alive for today’s generation and certainly for generations who will 

come after us all, and that is why we are here today, to examine 

the establishment of a National Women’s History Museum. 

Since the 105th Congress, various bills have been introduced to 

advance the creation of a women’s museum. One bill even passed 

the House, two in the Senate. Our first witness—witnesses today, 

both Mrs. Maloney and Mrs. Blackburn, authored and cosponsored 

H.R. 863 this Congress, which would establish the commission to 

study the creation of a museum. 

So we are also going to hear today on our second panel from Ms. 

Joan Wages, who is the president and CEO of the nonprofit National Women’s History Museum, which has been pursuing a national museum since 1996. 

I certainly join our witnesses in their enthusiasm for this initiative and welcome others, but I also realize, I think we all do, as 

they very well know, that there are compelling concerns and certain obstacles that require us to approach the establishment of this 


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museum with very careful thought and consideration, similar to 

that which every American woman puts into action every day. 

Museums are very expensive propositions, and certainly given 

our current restrictions in our fiscal environment, Federal funds 

will be extremely scarce, and the fully private funding model championed by the National Women’s History Museum, I think, is an excellent approach given the budget constraints that we live with. 

Then there is the matter of governance. Recent museum commissions have recommended that new facilities be part of the Smithsonian, and this is a decision that cannot be taken lightly as it has 

major repercussions for the museum structure, for collections management and financial support as well, especially when we prefer 

to see this built and maintained, again, as we say, with private 

funds. 

Over the last decade, the Smithsonian has added two major facilities to its collection, and a third one, the National Museum of 

African American History and Culture, should open in late 2015, 

bringing the total number of Smithsonian museums to 19. There is 

also pending legislation to create a National Museum of the American Latino, which I am very hopeful this committee will have a 

hearing on next year, as I believe that it, too, is very worthy, a 

worthy initiative that deserves our attention. And, of course, there 

is only so much space available on the National Mall, and concerns 

have been raised about the museum’s location. 

These issues warrant thorough review and reflection. Establishing a commission may be a step in the right direction to really 

fully flesh out how such a museum would integrate with our existing national, regional and local cultural institutions, what it will 

cost, how can we fund it, and where would we put it. 

Notwithstanding these issues, the concept of a National Women’s 

History Museum to serve as a repository for the profound social, 

intellectual and cultural contributions of fully half of our society is 

certainly deserving of our attention. 

Demographics also demonstrate a significant potential level of 

public interest. Women represent more than half of our population 

today, as we say, and currently outnumber men actually in college 

enrollment. These are really recent developments, significant developments, of which I am sure that our foremothers would be very 

proud, and I am certain that every American man and woman 

would find value in investigating this history that has allowed us 

to get to this point. So, again, we will look forward to hearing from 

our witnesses. We appreciate their attendance here today. 

And at this time I would like to recognize my colleague Congresswoman Lofgren for the purpose of providing an opening statement. 

Ms. LOFGREN. Thank you very much, Chairman Miller. And I am 

also pleased to welcome the witnesses today to this hearing about 

the establishment of a National Women’s History Museum right 

here in Washington. Now, Chairman Miller and I are of different 

parties, and we don’t agree on every issue, but I think we do share 

a deep commitment to ensuring that the contributions of women 

here in America are recognized. 

As has been mentioned, the Committee on House Administration 

has jurisdiction over museums or potential museums if they are or 

might become part of the Smithsonian, and, of course, in recent 


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times we have authorized within the Smithsonian the National 

Museum of the American Indian and the National Museum of African American History and Culture now under construction. As the 

chair has mentioned, we also have received a report authorized by 

Congress and completed in 2011 from the Commission to study the 

potential creation of a National Museum of the American Latino, 

and I am so pleased to hear from the chairwoman that we will perhaps have a hearing on that early next year. I look forward to that. 

Now, this bill has significant bipartisan support. Congresswoman 

Maloney has been tireless in pursuing this over many, many years, 

and I am hopeful that we can move forward on this. We have 

issues, of course: where the museum would be located, how it 

would we paid for, exhibits, structure and the like; but to me the 

question is not whether, but how. And I think that that is a great 

advance. 

I mentioned to Congresswoman Maloney one of the things I am 

interested in pursuing is something called a Treasury-Postal, which 

is a great way to raise funds, because it is completely within discretion of postal patrons whether or not they would like to buy a 

stamp that has a small surcharge that would go to a wonderful 

cause such as this. If you don’t want to pay that surcharge, then 

you don’t buy the stamp; but if you would like, it is a way to raise 

a lot of money with small contributions across the United States. 

So I am hopeful that we might be able to incorporate something 

like that funding stream into this down the line. 

I look forward to hearing from our witnesses. And, Madam 

Chairwoman, I am so pleased to be here with you today and to participate in this important hearing. And I yield back. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank the gentlelady for her comments. 

Does any other Member wish to be recognized for purposes of an 

opening statement? 

If not, first of all, we were going to start with Representative 

Blackburn, but I know she is literally running across from the 

other building, because we were just watching her on the monitor 

finishing up her questions at another hearing, so she is on her way. 

Mrs. MALONEY. I hate to start without her, because this is truly 

a bipartisan effort. 

The CHAIRMAN. Yeah. That is right. 

Mrs. MALONEY. Exactly where is she? Maybe she can get here in 

time. 

The CHAIRMAN. She is coming. She is coming, but I am going to 

start by introducing you, Carolyn, and we will let you begin as 

well. 

First elected to Congress in 1992, Carolyn Maloney is recognized 

as a national leader with extensive accomplishments on financial 

services, national security, the economy, and women’s issues. Representative Maloney is the first woman to represent New York’s 

12th Congressional District and was the first woman to chair the 

Joint Economic Committee. As a former cochair of the Women’s 

Caucus, Representative Maloney is nationally recognized as an advocate for women and families issues with special emphasis on 

funding for women’s health needs. And she is a member of the U.S. 

delegations to the fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, 


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she attended there, and also to the International Conference on 

Population and Development. 

And I will hold my intro of Marsha until she comes, but at this 

time the chair would like to recognize Representative Carolyn 

Maloney for her testimony. 

STATEMENT OF THE HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

Mrs. MALONEY. First of all, thank you so much, Chairlady Miller 

and Ranking Member Brady, represented so ably by my good friend 

Zoe Lofgren, for the honor of testifying before Congress on what I 

truly believe is a historic and incredibly important goal, a commission to study the creation of a National Women’s History Museum. 

I truly believe that the best legislation is always bipartisan, and 

I am thrilled to be working with my good friend, colleague and 

partner in this, Marsha Blackburn. I thank her for working so hard 

on the legislation, getting cosponsors and arranging this hearing. 

I am deeply grateful to the Republican leadership for moving forward with reviewing this and holding this hearing. 

And I am also honored to be here with my good friend Joan 

Wages. She has been a partner in this effort since 1994. She is the 

president of the National Women’s History Museum, a nonprofit 

that has already begun raising money for this project, compiling 

and sharing information, and created a Web site for women’s history. 

For many of us here today, this isn’t a hearing, it is a chance to 

take a historic step forward. In researching for this museum, I 

could not find any museum in America dedicated to the achievements of half of our population. I not only could not find one in 

America, I can’t find one in the entire world. There are specific museums for First Ladies, for artists and other areas, but not to the 

achievements of women. 

This is, to me, a very personal and important goal, and it came 

really from my two daughters, who used to say to me at night, 

‘‘Mommy, why aren’t any books written about girls?’’ All the books 

that I read them at night, they were always written about boys and 

boys’ achievements. And so we have a historic opportunity to rectify this, and we are testifying today on the importance of this legislation before this important committee, H.R. 863, which would establish a congressional commission to report recommendations to 

the President and Congress concerning a National Women’s History Museum in Washington, DC, on or near the Mall. 

The commission for the museum would be privately funded, totally funded by taxpayers’ money. Women are used to doing everything on our own, and we will build this museum on our own with 

like-minded men. This is a not-for-profit national history museum, 

and they are already raising money for this. 

We have 44 cosponsors, bipartisan cosponsors, and Senators 

Susan Collins and Barbara Mikulski have introduced a companion 

bill in the Senate. I ask for total permission to place in the record 

the 44 cosponsors, the legislation and the organizations, well over 

40 organizations, that have come out and endorsed this important 

legislation. 


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The CHAIRMAN. Without objection, that will be entered into the 

record. 

[The information follows:] 


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AUTHENTlCATE09 v S GOVERNMENT 

lNFORMATlON 

GPO 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSIOl\' H.R.863 

To establish the Commission to Stud~' the Potential Creation of a National 

\Vomen's Histo~' Museum, and for other PUl'Poses. 

IN THE HOUSE O:F' REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 27, 2013 

:Vim. CAROLYN B. l.VL\LOl\'EY of New York (for herself, Mrs. BLACICBURl\', Ms. 

NORTON, Mr. RA.c'iGElJ, Ms. MOORE, Mr. i\IoRAl\', Mrs. DAVIS of' California, Mr. HONDA, Mr. GRl.JAIXA, Ms. SPEIF:R, Ms. SCIIAKOWSKY, Mr. 

CICILLINE, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. E],IJISO:-';, Ms. LOHETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. PETEHS of :llichigan, Mrs. CAPPS, Ms. DELAT:HO, :.vIr. 

MCGOVERl\', and Ms. BHOWN of Florida) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committ('e on Natnral Resonrees, and in addition to the Committee on lIouse Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall withill the jm~sdiction of the committ('c concerned 

A BILL 

To establish the Commission to Study the Potential Creation 

of a National Women's History Museum, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America. in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Aet may be cited as the "Commission to Study 

5 the Potential Creation of a National Women's History 

6 Museum Act of 2013". 
8 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) C01\L\IISSIO;\T.-The term "Commission" 

4 mcans the Commission to Study the Potential Cre5 ation of a National Women's History Museum estab6 Ii shed by section 3(a). 

7 (2) MUSEUl\L-The term "Museum" means the 

8 National Women's History Museum. 

9 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

10 (a) IN GE;\TEHAL.-There is established the Commis11 sion to Study the Potential Creation of a National Wom12 en's History Museum. 

13 (b) l\'[El\IBEHSHIP.-The Commission shall be com14 posed of 8 members, of whom15 (1) 2 members shall be appointed by the major16 ity leader of the Senate; 

17 (2) 2 members shall be appointed by the Speak18 er of the House of Representatives; 

19 (3) 2 members shall bc appointed by the minor20 ity leader of the Senate; and 

21 (4) 2 members shall be appointed by the minor22 ity leader of the House of Representatives. 

