III 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 563 

Designating March 2020 as ‘‘National Women’s History Month’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 6, 2020 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Ms. HIRONO, Ms. CORTEZ

MASTO, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. CASEY, Mr. COONS, Mr. 

BOOKER, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. KAINE, Ms. WARREN, 

Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. PETERS, Mr. CARPER, Mr. 

CARDIN, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. BROWN, Mr. KING, Mr. JONES, Mr. 

MENENDEZ, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. REED, Mr. MERKLEY, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. 

ROSEN, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. WYDEN, Ms. COLLINS, Mrs. HYDE-SMITH, 

Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mrs. LOEFFLER, Mr. DURBIN, and Ms. ERNST) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Designating March 2020 as ‘‘National Women’s History 

Month’’. 

Whereas National Women’s History Month recognizes and 

spreads awareness of the importance of women in the history of the United States; 

Whereas, throughout the history of the United States, whether in their homes, in their workplaces, in schools, in the 

courts, or during wartime, women have fought for themselves, their families, and all people of the United States; 

Whereas, even from the early days of the history of the 

United States, Abigail Adams urged her husband to ‘‘ReVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:11 May 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR563.ATS SR563

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member the Ladies’’ when representatives met for the 

Continental Congress in 1776; 

Whereas women were particularly important in the establishment of early charitable, philanthropic, and cultural institutions in the United States; 

Whereas women led the efforts to secure suffrage and equal 

opportunities for women, and also served in the abolitionist movement, the emancipation movement, labor 

movements, civil rights movements, and other causes to 

create a more fair and just society for all; 

Whereas suffragists wrote, marched, were arrested, and ultimately succeeded in achieving— 

(1) the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the 

Constitution of the United States, which provides, ‘‘The 

right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be 

denied or abridged by the United States or by any State 

on account of sex.’’; and 

(2) the enactment of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 

(52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.), which extended the protection 

of the right to vote to women of color and language minorities; 

Whereas, in 2020, the United States celebrates the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to 

the Constitution of the United States, which guarantees 

women the constitutional right to vote; 

Whereas women have been and continue to be leaders in the 

forefront of social change efforts, business, science, government, math, art, literature, music, film, athletics, and 

other fields; 

Whereas women now represent approximately half of the 

workforce of the United States; 


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Whereas women once were routinely barred from attending 

medical schools in the United States, but now are enrolling in medical schools in the United States at higher 

numbers than men; 

Whereas women previously were turned away from law 

school, but now represent approximately half of law students in the United States; 

Whereas, since the American Revolution, women have been 

vital to the mission of the Armed Forces, with more than 

200,000 women serving on active duty and 2,000,000 

women veterans representing every branch of service; 

Whereas more than 10,000,000 women own businesses in the 

United States; 

Whereas Jeannette Rankin of Montana was the first woman 

elected to the House of Representatives in 1916 and Hattie Wyatt Caraway of Arkansas was the first woman 

elected to the United States Senate in 1932; 

Whereas Margaret Chase Smith of Maine was the first 

woman to serve in both Houses of Congress; 

Whereas, in 2020, a record total of 131 women are serving 

in Congress, including 105 women in the House of Representatives and 26 women in the Senate; 

Whereas President Jimmy Carter recognized March 2 

through 8, 1980, as ‘‘National Women’s History Week’’; 

Whereas, in 1987, a bipartisan group of Senators introduced 

the first joint resolution to pass Congress designating 

‘‘Women’s History Month’’; 

Whereas, in 1987, President Ronald Reagan issued a Presidential proclamation proclaiming March 1987 as ‘‘Women’s History Month’’; and 


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Whereas, despite the advancements of women in the United 

States, much remains to be done to ensure that women 

realize their full potential as equal members of society in 

the United States: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) designates March 2020 as ‘‘National Wom3 en’s History Month’’; 

4 (2) recognizes the celebration of National Wom5 en’s History Month as a time to reflect on the many 

6 notable contributions that women have made to the 

7 United States; and 

8 (3) urges the people of the United States to ob9 serve National Women’s History Month with appro10 priate programs and activities. 

Æ 


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