I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1246

To create a National Museum of Women’s History Advisory Committee.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 24, 1999

Mrs. MALONEY of New York (for herself, Ms. PRYCE of Ohio, Ms. NORTON,

Mrs. ROUKEMA, Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. ALLEN, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr.

BERMAN, Mr. BISHOP, Mr. BROWN of California, Mr. BROWN of Ohio,

Mr. CUMMINGS, Ms. DUNN, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mrs. JONES of Ohio,

Ms. MCKINNEY, Mr. FARR of California, Mr. FILNER, Mr. FROST, Mr.

GREEN of Texas, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. KUCINICH,

Ms. LEE, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mrs. MEEK of Florida,

Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mrs. MINK of Hawaii, Mrs. MORELLA, Ms.

ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. RUSH, Mr. SHOWS, Ms. STABENOW, Mrs. THURMAN, Mr. TOWNS, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. VENTO, Mr. VISCLOSKY, Ms.

WOOLSEY, Mr. WYNN, and Mr. GALLEGLY) introduced the following bill;

which was referred to the Committee on Resources

A BILL

To create a National Museum of Women’s History Advisory

Committee.

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

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

4 Congress makes the following findings:
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1 (1) A national institution in Washington, Dis2 trict of Columbia, the Nation’s Capital, that is dedi3 cated to the heritage of women does not exist.

4 (2) In the 34-year period beginning with 1963,

5 only 2 exhibits were authorized on women’s history

6 at the National Museum of American History.

7 (3) Less than 5 percent of the Nation’s 2,200

8 National Historic Landmarks are dedicated to

9 women, and there are only 40 public outdoor statues

10 of American women in our Nation.

11 (4) The historic contributions of women to civ12 ilization and to our Nation have gone unnoted or are

13 misunderstood, leaving a gap in our Nation’s histor14 ical record.

15 (5) Knowledge of one’s heritage is critical in de16 veloping a personal sense of competence and poten17 tial.

18 (6) Lack of appreciation for women’s historic

19 contributions leads to a lack of value, understanding,

20 and respect for women and girls, and invites dis21 crimination or violence against females.

22 (7) A National Museum of Women’s History is

23 needed to profile the specific achievements that indi24 vidual women have made to all aspects of human en25 deavor, and to explore and celebrate the contribu-
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1 tions that women have made in their various roles

2 in family and society.

3 SEC. 2. ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

4 There is established an advisory committee to be

5 known as the National Museum of Women’s History Advi6 sory Committee (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Advisory

7 Committee’’).

8 SEC. 3. MEMBERSHIP.

9 (a) COMPOSITION.—The Advisory Committee shall be

10 composed of 5 ex officio nonvoting members and 21 voting

11 members.

12 (b) EX OFFICIO NONVOTING MEMBERS.—The Advi13 sory Committee shall be composed of 5 ex officio non14 voting members, of whom—

15 (1) 1 member shall be appointed by the Presi16 dent;

17 (2) 1 member shall be appointed by the Sec18 retary of the Interior;

19 (3) 1 member shall be appointed by the Admin20 istrator of General Services;

21 (4) 1 member shall be appointed by the Sec22 retary of Commerce; and

23 (5) 1 member shall be appointed by the Sec24 retary of Education.
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1 (c) VOTING MEMBERS.—The Advisory Committee

2 shall be composed of 21 voting members, of whom—

3 (1) 1 member shall be appointed by the Speak4 er of the House of Representatives, from among the

5 Members of the House of Representatives;

6 (2) 1 member shall be appointed by the Minor7 ity Leader of the House of Representatives, from

8 among the Members of the House of Representa9 tives;

10 (3) 1 member shall be appointed by the Major11 ity Leader of the Senate, from among the Members

12 of the Senate;

13 (4) 1 member shall be appointed by the Minor14 ity Leader of the Senate, from among the Members

15 of the Senate;

16 (5) 5 members shall be appointed by the Presi17 dent of the National Museum of Women’s History,

18 Inc., from among the founding members of such

19 Board or the members of such Board; and

20 (6) 12 members shall be appointed by the

21 President of the National Museum of Women’s His22 tory, Inc., in consultation with the Secretary of the

23 Interior, from among private citizens who can con24 tribute to the success of the Advisory Committee as

25 determined by such President—
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1 (A) at least 5 of whom shall be appointed

2 after consultation with the Organization of

3 American Historians, the American Studies As4 sociation, the American Historical Associations,

5 the Women’s Studies Association, the American

6 Association of Museums, and other interested

7 academic or professional organizations; and

8 (B) at least 2 of whom shall be appointed

9 on the basis of their expertise in financial mat10 ters.

11 (d) TIMELINE.—Members of the Advisory Committee

12 shall be appointed not later than 30 days after the date

13 of enactment of this Act.

14 (e) LIMITATION.—Effective 30 days after the date of

15 enactment of this Act, and notwithstanding subsections

16 (a) through (d), the failure of an appointing authority to

17 appoint a member under subsection (b), or under para18 graph (1), (2), (3), or (4) of subsection (c), shall not affect

19 the ability of the Advisory Committee to meet and carry

20 out the functions of the Committee under this Act.

21 SEC. 4. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.

22 (a) STUDY.—The Advisory Committee shall conduct

23 a thorough study of all matters relating to—
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1 (1) identifying and recommending a site for the

2 National Museum of Women’s History in Wash3 ington, District of Columbia;

4 (2) developing a business plan for the creation

5 and maintenance of the National Museum of Wom6 en’s History, which shall be funded solely through

7 private contributions by the American people; and

8 (3) assisting with respect to the collection and

9 programs of the National Museum of Women’s His10 tory.

11 (b) FIRST MEETING.—The Advisory Committee shall

12 hold the first meeting of the Advisory Committee not later

13 than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

14 (c) FINAL REPORT.—The Advisory Committee shall

15 submit a final report to Congress regarding the matters

16 studied under subsection (a) not later than 6 months after

17 the date of the first meeting of the Advisory Committee.

18 SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

19 From amounts available to the Secretary of the Inte20 rior, the Secretary shall provide all necessary administra21 tive services, facilities, support, and funds necessary for

22 the performance of the duties of the Advisory Committee.

23 SEC. 6. COMPENSATION.

24 Each member of the Advisory Committee who is not

25 an officer or employee of the Federal Government may re-
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1 ceive compensation for each day such member is engaged

2 in the performance of the duties of the Advisory Com3 mittee at a daily rate to be determined by the Secretary

4 of the Interior. Such rate shall not exceed the maximum

5 daily rate of pay for a position classified above GS–15

6 under section 5108 of title 5, United States Code.

7 SEC. 7. TRAVEL.

8 Members of the Advisory Committee shall be entitled

9 to travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsist10 ence, as authorized under sections 5702 and 5703 of title

11 5, United States Code, for persons in the Federal Govern12 ment service employed temporarily or intermittently.

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