23 (c) QUAI,IFICATIOKs.-Members of the Commission 

24 shall be appointed to the Commission from among individ25 uals, or representatives of institutions or entities, who pos26 sess-

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1 (l)(A) a demonstrated commitment to the re2 search, study, or promotion of women's history, art, 

3 political or economic status, or culture; and 

4 (B)(i) expertise in museum administratioll; 

5 Oi) expertise in fundraising for nonprofit or cul6 tural institutions; 

7 (iii) experience Ul the study and teaching of 

8 women's history; 

9 (iv) experience in studying the issue of the rep10 resentation of women in art, life, history, and cul11 ture at the Smithsonian Institution; or 

12 (v) extensive e}""])erience in public or elected 

13 service; 

14 (2) experience in the administration of, or the 

15 planning for, the establishment of, museums; or 

16 (3) e}"l)erience in the planning, design, or con17 stmction of museum facilities. 

18 (d) PROHIBITIO~.-No employee of the Federal Gov19 ernment may serve as a member of the Commission. 

20 (e) DEADLIKE FOR I~ITIAlj APPOINnIEKT.-The 

21 initial members of the Commission shall be appointed not 

22 later than the date that is 90 days after the date of enact23 ment of this Act. 

24 (f) V ACANCTES.-A vacancy in the Commission-

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1 (1) shall not affect the powers of the Commis2 sion; and 

3 (2) shall be filled in the same manner as thc 

4 original appointment was made. 

5 (g) ClIAIRPERSo~.-The Commission shall, by ma6 jority vote of all of the members, select 1 member of the 

7 Commission to serve as the Chairperson of the Commis8 sion. 

9 SEC. 4. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION. 

10 (a) REPORTS.-

11 (1) PLAN" OF ACTION.-The Commission shall 

12 submit to the President and Congress a report con13 taining the recommendations of the Commission 

14 with respect to a plan of action for the establishment 

15 and maintenance of a National 'Women's History 

16 Museum in Washington, DC. 

17 (2) REPORT ON ISSUES.-The Commission shall 

18 submit to the President and Congress a report that 

19 addresses the follmving issues: 

20 (A) The availability and cost of collections 

21 to be acquired and housed in the Museum. 

22 (B) rrhe impact of the Museum on regional 

23 women history-related museums. 

24 (C) Potential locations for the Museum in 

25 Washington, DC, and its environs (including 

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1 the location located on public land bounded by 

2 Independence Avenue SW., 14th Street SW., 

3 15th Street SW., and Jefferson Drive SW., in 

4 Washington, DC, that is established subject to 

5 chapter 89 of title 40, United States Code 

6 (commonly known as the "Commemorative 

7 Works Act")). 

8 (D) Whether the Museum should be part 

9 of the Smithsonian Institution. 

10 (E) The governance and organizational 

11 structure from which the Museum should oper12 ate. 

13 (F) Best practices for engaging women in 

14 the development and design of the Museum. 

15 (G) The cost of constructing, operating, 

16 and maintaining the Museum. 

17 (3) DEADLINE.-The reports required under 

18 paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be submitted not later 

19 than the date that is 18 months after the date of 

20 the first meeting of the Commission. 

21 (b) FUNDRAISING PLAN.-

22 (1) IN GENE&\L.-The Commission shall de23 velop a fundraising plan to support the establish24 ment and maintenance of the Museum through con25 tributiolls from the public. 

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1 (2) CONSIDERATIONs.-In developing the fund2 raising plan under paragraph (1), the Commission 

3 shall consider4 (A) the role of the National Women's His5 tory Museum (a nonprofit, educational organi6 zation described in section 501(c)(3) of the In7 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 that was incor8 porated in 1996 in Washington, DC, and dedi9 cated for the purpose of establishing a women's 

10 history museum) in raising funds for the COll11 struction of the Museum; and 

12 (B) issues relating to funding the oper13 ations and maintenance of the Museum in per14 petuity. 

15 (c) LEGISI;ATION To CARRY OUT PLAN OF Ac16 TION.-Based on the recommendations contained in the 

17 report submitted under paragraphs (1) and (2) of sub18 section (a), the Commission shall submit for consideration 

19 to the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, 

20 House Administration, Natural Resources, and Appropria21 tions of the House of Representatives and the Committees 

22 on Rules and Administration, Energy and Natural Re23 sources, and Appropriations of the Senate recommenda24 tions for a legislative plan of action to establish and con25 struct the Museum . 

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1 (d) NATIONAL CONFEHENCE.-Not later than 18 

2 months after the date on which the initial members of the 

3 Commission are appointed under section 3, the Commis4 sion may, in carrying out the duties of the Commission 

5 under this section, convene a national conference relating 

6 to the Museum, to be comprised of individuals committed 

7 to the advancement of the life, art, history, and culture 

8 of women. 

9 SEC. 5. DIRECTOR AND STAFF OF COMMISSION. 

10 (a) DmECTOR AND STAFF.-

11 (1) IN GEKERA.L.-The Commission may em12 ploy and compensate an executive director and any 

13 other additional personnel that are necessary to en14 able the Commission to perform the duties of the 

15 Commission. 

16 (2) RATES OF PAY.-Rates of pay for persons 

17 employed under paragraph (1) shall be consistent 

18 ,'lith the rates of pay allowed for employees of a tem19 porary organization under section 3161 of title 5, 

20 United States Code. 

21 (b) NOT FEDER..'\L EMPLOYMENT.-Any individual 

22 employed under this Act shall not be considered a Federal 

23 employee for the purpose of any law governing Federal 

24 employment. 

25 (c) rrECHKICAL ASSISTAKCE.-

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1 (1) Il'\ GENERAL.-Subject to paragraph (2), on 

2 reqnest of the Commission, the head of a Federal 

3 agency may provide technical assistance to the Com4 mISSIOn. 

5 (2) PROHIBITION.-No Federal employees may 

6 be detailed to the Commission. 

7 SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. 

8 (a) COMPENSATIOK9 (1) IN GEl'\ERAL.-A member of the Commis10 sion11 (A) shall not be considered to be a Federal 

12 employee for any purpose by reason of service 

13 on the Commission; and 

14 (B) shall serve without pay. 

15 (2) 'rRAVEL EATEl'\SES.-A member of the 

16 Commission shall be allowed a per diem allowance 

17 for travel e:X"Penses, at rates consistent with those 

18 authorized under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 

19 5, United States Code. 

20 (b) GIFTS, BEQUESTS, DEVISEs.-The Commission 

21 may solicit, accept, nse, and dispose of gifts, bequests, or 

22 devises of money, services, or real or personal property for 

23 the purpose of aiding or facilitating the work of the Com24 mission . 

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1 (c) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.-The 

2 Commission shall not be subject to the Federal Advisory 

3 Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 

4 SEC. 7. TERMINATION. 

5 The Commission shall terminate on the date that is 

6 30 days after the date on which the final versions of the 

7 reports required under section 4(a) are submitted. 

8 SEC. 8. FUNDING. 

9 (a) IK GEKERAL.-The Commission shall be solely 

10 responsible for acceptance of contributions for, and pay11 ment of the expenses of, the Commission. 

12 (b) PROHIBITIOl\.-No I<'ederal funds may be obli13 gated to carry out this Act. 

o 

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H.R. 863 COSPONSORS, ALPHABETICAL [* = original cosponsor]: 

Cosponsor Statistics: 43 current (includes 19 original) 

Rep Beatty, Joyce [D-OH-3]- 4/26/2013 

Rep Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN-7]- 2/27/2013 * 

Rep Blumenauer, Earl [D-OR-3] - 10/30/2013 

Rep Brown, Corrine [D-FL-5]- 2/27/2013 * 

Rep Brownley, Julia [D-CA-26] - 9/11/2013 

Rep Capps, lois [D-CA-24] - 2/27/2013 * 

Rep Castor, Kathy [D-Fl-14J- 3/14/2013 

Rep Cicilline, David N. [D-RI-1]- 2/27/2013 * 

Rep Clarke, Yvette D. [D-NY-9]- 9/11/2013 

Rep Clay, Wm. lacy [D-MO-1]- 3/14/2013 

Rep Cohen, Steve [D-TN-9]- 10/4/2013 

Rep Davis, Susan A. [D-CA-53]- 2/27/2013 * 

Rep Delauro, Rosa L. [D-CT-3]- 2/27/2013 * 

Rep Ellison, Keith [D-MN-5]- 2/27/2013 * 

Rep Ellmers, Renee L. [R-NC-2J- 10/4/2013 

Rep Fitzpatrick, Michael G. [R-PA-8] - 10/23/2013 

Rep Frelinghuysen, Rodney P. [R-NJ-llJ - 8/2/2013 

Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [D-AZ-3]- 2/27/2013 * 

Rep Hahn, Janice [D-CA-44]- 5/9/2013 

Rep Honda, Michael M. [D-CA-17]- 2/27/2013 * 

Rep Israel, Steve [D-NY-3]- 12/4/2013 

Rep Kaptur, Marcy [D-OH-9]- 4/26/2013 
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Rep Kelly, Robin L. [D-IL-2l- 6/13/2013 

Rep Kuster, Ann M. [D-NH-2J - 10/30/2013 

Rep Lee, Barbara [O-CA-13] - 3/14/2013 

Rep Lowenthal, Alan S. [D-CA-47] - 5/9/2013 

Rep Matsui, Doris O. [O-CA-6] 2/27/2013 '" 

Rep McGovern, James P. [O-MA-2J - 2/27/2013 '" 

Rep Moore, Gwen [D-WI-4] - 2/27/2013 '" 

Rep Moran, James P. [O-VA-S} - 2/27/2013 '" 

Rep Napolitano, Grace F. [O-CA-32] • 4/10/2013 

Rep Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-OC} - 2/27/2013 '" 

Rep Peters, GaryC. [D-MH4] - 2/27/2013 '" 

Rep Peters, Scott H. IO-CA-521 - 11/14/2013 

Rep Rangel, Charles B. [O-NY-13J - 2/27/2013 '" 

Rep Roybal-Allard, Lucille [O-CA-40] - 4/23/2013 

Rep Sanchez, loretta [D-CA-46] - 2/27/2013 '" 

Rep Schakowsky, Janice O. [O-ll-9] - 2/27/2013 '" 

Rep Speier, Jackie [O-CA-14} 2/27/2013 '" 

