IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1133 
Honoring the life and legacy of Coya Knutson. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 21, 2020 
Mr. PETERSON (for himself, Mr. HAGEDORN, Ms. CRAIG, Mr. PHILLIPS, Ms. 
MCCOLLUM, Ms. OMAR, Mr. EMMER, and Mr. STAUBER) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on House Ad-
ministration 
RESOLUTION 
Honoring the life and legacy of Coya Knutson. 
Whereas Cornelia Genevive Gjesdal ‘‘Coya’’ Knutson was 
born on August 22, 1912, in Edmore, North Dakota; 
Whereas Coya Gjesdal graduated from Concordia College in 
Moorhead, Minnesota, with majors in English and Music 
and a minor in Education; 
Whereas Coya Gjesdal married Andy Knutson in 1940 and 
later adopted a son; 
Whereas Coya Knutson was involved in her community, work-
ing as a teacher, volunteering, establishing a medical clin-
ic, and serving on the Red Lake County Welfare Board; 
Whereas Coya Knutson was elected to the House of Rep-
resentatives of Minnesota in 1950; 
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•HRES 1133 IH 
Whereas State Representative Knutson supported health and 
education initiatives and sponsored the first clean air bill 
in Minnesota, which prohibited smoking in some public 
places; 
Whereas, in 1954, Coya Knutson won a seat in the House 
of Representatives of the United States, despite having 
lost the nomination of her party to a man; 
Whereas Coya Knutson became the first woman elected to 
Congress from Minnesota; 
Whereas Congresswoman Knutson became the first woman to 
be appointed to the Committee on Agriculture of the 
House of Representatives; 
Whereas Congresswoman Knutson sponsored legislation that 
eventually led to expanded school lunch assistance, the 
first Federal student loan program, and the first appro-
priations for research on cystic fibrosis; 
Whereas Congresswoman Knutson’s husband did not support 
her career and reportedly wrote a public letter in 1958 
ordering her to return to Minnesota to ‘‘make a home for 
[her] son and husband’’; 
Whereas the story of the letter was taken up by the national 
press, with newspapers across the United States running 
the headline ‘‘Coya, Come Home’’; 
Whereas Coya Knutson lost reelection in 1958 to a man 
whose campaign slogan was ‘‘A Big Man for a Man-Sized 
Job’’; 
Whereas Coya Knutson eventually divorced her husband, 
moved permanently to Washington, DC, and was ap-
pointed by President Kennedy to be the liaison officer in 
the Office of Civil Defense at the Department of Defense, 
where she served until 1970; 
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•HRES 1133 IH 
Whereas Coya Knutson retired from politics and moved back 
to Minnesota to live with her son and his family until her 
death in 1996 at 82 years of age; and 
Whereas Coya Knutson was a trailblazer and an inspiration 
who was devoted to her community, State, and country: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives honors 
the life and legacy of Coya Knutson, whose dedication to 
overcoming exceptional odds and devotion to the well-being 
of the United States shall serve as an inspiration for gen-
erations of individuals in the United States. 
Æ 
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