Rep Takano, Mark [O-CA-41J - 6/6/2013 

Rep Tonko, Paul [O-NY-20J - 4/26/2013 

Rep Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [O-FL-23)- 4/10/2013 

Rep Waxman, Henry A. [D-CA-33] -10/4/2013 
18 


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Z NATIONAL 

:e WOMEN'S 

:J: HISTORY 

s: MUSEUM 

NWHM National Coalition 

Accounting & Financial Women's Alliance 

Alliance for Women in Media 

American Association of University Women 

American College of Nurse-Midwives 

American Library Association and Committee on Status of Women In Librarianship 

American Society for Public Administration and the Section for Women in Public 

Administration 

Association for Women in Science 

Association of Junior leagues International 

Association of Library Information and Science Education 

Association of Women Surgeons 

Business and Professional Women's Foundation 

Delta Kappa Gamma Society International (The) 

Federally Employed Women 

General Federation of Women's Clubs 

Girls, Inc, 

Girls Learn International. Inc, 

Hadassah The Women's Zionist Organization of America 

League of Women Voters of the United States 

MANA - A National latina Organization 

National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity 

National Association for Female Executives 

National Association of Commissions for Women 

National Association of Women Business Owners 

National Association of Women Judges 

National Coalition of Girls' Schools (The) 

National Conference of Puerto Rican Women, Inc 

National Congress of Black Women 

205 S, Whiting Street. Suite 254 I Alexandria, VA 22304 I T {7031461-1920 I F {7031 636-2668 I www,nwhm,org 
19 


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Z NATIONAL 

:e WOMEN'S 

::E: HISTORY 

3: MUSEUM 

NWHM National Coalition 

National Council of Negro Women 

National Education Association 

National Federation of Black Women Business Owners 

National Federation of Press Women 

National Foundation for Women Legislators, Inc 

National League of American Pen Women 

National Partnership for Women & Families 

National Society Daughters of the American Revolution 

National Women's History Project 

Native American Women's Business Council 

OWL, Older Women's League 

Sewall-Belmont House & Museum 

Society of Bakery Women 

Soroptimist International of the Americas 

Susan B. Anthony House 

Women in Aerospace 

Women in Defense 

Women in Film and Video 

Women in Government Relations 

Women In Military Service For America Memorial Foundation 

Women's Business Enterprise National Council 

Women's Caucus for Art 

Women Presidents' Organization 

205 S. Whiting Street, Suite 254 I Alexandria, VA 22304 I T (703) 461-1920 I F (703) 636-2668 I www.nwhm.org 
20 

Mrs. MALONEY. Women’s historical contributions are largely 

missing from textbooks, memorials, museum exhibits and many 

other venues. In contrast, thousands of years of history have focused upon the achievement of men. Of the 210 statues in the 

United States Capitol, only 13 are of female leaders. Fewer than 

5 percent of the 2,400 national historic landmarks chronicle women’s achievements, and a recent survey of 18 history textbooks 

found that only 10 percent of the individuals identified in the textbooks were women. 

The National Women’s History Museum would change that by 

telling the fascinating, yet mostly untold stories of important 

women in American history and their contributions, like Agent 355, 

the mysterious woman who sent vital information to General 

Washington during the Revolutionary War; or Hedy Lamarr, the 

Hollywood star who invented a radio-guided torpedo that contained 

the technology that gave rise to cell phones, Wi-Fi, and GPS; and 

many, many other important women. 

Here in our Nation’s Capital, museums have traditionally been 

a way for our country to proclaim our history, to demonstrate and 

honor what we value, to educate our children, and to shape our culture. A short walk from where we sit, there are museums dedicated 

to the Nation’s founding, to science, to the arts, to flight, to postage 

stamps, law enforcement and news, and many other important 

areas of special interest, yet none is dedicated to half the population. Every scientist, every creator of a postage stamp had a 

mother, and they did many, many important contributions to our 

country. Where are their stories told? 

But women and their achievements are almost nowhere to be 

found among these buildings that are supposed to hold the stories 

of our Nation’s journey. This bill seeks to change that. When it 

opens, the museum will help ensure that future generations will 

understand the many contributions of women. 

It was only recently that in a bipartisan effort with Connie 

Morella we were able to move the great statue of the great women 

revolutionary leaders that led to women having the right to vote. 

Incidentally, they were all Republicans. Susan B. Anthony, 

Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were active Republican 

leaders in the abolitionist movement, as was Alice Paul, who continued this fight in enacting the 21st Amendment that gave the 

historic right, an incredible achievement, that half our population 

had the right to vote. She, incidentally, was also a Republican, and 

her uncle was a Republican legislator from Pennsylvania. 

But this story, I think, tells the problem of how hard it is. Connie 

Morella and I worked on this moving the statue for 5 years. Can 

you believe it? Five years to move a statue, to move our revolutionary leaders out of the basement and into the living room of the 

Capitol with our other great revolutionary leaders, Lincoln and Jefferson and Jackson and Martin Luther King, but it was so difficult 

that we started a newsletter called ‘‘All the Excuses Fit to Print.’’ 

One of them said that the Capitol Rotunda could not hold the statue. They forgot that it had sat there for 3 days before it was sent 

to the basement. So we had to go out and raise $85,000 to fund an 

engineer’s report to determine whether the floor would hold it. 


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21 

There were so many excuses. They said, we are not having any 

new statues in the Capitol; meanwhile, they moved in disgraced 

people, and many, many statues came in. And then finally they 

said that we had to pay to move it, and it was hundreds of thousands of dollars. We had to move the statue from the basement into 

the Rotunda to honor the three revolutionary, great leaders that 

gave half our population the right to vote. 

I tell this story because it shows you how hard it is to get anything done relating to women. And I want to publicly thank my colleague Marsha Blackburn for getting this hearing, for getting the 

cosponsors, for helping to author the legislation, and all of her effort that has brought us to where we are today. 

And this statue shows the importance of these women, but there 

are many other women that have contributed to the success of our 

great country, and their stories need to be told to inspire our 

daughters and our sons. And I respectfully suggest that Congress 

can now at this moment play an important and historic role in seeing to it that half of the population of these United States is actually represented when the history of our great Nation is told, from 

pioneering women like abolitionist Harriet Tubman to astronaut 

Sally Ride; from Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor to 

the new leader for General Motors. This is a real historic step forward. 

These remarkable women helped make this country what it is 

today. They deserve a place for their stories to be told and preserved to inspire future generations. But we aren’t doing this just 

to recognize those women who came before us; we are also doing 

it so that our daughters and our sons and their children have the 

chance to learn the story, the full story, of how this amazing country came to be. 

I want to thank you for the honor and opportunity of testifying 

before you today, and I hope that this committee will see fit to 

move this bill forward. And I look forward to working with all of 

you on this very, very, I believe, historic, and important, and, 

again, not only an American first, but a national and international 

first of dedicating, hopefully, after the commission’s report, a museum that is dedicated to the achievements of half this great country. 

I yield back the balance of my time. Thank you. 

The CHAIRMAN. I thank the gentlewoman very much for her testimony. Excellent, excellent testimony. 

[The statement of Mrs. Maloney follows:] 


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Remarks for House Admin Comm Hearing 

Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12) 

Dec. 11, 2013 

Chairman Miller, Ranking Member Brady, and members of the 

committee. I am very grateful to you for holding this hearing 

today on HR 863, a bipartisan bill to establish a commission to 

study the potential creation of a National Women's History 

Museum. 

I am thrilled to be joined here with my friend and partner in 

this effort, Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, who has been a 

great advocate for this important bill. 

I'm also pleased to be here with my good friend Joan Wages, 

the president of the National Women's History Museum, a nonprofit that has already begun compiling and sharing the 

contributions of women who shaped our country. 

F or many of us - this isn't just a hearing - it is a chance to take 

a historic step forward. 

Here in our nation's Capitol, museums have traditionally been 

a way for our country to proclaim our history, to demonstrate 

and honor what we value, to educate our children, and to shape 

our culture. 

A short walk from where we sit - there are museums dedicated 

to our nation's founding, to science, the arts, to flight, postage 

stamps, law enforcement, news, and many other important 

areas of special interest. 

1 
23 


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But women and their achievements are almost nowhere to be 

found among these buildings that are supposed hold the 

stories of our nation's journey. 

This bill seeks to change that. 

Following the model set with the establishment of previous 

national museums, such as the United States Holocaust 

Memorial Museum and the Smithsonian National Portrait 

Gallery, HR 863, would establish a commission to evaluate the 

idea of, and make recommendations to the President and 

Congress concerning, a National Women's History Museum in 

Washington, DC, on or near the National Mall. 

Most importantly, the commission will fund its own costs so that 

taxpayers will not shoulder the funding of this project. All of the 

funding necessary would be raised by the nonprofit National 

Women's History Museum, Inc. 

When it opens, the museum will help ensure that future 

generations understand what we owe to the generations of 

American women that came before - and help to advance the 

goals, and the values of our society. 

In my view, this can't happen soon enough. Because the fact is 

- women's history is not only missing in our nation's capital, it 

is largely missing nearly everywhere you turn. 

According to a survey of eighteen history textbooks, only ten 

percent of the individuals identified in the texts were women. 

Less than five percent ofthe 2,400 national historic landmarks 

chronicle women's achievement. 

2 
24 


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Right here in our Capitol building, there are 210 statues on 

public display. Just 13 of them, including the Statue of Freedom 

that sits above our dome, are offemale leaders. That's about 6 

percent. 

It was only recently that the great marble statue of three 

female suffragists was placed on permanent display in the 

Capitol Rotunda. 

The suffragists' statue had been commissioned way back in 

1920, but after being briefly on display, it was banished to the 

Capitol Crypt for 75 years. 

The statue shows three women who played pivotal roles in the 

passage of the 19th Amendment. 

That was of course - the amendment that gave women the 

right to vote. And for the first time fully -enfranchised one-half 

of the adult population of the United States. That was truly a 

historic achievement. 

But, according to the New York Times. in 1921, shortly after 

the statue was completed, Congress ordered workers to scrape 

off the statue's "blasphemous" inscription, which declared: 

"Woman, first denied a soul, then called mindless, now arisen, 

declared herself an entity to be reckoned." 

To me, that's an amazing story and a telling one. It shows how 

difficult it has been for women to be recognized for their 

achievements, even for what was one of our country's most 

important moments. In contrast, men have thousands of years 

of written history available to reflect upon and use for 

inspiration. 

3 
25 


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I respectfully suggest that Congress- can now - at this moment 

- play an important and historic role in seeing to it that half of 

the population of these United States is actually represented 

when the history of our nation is told. 

From pioneering women like abolitionist Harriet Tubman, to 

astronaut Sally Ride. From Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day 

O'Connor, to the founder of the Girl Scouts Juliette Gordon Low. 

These remarkable women helped make this country what it is 

today. They deserve a place for their stories to be told and 

preserved for the ages. 

But we aren't doing this just to recognize those women who 

came before us. We're also doing this so that our daughters and 

our sons, and their children have the chance to learn the story -

the full story - of how this amazing country came to be. 

Thank you again for this opportunity to testify before you. I 

hope this Committee will see fit to move this bill forward and I 

look forward to working with all of you on this very important 

endeavor. 

4 
26 

The CHAIRMAN. And as we all know, women are multitaskers, 

and Representative Blackburn certainly has been doing that already this morning. We appreciate her attendance here today and 

all her work in getting this hearing put together. 

As a formal intro, she represents the Seventh District of Tennessee. She was first elected to represent the Seventh Congressional District in Tennessee in 2002, quickly becoming a leader in 

Congress and a leading voice advocating for small, efficient Federal 

Government that is accountable to its citizens. 

As a small businesswoman, an author, a mother, a grandmother, 

and a Member of Congress, Marsha Blackburn has dedicated her 

service to the sacred obligations all citizens have to their communities, and that is making Tennessee and certainly America a better and more prosperous place where all of our children can achieve 

the American dream. 

In April of 2013 at the Women Run the World half marathon in 

New York City, More Magazine recognized Representative Blackburn for her service in government by honoring her as 1 of 10 

women who are making a difference in the world. 

She is a founding member of the Republicans Women’s Policy 

Committee and is also a member the Smithsonian Library’s Advisory Board. So we welcome her attendance here today, and at this 

time the chair would recognize Representative Blackburn for her 

testimony. 

STATEMENT OF THE HON. MARSHA BLACKBURN, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF TENNESSEE 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Thank you, Chairman Miller. And I apologize 

to you, to the committee, to the staff and everyone in the room. We 

were a bit delayed, and I could not leave until I had finished my 

obligation at our hearing. So I do apologize. 

I do appreciate also the effort that has gone into making the 

hearing possible today. We thank you for this. And thank you for 

the attention to how we go about with the creation of a privately 

funded museum to honor the Nation’s influential women. And it is 

my hope that today we will have a well-informed discussion about 

how we move forward. 

I have been pleased to work with Mrs. Maloney on H.R. 863, 

which would create a commission to study the feasibility of building a women’s history museum. As Mrs. Maloney said, she and 

Senator Collins have worked for many Congresses to secure this effort, and while it would pass in the House or pass in the Senate, 

we have never been able to line these up and make it happen in 

the same Congress with each Chamber. 

The fact that we are here discussing it today is symbolic, because 

it is an important time for women in our Nation. Now more than 

ever, women are starting and running their own companies; they 

are moving into positions of leadership not only in our Nation, but 

around the globe; and they are seeking to look at history and the 

past and role models that have paved the way. Of course, our Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that women now hold 51 percent 

of all management, professional and related occupations. That 

number continues to rise, and many women say, how did we get 

here? On whose shoulders do we stand? 


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But let us not forget about the women that have persevered and 

have changed the course of history. Mrs. Maloney mentioned a few. 

I think we can look at what happened with visionaries like Deborah Sampson, who disguised herself as a man so that she could 

fight alongside men in the Revolutionary War. We have mentioned 

Susan B. Anthony, who fought for women’s right to vote; Clara 

Barton, who founded the Red Cross. Or let us not forget Jeannette 

Rankin, the first woman ever elected to Congress in 1916. 

There are countless other women who sacrificed so much to fight 

for what they believed in spite of very challenging circumstances. 

Today their legacies live on as women continue to break many historical barriers in our country. In the 113th Congress, we have a 

record high number of 98 women Members in both the House and 

the Senate. 

All women have their own personal history that they bring to the 

table. My colleague Mrs. Maloney was the first woman ever elected 

in her district in New York and has continued to be a trailblazer 

on so many issues that are very important to her constituency. 

While she and I may disagree on some political issues, that is not 

the case here today. Today we come to lift up women and to help 

to preserve and share the legacies of women who paved the way 

before us and have helped to shape the freedom that we in this Nation hold so dear. And in doing so, these stories will inspire future 

generations by illustration of how that bravery, that patriotism and 

that perseverance did indeed make a difference. We would not have 

the freedom and the opportunities that we have today without the 

sacrifices of those who have gone before us. 

This proposed women’s history museum would be financed privately and not a dime of taxpayer money. The women’s museum 

project has already had generous support from private donors, and 

they are willing to move forward to make it happen. The hearing 

is a good step. It lays out how this bill would have a commission 

of eight members chosen equally by the leadership in both parties 

of the House and the Senate who have demonstrated their commitment to study and teaching of women’s history. They will examine 

possible locations, devise fundraising strategies, and analyze overall logistics of building the museum, and assess the feasibility of 

the total project. 

As we discuss the bill and the steps forward, I look forward to 

hearing your ideas and suggestions and working to make this a reality. 

Again, I apologize for my tardiness, I thank you all for the courtesy of the hearing, and I yield back the balance of my time. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much. 

[The statement of Mrs. Blackburn follows:] 


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Rep. Marsha Blackburn 

Testimony in Support 

Hearing on "Establishing a Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Women's 

History Museum" 

December 11, 2013 

Chairman Miller, Ranking Member Brady, and Members of the Committee, thank you for 

inviting me here today and giving me the opportnnity to testifY in support of this very important 

initiative. 

I greatly appreciate the efforts of the Committee to make this hearing happen, and for taking 

a serious look at how we should best move forward with the long- overdue creation of a 

privately-funded museum to honor our nation's influential women throughout history. It is my 

sincere hope that today we will have an informative discussion on how we can make this come to 

fruition, and that we are able to move this legislation to the floor for consideration of the full 

House. 

Back in February, I was pleased to work with my colleague, Congressman Carolyn Maloney, 

to introduce H.R. 863, legislation desigued to create a commission to study the feasibility of 

building a Women's History Museum. Congressman Maloney and Senator Susan Collins have 

been actively trying to pass similar legislation in the past few Congresses, and while they have 

had success in passing it by voice vote in the House and by unanimous consent in the Senate, the 

bills have never passed both chambers in the same Congress. 

The fact that we are here today discussing this is a symbolic message that the time has come 

to move this forward this Congress, and I am hopefully that we can come together to do so. This 

is a very crucial time in our nation and world for women. 

Now more than ever, women are starting and running their own companies, and moving into 

positions ofleadership in the corporate world. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 

women hold more than 51 % of all management, professional, and related occupations, and that 

number will only continue to rise. 

But let us not forget about those women who persevered and changed the course of history at 

times in our history when opportunities for women were limited and frowned upon. Our nation 

would not be what it is today without visionaries like Deborah Sampson, who disguised herself 

as a man to fight alongside her countrymen in the Revolutionary War; or Susan B. Anthony, who 

fought for women's right to vote; or Clara Barton, founder of the Red Cross; Or, last but not 

least, Jeannette Rankin- the first woman ever elected to the US Congress in 1916. There are 
29 


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countless other women who sacrificed so much to fight for what they believed in despite their 

tough circumstances. 

Today their legacies live on as women continue to break historical barriers and reach new 

heights. In the I 13th congress we have a record high number of 98 women members in both 

chambers of congress. All women have their own personal history they can bring to the table. 

My fellow female colleague here was the first woman ever elected in her Congressional 

District in New York and has continued to be a trail blazer on so many issues important to her 

and her constituency. I started my professional career by convincing the company I worked forSouthwestern Company- that I could sell books just as well if not better than any man, and after 

proving myself true to that, they made me the first ever sales woman in a male-dominated sales 

team. 

While Congressman Maloney and I may disagree on some political issues, that is not what 

today is about. Today is about coming together to lift up women and helping to preserve and 

share the legacies of women who paved the way before us and helped shape the nation that we 

hold so dear. And in doing so, these stories will inspire future generations by illustration how 

bravery, patriotism, and perseverance can truly make a difference. We would not have the 

freedom and opportunity that we have today without the sacrifices of those that have gone before 

us. 

This proposed women's history museum would be financed privately only and not a dime of 

taxpayer money. The museum has already had generous support from women like Meryl Streep 

and other private donors who want to do what they can to make it happen. Moving forward with 

plans to create the museum will only gamer more support and donations from people who 

believe in the purpose and direction of the museum. 

This bill is the first step forward. It lays out steps to set up a commission of 8 memberschosen equally by the leadership in both parties of the House and Senate- who havc 

demonstrated their commitment to the study or teaching of women's history. They will examine 

possible locations, devise fundraising strategies, analyze overall logistics of building the museum 

and asses the feasibility. 

As we discuss this bill and the steps forward, I look forward to hearing ideas and suggestions 

to help this become a reality. I am honored to with my colleague Carolyn Maloney to help get 

this bill passed. I thank the committee again for allowing me to testify this morning and I hope 

that we can work together to honor our nation's women. 
30 

The CHAIRMAN. And I want to thank both our witnesses in the 

first panel for appearing here before the committee today, and I 

certainly again want to thank both of you for pushing, pushing us 

all along here. And certainly having this hearing today, I think, is 

a tremendous first step, and in our next panel we will be really 

outlining some more specifics about how we might proceed with 

this. 

But I tell you in this age of sometimes people think we can’t 

work together, we know as women that we can work together certainly, and I think this is a great example of a bipartisan effort to 

move forward, and I just appreciate that very much. 

Any other Members have question or comment? 

Mr. HARPER. Being the father of a now 22-year-old daughter, I 

certainly know how important it is to have great role models. And 

my daughter, when she was 17, had the privilege of sitting down 

with Marsha Blackburn and being inspired by her, following her in 

her footsteps to Mississippi State University, where she graduated 

in 3 years. And so I thank you, Congresswoman Blackburn, for 

your input and influence with my daughter. Thank you. 

The CHAIRMAN. Yes. 

Ms. LOFGREN. I would just—it is the committee practice not to 

ask questions of Members who testify. I know that we will adhere 

to that, but I just want to thank both Representatives for their 

leadership on this issue. I am so enthused that we can move forward on this with your strong support, so thank you for your work. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you both very much. Merry Christmas. 

Mrs. MALONEY. Merry Christmas. 

The CHAIRMAN. We appreciate you coming. 

Mrs. MALONEY. Thank you. 

The CHAIRMAN. At this time, we will excuse our first panel, and 

we will ask that our second panelist be seated. 

Before I introduce our panelist, I would ask unanimous consent 

for the committee to enter into the record two items: first of all, 

a statement from the American Association of University Women 

establishing a commission to study the potential creation of a National Women’s History Museum. And without objection, that will 

be entered into the record as well. 

[The information follows:] 


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empowering women since 1881 

Written Statement of 

Lisa Maatz 

Vicc President of Government Relations 

American Association of University Women (AAUW) 

"Establishing a Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a 

National Women's History Museum" 

United States House of Representatives 

House Administration Committee 

December 11, 2013 

Chairwoman Miller, Ranking Member Brady, and members of the committee, thank you for the 

opportunity to submit input about establishing a commission to study the creation of a National 

Women's History Museum. 

On behalf of the approximately 170,000 bipartisan members and supporters of the American 

Association of University Women (AAUW), I am pleased to share AAUW's perspective on this 

important issue. Since its founding in 1881, AAUW has been breaking through barriers for 

women and girls. Given our own long and storied history, we have a unique appreciation for the 

idea ofa National Women's History Museum. 

AAUW is a strong supporter of the legislation, "Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a 

National Women's History Museum Act of 20 13" (H.R 863), introduced by Rep. Carolyn 

Maloney (D-NY). The bill creates a Commission that would report to Congress about possible 

exhibits, fundraising capacity, locations, and costs for a National Women's History Museum. In 

addition, the Commission would establish a plan of action including recommending necessary 

legislation to make such a museum a reality. AAUW believes that the House should take action 

on H.R. 863; its bipartisan plan strikes just the right note, and will work to find the most feasible 

ways to acknowledge the generations of women who played a role in shaping our communities 

and our nation. 

A National Women's History Museum, particularly on the National Mall, would forever mark 

the many accomplishments of extraordinary women in our country's history. Perhaps more 

impOliantiy it would also more fully showcase the daily contributions of American women in the 

remarkable history of our nation. From the most famous to the most typical, women have made 

meaningful and lasting contributions to the marketplace, laboratory, government, entertainment 

industry, classroom, home, and family. A visible location on the National Mall would underscore 

the importance of women to our nation's development, and inspire and educate visitors from 

around the world. 
32 


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AAUW strongly supports H.R. 863 and is a proud member of the National Women's History 

Museum (NWHM) Coalition, a group of national women's professional and service 

organizations committed to supporting the NWHM mission. AAUW believes that your support 

to take steps towards building a National Women's History Museum will help send a message of 

inclusion nationwide and worldwide, and serve as an important symbol of our country's honor 

and respect for women and their contributions. 

Again, I urge you to support the Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National' 

Women's History Museum Act of2013 (H.R. 863). 

Thank you for this opportunity. We are pleased to be working with you on this critical issue. 

2 
33 

The CHAIRMAN. At this time I would like to introduce our second 

panelist, our next witness. Joan Bradley Wages is the president 

and CEO of the National Women’s History Museum. She has been 

working to make this museum a reality for at least 15 years, if not 

longer. She began as one of the founding board members that ultimately led to her serving as the champion for this museum. And 

throughout her career, she has focused on women’s issues on Capitol Hill, which culminated when she served as the founding board 

member of the National Women’s History Museum. And while we 

cannot assume a potential commission would tap the nonprofit National Women’s History Museum as the appropriate entity to become the national museum, Ms. Wages has been at the forefront 

certainly of promoting this issue, developing a concept for such a 

museum, seeking support, and tackling organizational and fundraising issues, and certainly those experiences can certainly help 

inform our deliberations today. So we certainly appreciate your attendance here today, and your passion and commitment and dedication to this issue. 

And at this time the chair would recognize Ms. Wages for her 

testimony. 

STATEMENT OF JOAN BRADLEY WAGES, PRESIDENT AND CEO, 

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HISTORY MUSEUM 

Ms. WAGES. Thank you so much. Thank you, Madam Chair. 

Thank you, Representatives Lofgren and Harper. We so appreciate 

this opportunity to make a presentation to your committee and 

to—— 

The CHAIRMAN. Is your microphone on? Excuse me. I just—thank 

you. 

Ms. WAGES. There we go. Okay. 

Madam Chair, Representatives Lofgren and Harper, thank you 

so much for scheduling this hearing and for allowing the National 

Women’s History Museum an opportunity to appear in support of 

establishing a commission to investigate the feasibility and need 

for a museum to honor contributions of women to our Nation. We 

are so appreciative to Representatives Blackburn and Maloney for 

their tireless efforts to move this forward. 

My name is Joan Wages, and I am president and CEO at the National Women’s History Museum. I ask that my entire statement 

be entered into the record, and I will give you a summary. 

The CHAIRMAN. Without objection. 

Ms. WAGES. As mentioned, legislation is pending in the House 

and Senate that would create a congressional commission to study 

the potential creation of a federally authorized museum to recognize and honor women. 

History is empowering. It shapes who we are and provides role 

models to guide us, yet women stand on historical quicksand. With 

each step forward, the one behind disappears. By all evidence, at 

least half of our population has lived a life only to become in large 

part invisible. 

The mission of the National Women’s History Museum is to bring 

women’s history into our mainstream culture so that the general 

public is aware of such historic figures as Sybil Luddington, who, 


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34 

like Paul Revere, rode all night on horseback during the Revolutionary War to alert the militia that the British were coming. 

Women’s history also includes recognition of the collective efforts 

of women to enrich society. It was women who lobbied for the pasteurization of milk, vaccinations for our children, and sewage systems for our communities. Women have succeeded in shaping our 

Nation in important and in lasting ways. Women have woven the 

very fabric of this Nation, whether through the essential role of 

motherhood or in the fields of education, health care, business, 

technology, entertainment. No matter what the field of endeavor, 

women have been there. 

I have personally dedicated my work on establishing this museum to the memory of my mother, whose love and caring is with 

me today. Abraham Lincoln said it best: Everything I am or ever 

hope to be, I owe to my mother. It is far beyond time for the women 

of our Nation to be recognized. 

By way of background, the National Women’s History Museum, 

as it exists today, was incorporated in Washington, DC, in 1996 as 

a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization, and its first project 

was to lobby Congress and raise the funds to relocate the Portrait 

Monument of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony and 

Lucretia Mott. We succeeded, and the statue was moved from the 

crypt into the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on Mother’s Day of 1997, 

where it still stands today. Now millions of visitors to the Capitol 

have an opportunity to see our foremothers standing alongside our 

Nation’s forefathers. 

Since its inception the National Women’s History Museum has 

raised over $12 million. We have developed an extensive Web site 

with 24 online exhibits and over 300 biographies on women. We 

have placed $1 million in reserve to potentially underwrite the 

commission, or as a deposit toward the design and development of 

the museum so that no taxpayers’ dollars will be used for this endeavor. We have celebrity ambassadors and supporters like Alfre 

Woodard, Meryl Streep, Kate Walsh and Geena Davis; women’s 

history scholars; and more than 50,000 charter members. We have 

partnered with the George Washington University on a lecture series. We have produced a public service announcement that was directed by acclaimed filmmaker Catherine Hardewick. And we have 

widespread bipartisan support. 

The National Women’s History Museum now embraces the 

project of advancing a permanent museum in our Nation’s Capital 

recognizing and honoring half of our Nation’s history, women’s history. 

In conclusion, I give you one astonishing fact. There is no worldclass women’s history museum in any nation’s capital in the world. 

A museum established by this commission would be the first in any 

nation to show the full scope of the history of its women, thereby 

serving as a beacon to people everywhere. It is vital that America, 

a Nation that has done so much to advance equality, houses the 

National Women’s History Museum to celebrate the deep and lasting impact women have made. 

Thank you again for this opportunity to testify. I would be happy 

to answer any questions. 


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The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much. We certainly appreciate 

your opening remarks there. 

[The statement of Ms. Wages follows:] 


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NATIONAL 

WOMEN'S 

HISTORY 

MUSEUM 

National Women's History Museum 

Committee on House Administration 

U. 5 House of Representatives 

December 11,2013 

Thank you, Chairwoman Miller and Ranking Member Brady for scheduling this 

hearing and for allowing the National Women's History Museum (NWHM) an opportunity 

to appear in support of establishing a commission to investigate the feasibility and need 

for a museum to honor the contributions of women to our nation's history. My name is 

Joan Wages and I am President and CEO of the National Women's History Museum. 

ask that my entire statement be entered into the record, and I will provide a 5 minute 

summary of my written statement. 

Currently, legislation is pending in the House (H.R 863) and Senate (5.398) that 

would create a congressional commission to study the potential creation of a federally 

authorized museum to recognize and honor women: Specifically, it would authorize a 

commission to determine the feasibility and need for such a museum in the nation's 

capital. The commission would be tasked with producing a report that would address: 

The impact of the Museum on regional women history-related museums, potential 

locations for the Museum in Washington, DC and its environs, whether the Museum 

should be part of the Smithsonian Institution, governance and organization structure for 

such a museum, best practices for engaging women in the development and design of 

the Museum, and cost of constructing, operating and maintaining the Museum. The 

legislation calls for the commission to be solely responsible for acceptance of 

contributions for and payments of the expenses of the Commission. 

20S S. Whiling s ...... Suite 254 I Alexandria. VA 22304 I T (703) 461-1920 I F (703)636-2668 I www.nwhm.org 
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History is empowering. It shapes who we are and provides role models to guide 

us. Yet, women stand on historical quicksand. With each step we take forward, the 

step behind us disappears. As one of our historians describes it, "Women have to recreate the wheel with every generation." By all evidence, at least half of our population 

has lived a life - only to become - in large part - invisible. 

Women have helped forge our nation and have risen to its defense throughout 

our history. Every day our lives are touched by the cultural, societal, and financial 

achievements of women in our nation's development, with advances in industry, 

medicine, and the arts. Legislation for a Commission to create a museum to honor our 

nation's women would be an important step to recognize these achievements. 

The mission of the NWHM is to bring women's history into our mainstream 

culture so that the general public is aware of the notable accomplishments of such 

historic figures as Sybil Luddington, who, like Paul Revere, rode all night on horseback 

during the Revolutionary War to alert the militia that the British were coming, or 

Deborah Sampson who felt so fiercely and passionately patriotic that she dressed like a 

man so she could carry a rifle and fight in the Revolutionary War or Catherine Littlefield 

Greene who had the idea for the cotton gin and helped Eli Whitney develop it, and paid 

the patent fee. 

That said, women's history is not focused strictly on the accomplishments and 

contributions of individuals. Rather, it includes recognition of the collective efforts of 

women to enrich society. It was women who lobbied for the pasteurization of milk, 

vaccinations for our children, and sewage systems for our communities. Women 

banded together during World War /I to support the war effort - not just as riveters, but 

in so many important and diverse ways. They planted victory gardens, donated nylons 

to be used for making eqUipment and even took up collections that yielded enough 

money to purchase aircraft bombers. Women have succeeded in shaping our nation in 

important and lasting ways. 

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One needs to go no further than today's history textbooks to see why such a 

museum is so important. Approximately 10% of historic references in such textbooks 

refer to women. Less than 8% of statues in National Parks are of women leaders. And 

our U.S. Capitol Building, which hosts millions of tourists each year, displays only 15 

statutes of women -- out of some 218 currently on exhibit. There are only two statues of 

women on the National Mall. Of the 76 museums, memorials, and exhibits in 

Washington, only 4 feature works or accomplishments of women. Women have mostly 

been left out of our national narrative. 

Each year the National Women's History Museum's hosts The de Pizan Honors. 

Honorees last year included the Honorable Elizabeth Dole, photographer Annie 

Liebovitz and Poet Maya Angelou. This year's event honored the opera great Oenyce 

Graves, actress and activist Phylicia Rashad and Dr. Etta Pisano, a pioneer in the field 

of radiology whose work in screening for and diagnosing breast cancer has gained 

national recognition and led to her being named one of the 20 most influential people in 

the field of radiology. 

Upon accepting her award, Dr. Pisano became quite emotional - as did the 

audience -- when she spoke of losing her mother to breast cancer when she was only 

15 and the oldest of seven children. When I spoke to her backstage she confided being 

caught off guard by the wave of emotion when speaking of her mother. It had been 40 

years since her passing. The ties between a mother and her children are so strong, 

that long after they leave us, the connection remains as strong as ever. Our mothers 

give us life. and that's the one ccmmon thread that every human shares - we are here 

because of our mothers. I have personally dedicated my work on establishing this 

Museum to the memory of my mother whose love and caring is with me to this day. 

Abraham Lincoln said it best, "Everything I am, or ever hope to be, lowe to my mother." 

Women have woven the very fabric of this nation - whether through the essential 

role of motherhood or in the fields of education, healthcare, business, technology, 

entertainment no matter what the field of endeavor, women have been there. It is far 

beyond time for the women of our nation to be recognized. 

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By way of background, the NWHM, as it exists today, was incorporated in 

Washington, DC in 1996 as a 501 (c}(3) nonprofit, educational organization and initiated 

as its first project the relocation of the Portrait Monument of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, 

Susan B. Anthony and Lucretia Mott from the Crypt to the Rotunda of the United States 

Capitol. The statue had been dedicated in the Rotunda in 1921 to celebrate passage of 

the 19th amendment to the Constitution, providing for women's right to vote. The statue 

was then relocated to the Crypt where it remained for 76 years. Several attempts were 

made by women's groups to seek authority from Congress to relocate the statue back to 

the Rotunda, where our Foremothers would stand alongside our Forefathers, but they 

were unsuccessful. 

The NWHM embraced this project because it represented the pathway of 

women's history - it comes to the light of day for a brief moment and then is stored 

away in the archives, library or crypt. It does not remain part of the story. 

After raising funds to defray expenses to relocate the statue, the NWHM 

convinced Congress to relocate the statue to the Rotunda. It was moved on Mother's 

Day of 1997 and remains there to this day. Now, millions of visitors to the Capitol have 

an opportunity to view the statue and be inspired by the grit and determination of the 

three women depicted, and the 72-year campaign for the right to vote, which, by the 

way, resulted in enfranchising more citizens than any act of Congress before or since. 

The National Women's History Museum now embraces the project of advancing 

a permanent museum in our nation's capital recognizing and honoring half of our 

nation's history - women's history. The establishment of a feasibility commission is the 

first step. There is precedence for a commission of this kind. The National Museum of 

African American History and Culture, and The National Museum of the American 

Latino had Congressional commissions and provided similar reports to Congress, 

including site recommendations for their permanent homes. The Holocaust Museum 

had its origin through a Presidential Commission before securing a site on 14th Street 

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adjacent to Independence Avenue. Today, the African American Museum is 

constructing its home on a site between 14th Street and 15th Street on Constitution 

Avenue, and the American Latino Museum Commission has identified three possible 

sites for its museum. 

Since its inception, the NWHM has raised over $12 million, mainly from individual 

donations, and developed an extensive website with 24 on-line exhibits and over 300 

biographies of women. It has also placed $1 million in reserve to potentially underwrite 

the Commission or as a deposit toward the design and development of the Museum, so 

that no taxpayer dollars will be used for this endeavor. A women's museum would 

demonstrate the gratitude and respect we owe to the many generations of American 

women who have helped build, sustain, and advance our society and for that reason, 

celebrity ambassadors like Alfre Woodard, Kate Walsh and Geena Davis, women's 

history scholars, and the more than 50,000 Museum Charter Members have dedicated 

their time, money and expertise to this endeavor. Actress Meryl Streep pledged one 

million dollars - her salary from Iron Lady, the widely acclaimed motion picture about 

the life of Lady Margaret Thatcher, Great Britain's first woman and longest serving 

Prime Minister. 

The NWHM is also hosting a numer of educational endeavors. Earlier this year, 

the Museum agreed to partner with The George Washington University on a lecture 

series entitled Initiating Changes/Adapting to Change. The forum offers an opportunity 

for a women's history scholar and a contemporary individual to discuss a topic guided 

by a moderator. Recent topics included A New Order: Change for Women in the U.S. 

Military and Making a Business of Change: American Women in Business. Next year's 

programs include Game Changers: American Women & Sports and Women and the 

Civil Rights Movement. Nearly two hundred attended the first two events. 

Also, this past year the NWHM produced a public service announcement directed by 

acclaimed filmmaker Catherine Hardwicke with Actress Alfre Woodard as 

spokeswoman and an online exhibit on Women Entrepreneurs sponsored by Microsoft. 

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In an effort to raise awareness about women's history, the Museum has distributed over 

5 million pieces of mail consisting of historical information and educational materials 

about women's history as well as fund raising appeals; we have established a "preview" 

exhibit in our offices in Alexandria, Virginia, with an independently appraised value of 

$97,000; and we have curated and displayed 4 "traveling exhibits" in Washington, DC 

and New York City. 

The Museum has widespread, bipartisan support. In 1999, The President's 

Commission on the Celebration of Women in American History cal/ed for the creation of 

a women's history museum, recognizing NWHM for its support. In 2004 and 2007 The 

United States Senate passed legislation authorizing a site. In October 2009, the House 

approved legislation authorizing the acquisition of a site. In the past 12 years, there 

have been 288 cosponsors of legislation authorizing the acquisition of a site for a 

women's history museum --183 members of the House, and 105 members of the 

Senate. 

Conclusion 

In conclusion. I will leave you with one astonishing fact: There is no world-class 

women's history museum in any nation's capitol in the world. A museum established 

under the auspices of this Commission would be the first in any nation to show the full 

scope of the history of its women; thereby serving as a beacon to people everywhere. It 

will stand as further testament that America is truly a nation of liberty and justice for all. 

It is vital that America, a nation that has done so much to advance equality for 

women, houses the National Women's History Museum to celebrate the deep and 

lasting impact women have made. This legislation will provide a blueprint of steps to 

take in order to finally honor 51 % of our population. I am certain that you would agree 

with me that women are worthy of being recognized as one our national treasures. 

Passing this legislation is the right thing for Congress to do. 

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Thank you again for this opportunity to testify. I would be happy to answer any 

questions. 

7 
43 

The CHAIRMAN. As has been mentioned, and certainly with our 

first panel as well and my opening statement, Ms. Lofgren as well, 

I think we all have concerns about the budget constraints and the 

money, where is the money coming from. And, you know, in this 

town everything—every conversation really ratchets off that. So I 

think certainly it is certainly refreshing to hear that the women’s 

history museum could be solely funded by private contributions. 

I guess I would like to just explore that a bit more with you, because that is probably the biggest stumbling block, I think, that 

we—well, we have got a couple, but certainly that, a marquis issue 

as we go forward. So could you talk a little bit about how confident 

you are in assessment for not only the construction of it, but the 

maintenance of it? 

And then as we look at legislation, certainly one of the things is 

you don’t want something to go off infinitum; you would like to 

have a start and a conclusion, a timeframe, et cetera, for it, or even 

thinking about the possibility of putting a sunset provision in there 

or some sort of constraints to make sure that there is a matrix, an 

accountability matrix, to make sure the project is moving along. 

What are some of your thoughts on that? 

Ms. WAGES. We have studied, talked to, worked with various consultants and experts in the field of building museums, so we would 

hope to be able to build a museum between 400- and $500 million. 

I think that that is kind of the going price. And that would include 

the exhibits, the interior, as well as the construction of the museum. It appears that annual operating will be around 15- to $20 

million a year. 

Again, we have talked to many experts. We believe that representing over half of the Nation’s population and then the other 

half who love their mother are going to come in and contribute to 

the building of this museum. 

So we believe that the resources are there. We have worked to 

put together—we have a fundraising plan that if you pass this bill 

today, we could start working tomorrow. We would celebrate tonight, but we would start working tomorrow. 

The CHAIRMAN. First celebrate, then work, right? 

Ms. WAGES. Celebrate then work, yes. 

The CHAIRMAN. That is right. 

Ms. WAGES. And so we feel quite confident that—we have raised 

more money to this point than any other museum has at this stage 

in their development. And we get—again, we have 50,000 charter 

members. We get thousands of letters from women saying, I 

worked my entire career, and I didn’t get the respect or I didn’t get 

the opportunity that I could have and should have had. And so 

those women are now towards the point of retirement and looking 

at where they want to leave bequests and those types of things. 

So there is a tremendous opportunity here, and we believe that 

we can make this happen. 

The CHAIRMAN. You know, the other issue as well, as we said, 

the money certainly, but then the location. And obviously the Mall, 

everybody wants to be on the Mall, and that has always been—we 

have obviously a very limited amount of space there. And I know 

you have had some experience on your journey here all of these 

years of looking at other sites rather than the Mall, but maybe in 


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the Capital City here, maybe even in some other location that has 

some significant event, a women’s event or something. Maybe you 

could speak a little bit to what your thoughts are of the location 

of such a museum. 

Ms. WAGES. We have looked at more than 40 locations, private 

and government owned, and it comes down to where will the most 

people visit the museum; where would we locate the museum in 

order to have the greatest impact. I mean, after working on it for 

this long, we certainly want to make sure that it is a success, and 

that millions of people are coming to this museum, so that narrows 

it down pretty quickly to something that is on or very, very close 

to the National Mall. 

And as you said, there is limited space on the Mall, but we even 

have a historical justification for why we should be there—the African American Museum is now under construction, African American men were the next to the last to be granted the vote, and 

women were the last to be granted the vote, and so that last spot 

is just being saved for us. 

The CHAIRMAN. Very good. 

Ms. WAGES. Yeah. Thank you. 

The CHAIRMAN. Very good answer. 

With that, the chair recognizes the gentlelady from California for 

her questions. 

Ms. LOFGREN. Thank you, Madam Chair. 

And before asking anything, let me just express my thanks to 

you for your years of work for this on behalf of the people of our 

wonderful country; not only this, but your efforts in the portrait 

monument. You know, it is all very meaningful, and we are grateful to you. 

You know, thinking about location, I do agree that a spot on or 

near the Mall would be ideal. What I am wondering is we have got 

a moving target in some ways. I mean, for example, the FBI is 

going to be vacating its spot. We had a hearing—I was unable to 

go because of a conflict with the Judiciary Committee—and I don’t 

think we are ready to move yet on the printing office, but certainly 

the requirement for space is very different in the digital world than 

it has been in the past. So I am just suggesting that there are some 

publicly owned facilities that we need to think about as we think 

about what to do with our museum needs. Obviously we are going 

to have to need a space for the American Latino project as well, 

and we certainly want to do everything. 

So have you looked at those outlying efforts for facilities that 

could become available? 

Ms. WAGES. We have. We keep our fingers on the pulse through 

our advisors and consultants, and so we are aware of the FBI 

building coming down. Also a little bit further out is the 10th 

Street corridor, that may be renovated. And so we are not opposed 

to talking about any of these locations. 

Ms. LOFGREN. The other question I have has to do with governance. Now, the Smithsonian has a specific governance structure 

which it follows in its museums. There is a board of regents, the 

secretary, museum advisory board, museum director. Is that something that you are envisioning for this museum? 


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Ms. WAGES. We envisioned that we would definitely have an advisory board and a board, depending on what the ultimate structure is. So we have looked at Smithsonian’s structure. I mean, they 

largely have that structure because they are a quasi-government 

entity, and we have been looking at being a private entity, but if 

an opportunity opened to become part of the Smithsonian family, 

we would certainly welcome the opportunity to discuss it. 

Our largest concern around that are the funds that Congress 

needs to allocate to Smithsonian entities, so if there is a way that 

we could have the best of all worlds, a quasi-Smithsonian privately 

funded, we would, you know, be thrilled to discuss that. 

Ms. LOFGREN. Well, that could be difficult, but as far as we are 

concerned, nothing is impossible. So I do think, you know, it is important that, as with the most of the museums, that this be available on a free basis to the public, if at all possible. And one of the 

great things about visitors coming to Washington, and you can contrast it to going to other world capitals where you have to pay a 

lot of money, here you can see the children coming in, it is available to the American public, which is something we want to preserve, and I know you wish to as well. So as we move forward, I 

think we are going to have to be creative about how we do a blended approach, and I know that your commitment and creativity will 

be key to that. 

So I don’t have further questions except just to say thank you for 

all you have done, but, even more, thank you for what you are continuing to do. 

I yield back. 

The CHAIRMAN. The chair certainly thanks the gentlelady for her 

questions and comments, and we certainly want to thank you as 

well. And just a couple of not questions really, but follow-on comments about the two biggest stumbling blocks you have here. 

And as Ms. Lofgren was mentioning about the Government 

Printing Office, we actually had a hearing here just last week 

about that and their spot, which is an excellent location, as you 

know, right next to the Senate there. I think they were saying they 

have 75,000 square foot of space almost immediately available for 

lease. I am just saying, picking up on some of the areas that are 

in the immediate vicinity here, that keeping an open mind of 

where, that is something I think this committee would be very 

looking forward to working with you on, identifying various locations. 

And then I think also, and certainly in regards to the funding, 

the funding level, and as you mentioned, in a perfect world what 

would be optimal really where you had a sort of partnership, a 

really public-private partnership—— 

Ms. WAGES. Right. 

The CHAIRMAN [continuing]. If you will. I tell you, that really is 

the wave of the future in so many things that government does. I 

also sit on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and 

as we are looking at a 5-year reauthorization of how we rebuild 

this Nation’s infrastructure with roads and bridges and everything 

else, you see that there are so many areas where government just 

doesn’t have the funding for everything. We need to enter into pubVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:43 Mar 04, 2014 Jkt 086692 PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\B692.XXX B692

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lic-private agreements for all kinds of different areas. This may be, 

again, women being on the leading edge of all of these things. 

Ms. WAGES. Trendsetters. 

The CHAIRMAN. We are trendsetters, right? 

So just another area, I think, where it is great you have a really 

open mind on how some of these things could possibly happen, because where there is a will, there certainly is a way, there is a way 

forward, and that is really the impetus of this hearing. And so I 

think it has been an excellent hearing. We got a lot of ideas out 

on the table, and I look forward to this committee continuing to 

work on this issue. Thank you so very much. 

Ms. WAGES. Thank you. 

The CHAIRMAN. And without objection, I would say all Members 

will have 5 legislative days to submit to the chair additional written questions for the witnesses, which we will forward and ask the 

witnesses to respond to as promptly as they can so that their answers can be made part of the record if there are any further questions. 

And with that, the hearing is adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 11:30 a.m., the committee was adjourned.] 

[Written questions and answers for the record follow:] 


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CANDICE S. MILLER, MICHIGAN 

CHAIRMAN 

(ougtt~~ of tbt Wuittb ~tatt~ 

~ouStOf)ttpttStntltib~ 

COMMITTEE ON HOUSE 

ADMINISTRA TlON 

ROBERT A. BRADY, PENNSYLVANIA 

RANKING MINORITY MEMBER 

GREGG HARPER, MISSISSIPPI 

PHIL GINGREY, GEORGIA 

AARON SCHOCK,ILLINOIS 

TODD ROKITA. INDIANA 

ZOE LOFGREN, CALIFORNIA 

JUAN VARGAS, CALIFORNIA 

ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH 

RICH NUGENT, FLORIDA CONGRESS 

SEAN MORAN, STAFF DIRECTOR 1309 Longworth House Office Building 

Washington, D.C. 20515-6157 

(202) 225-8281 

http://cha.house,gov 

KYLE ANDERSON, MINORITY 8r AFF 

DIRECTOR 

Ms. Joan Bradley Wages 

President and CEO 

National Women's History Museum 

205 S. Whiting Street Suite 254 

Alexandria, VA 22304 

Dear Ms. Wages, 

January 28,2014 

Thank you for testifYing during the December II, 2013 Committee on House Administration 

Hearing on "Establishing a Commission to Stndy the Potential Creation of a National Women's 

History Museum." The Committee requests you respond to additional questions that will be made 

part of the hearing record. Please provide your responses to the following questions to the Committee 

by February 11,2014. 

I. Identifying both ingredients for success and obstacles in creating a museum can help inform a 

commission's work. What do you see as some key ingredients to creating a successful 

museum and generating public interest in it? What do you envision as the greatest challenges 

in establishing a museum? 

2. There are a number of other museums and centers dedicated to women's history and 

contributions such as the National Museum of Women in the Arts and the U.S. Army 

Women's Museum. Do you have any recommendations tor how a potential new national 

museum of women's history can prevent overlap with these entities and best leverage these 

resources? 

3. How has your organization approached collections development? What lessons has your 

organization learned that could help a potential new museum develop a national collection 

representing the full spectrum of women's history and contributions? 
48 


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4. In your opinion, why is it preferable to establish a separate women's history museum rather 

than push for highlighting and more fully integrating women's contributions and history into 

existing Smithsonian museums? 

If you have any questions concerning this matter. please feel free to contact Yael Barash on the 

Committee staff at (202) 225-8281. Thank you again for your testimony, we look forward to hearing 

from you. 

Sincerely Yours, 

C~!!!!dkJ Chainnan 
49 


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Z NATIONAL 

:e WOMEN'S 

:::J: HISTORY 

s: MUSEUM 

February 2, 2014 

The Honorable Candice Miller 

Chairman 

Committee on House Administration 

1309 Longworth House Office Building 

Washington, DC 20515-6157 

Dear Chairman Miller: 

Thank you again for inviting me to testify at the December II, 2013 hearing ("Establishing a Commission 

to Study the Potential Creation of a National Women's History Museum (NWHM)"). As President of 

NWHM, I greatly appreciated the opportuuity to present the importance and critical need for a national 

women's history museum, to commemorate women's history and to illuminate the role of women in 

society. I am pleased to provide our responses to the written questions for the record that have been 

posed. 

I. Identifying both ingredients for success and obstacles in creating a museum can help 

inform a commission's work. What do you see as some key ingredients to creating a 

successful museum and generating public interest in it? What do you envision as the 

greatest challenges in establishing a museum? 

Response: The paramount function of a women's history museum will be to provide 

valuable and relevant learning opportunities to the public, so the first ingredient for a 

museum's success is to understand its position in the current, and future, public 

education environment. The formal U.S. educational system is on the cusp of 

profound transformation as it moves-propelled by new technologies-toward a 

future of open, collaborative, and self-directed learning.' The museum, as a form of 

interactive and elective education, will be a crucial player in this shift.' An effective 

women's history museum will position itself on the cutting edge of those changes, as 

the National Women's History Museum already is through our Interpretive and 

Strategic Planning. NWHM also stays abreast of these trends through a variety of 

advisors from industry, academia, and politics-for example, The Center for the 

Future of Museums at the American Alliance of Museums, an organization which 

represents the interest of tens of thousands of U.S. museums. 

To maximize its impact and to generate public interest, a women's history museum 

I Kratz, Scott, and Elizabeth Merritt. "Museums and the future of education." On The Horizon 19, no. 3 (2011): \88-

95. 

'Ibid. 

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will need to be (\) relevant and (2) accessible. A national women's history museum 

will provide contextualized content that is personal and applicable-relevant-to all 

of its audiences. J 

(1) Relevancy 

Our future hinges on the empowerment and equal inclusion of women in every 

aspect of our society. We've seen what women can accomplish with a seat at the 

table; one needs to look no nllther than the actions of our admirable female 

senators last October to know this.' And yet, women still earn only 77 cents for 

every dollar a man makes, a figure which has not budged with any statistical 

significance since 2007; we still have a long way to go.' Knowledge of women's 

history is extraordinarily relevant to all of our citizens-male and female--as we 

attempt to become a nation that provides equal opportunity for men and women. 

In light of this, NWHM is identifying our varied and expansive audiences, and 

the Museum will provide content and experiences that are relevant to their 

diverse lives and futures. For example: young girls-that is, half of our future 

workforce--are consistently marginalized by gendered stereotypes about what 

fields offer them advancement, and what their success looks Iike6 Female role 

models can help mitigate the debilitating effects of this stereotype threat. 7 At 

present, however, young girls simply don't have access to those empowering role 

models in studies of their history, and NWHM is working to fill that void.s As a 

facilitator of empowering and relevant learning, a women's history museum will 

help to break down those constructed and internalized barriers for both young 

girls and young boys. 

3 Ferren, Bran. "The Future of Museums: Asking the Right Questions." The Journal of Museum Education 22, no. I 

(Winter 1997): 3-7. 

4 Weisman, Jonathan, and Jennifer Steinhauer. "Senate Women Lead in Effort to Find Accord." The New York 

Times, October 15, 2013, sec. A, p. 1. Bassett, Laura. "Men Got Us Into The Shutdown, Women Got Us 

Out." HujJington Post, October 16,2013. 

'DeNavas-Walt, Carmen, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Jessica C. Smith. 2013U.S Census Bureau, Current Population 

Reports, P60-245. Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States; 2012. Washington, D.C.: 

U.S. Goverrunent Printing Office, 2013. 

6 Spencer, Steven, Claude Steele, and Diane Quinn. "Stereotype threat and women's math performance." Journal of 

Experimental Social Psychology 35, no. I (January 1999): 4-28. Hill, Catherine, Christianne Corbett, and Andresse 

SI. Rose. "Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics." American Association of 

University Women (2008). 

7 Marx, David M., and Jasmin S. Roman. "Female Role Models: Protecting Women's Math Test Performance." Pers 

Soc Psychol Bu1/28, no. 9 (September 2002): 1183-93. Young, Danielle M., Laurie A. Rudman, Helen M. Buettner, 

and Meghan C. McLean. "The Influence of Female Role Models on Women's Implicit Science 

Cognitions." Psychology of Women Quarterly 37, no. 3 (September 2013): 283-92. McIntyre, Rusty B., Rene M. 

Paulson, Cheryl A. Taylor, Amanda L. Morin, and Charles G. Lord. "Effects of role model deservingness on 

overcoming performance deficits induced by stereotype threat." European Journal of Social Psychology41, no. 3 

(April 2011): 301-11. 

8 Chick, Kay A. "Gender Balance in K-12 American History Textbooks." Social Studies Research and Practice I, 

no. 3 (Winter 2006). Sadker, Myra, and David Sadker. Failing atfairness: How America's schools cheat girls. New 

York: Charles Scribners Sons, 1994. Clark, Roger, Jeffrey Allard, and Timothy Mahoney. "How Much of the Sky? 

Women in American High School History Textbooks from the 1960s, 1980s and 19908." Social Education 68, no. 1 

(January 2004): 57-62. American Association of University Women. How Schools Shortchange Girls: The AAUW 

Report: A Study of Major Findings on Girls and Education. Washington, D.C.: Marlowe & Company, 1995. 

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(2) Accessibility 

The production of relevant content, however, will be for naught if it isn't widely 

accessible.9 The accessibility is determined by a number off actors-not only 

physical accessibility, but virtual, emotional, and intellectual accessibility as 

well. As a facilitator of relevant, contextualized learning for a variety of 

audiences, a women's history museum must make this knowledge readily 

available to those audiences. 

In our Interpretive and Strategic Planning, NWHM is already grappling with 

questions of accessibility. Are our programs, and our web presence, handicap 

accessible? Is our online content optimized for any kind of device, including 

mobile? Does the content of our exhibits have multiple entry and exit points for 

audiences of varied ages and lived experiences?'0 The ultimate form of 

accessibility is, of course, a physical building. To maximize access, a national 

women's history museum must have a home in the most accessible location of 

our nation's capital: the National Mall. Securing an accessible location is a 

critical challenge. 

These are the two foremost challenges facing the NWHM: passage of effective legislation 

authorizing the establishment of the NWHM along with on-site acquisition, and raising the funds 

necessary to underwrite the design, construction and operations, with curatorial support, of a 

world-class museum. Several fundraising professionals with capital campaign experience have 

expressed their confidence that we can secure the needed financial resources based on two critical 

factors: (1) women control 62% of financial wealth in the United States and (2) a national 

women's history museum will provide a relevant and transformative experience for all 

Americans, men as well as women. Our internal and external advisors conclnde that securing a 

site will generate a rigorous capital campaign. 

Legislatively, there is ever-growing, strong bi-partisan support by members of Congress. The 

latest legislative efforts include a House and Senate bill authorizing the study of the creation of a 

national women's history museum. Since legislative efforts began in 2004, there have been 10 

bills introduced with co-sponsorship of 288 members of congress, 183 members of the House, 

and 105 members of the Senate. Two bills passed the full Senate, and one bill passed the House. 

NWHM enjoys the support of 51 national women's service organizations, representing 8 million 

members, and over the years, over 200 members of Congress have served as honorary board 

members. 

2. There are a number of other museums and centers dedicated to women's history 

and contributions such as the National Museum of Women in the Arts and the 

U.S. Army Women's Museum. Do you have any recommendations for how a 

potential new national museum of women's history can prevent overlap with these 

entities and best leverage these resources? 

Response: While there are museums that focus on specific aspects of women's history (i.e. 

women in art and women in the military), there is no major museum that covers the full breadth 

of women's history in the United States. The National Women's History Museum has 

relationships with the National Museum of Women in the Arts and the Women in the Military 

9 Falk, John, and Lynn Dierking. The Museum Experience Revisited. Walnut Creek: Left Coast Press, 2012. 

10 Ibid. 

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Memorial and has partnered with both organizations on temporary exhibits. Of the 76 museums, 

memorials, statues, and commemoratives, in the Washington metropolitan area, three are 

dedicated to women. A vast majority of these 73 entities honor historic figures who 

distinguished themselves in idealism, inventions, innovations, art and culture. Many such 

facilities honor sacrifices which helped this country grow and prosper. The role of women in 

these endeavors is simply not presented. The contributions of women in science such as the 

development of COBOL, the basic computer operating code, were created by Admiral Grace 

Hopper. Actress Hedy Lamarr co-invented a frequency-hopping device that is the basis for our 

current WIFI and GPS. From inventing the washing machine to being a spy during the Civil War, 

there is a tremendous amount of women's history that has yet to be introduced to the American 

public, and as such, an overlap of exhibits is quite unlikely. 

It would be of no benefit to NWHM to replicate existing exhibits or programs. Novel 

exhibits that capture one's imagination would be of greater interest. NWHM is dedicated to 

enhancing and complimenting, rather than duplicating, what is available to the public. NWHM 

would envision being a clearinghouse on women's history topics for programs and exhibitions 

similar to the role of Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibits, Affiliates, and Museum on Main 

Street. 

3. How has your organization approached collections development? What lessons 

has your organization learned that could help a potential new museum develop a 

national collection representing the full spectrum of women's history and 

contributions? 

Response: 

NWHM does not have a curator and has not designed the museum content. Consequently, we 

have accepted very few artifacts. The Museum currently houses an exhibit consisting of seventy 

objects that serves as a "preview" of future exhibits. 

NWHM is regularly contacted by individuals and organizations seeking a home for papers and 

artifacts on women's history. For the most part, these offers are declined but it is clear to us that 

there are few organizations that will accept women's history collections. Materials that could be 

interpreted from a women's history perspective are used in other exhibits. 

As a national museum, there will be the opportunity to tell a national story while regional 

museums are only able to tell a local one. In addition, the NWHM website has a feature entitled 

"Chronicles of American Women" where members of the Museum can tell the story of their lives. 

These stories are proof that history is made by everyday women, not just the famous ones. 

Some museums are created from an existing collection such as the National Museum of the 

American Indian. Other museums plan the story of the museum and obtain artifacts to tell that 

story. NWHM will fall in the second category like the African American Museum of History and 

Culture which had no artifacts for its exhibits when its legislation passed Congress seven years 

ago. After their site was selected and they began developing the museum program, the museum 

conducted an artifacts roadshow and as a result, has 30,000 objects in its collection. NWHM will 

develop a collections plan once Congress authorizes a permanent site. 

Smithsonian's American History Museum as well as many organizations throughout the U.S. 

such as Business and Professional Women, General Federation of Women's Clubs, Red Cross 

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and The Alice Paul Institute own a multitude of objects related to women's history. In addition, 

there are numerous large and small private collections. Besides acquiring a permanent collection, 

NWHM could borrow objects for exhibits from other collections. In short, there are multiple 

ways NWHM can and will secure objects for exhibits. 

4. In your opinion, why is it preferable to establish a separate women's history museum rather than 

push for highlighting and more fully integrating women's contributions and history into existing 

Smithsonian museums? 

Response: Currently, there are some aspects of women's history represented in the Smithsonian 

museums, but it is spread out and does not highlight the many ways in which women contributed 

to building and shaping this nation. Space within the Smithsonian Museums is already limited --

women's history would have to compete with many other issues and as one curator has said, 

"when it comes to a fight for the dollars, women's history loses." Consequently, women's history 

becomes a sidebar to the main story of such museums. Clearly, a dedicated building is needed to 

ensure that women's history has a prominent place among the community of museums in 

Washington, DC. 

We appreciate this opportunity to respond to questions and would be happy to provide any additional 

information. Please feel free to contact me at 703-461-1920 should you have any questions or concerns. 

Joan Wages 

President & CEO 

205 S. Whiting Street. Suite 254 I Alexandria, VA 22304 I T (703) 461-1920 I F (7031636-2668 I www.nwhm.org