Date: 2014-03-13
Speaker: CAROLYN B. MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

I thank the gentlelady for giving that overview of the wonderful contributions of women from the great State of Tennessee. and I think it really is historic that the birthplace of the movement for the womens right to vote began in New York and really was completed in the great State of Tennessee. How historic is that? I must say that the great men who built this Nation and shaped our society did not do it alone. I want to tell you about some of the women from the great State of New York. First. I would like to speak about one of my mentors. a great friend. a great leader. Geraldine Ferraro. whose run for Vice President inspired me and countless other women who followed her into office. As a young woman. she demonstrated her extraordinary capacity for hard work and dedication by skipping three grades and graduating high school at the age of 16. After college. she taught second grade in New York public schools and put herself through Fordham Law School at night. After her children were born. she spent 13 years as a homemaker. after which she did something that was unusual at the time: she went back to work as an attorney in the Special Victims Bureau of the New York District Attorneys Office. Later on. she ran for Congress and became an outstanding Member representing Queens. New York. During her three terms in Congress. Ferarro became known as a strong advocate for her district and for issues such as protecting Medicare and Social Security. Then. in 1984. she literally made history when she became the first female candidate for a major party for Vice President. She is a symbol of the possibility that women could achieve their dreams. break the glass ceiling. and aspire to the highest realm in their chosen profession. Ferraro is the type of woman I hope inspires my daughters just as she inspired me. Her life is the story girls and boys should hear when they come to our Nations Capitol. but too often the stories of women are swept under the rug and not remembered. That is why we need this museum. But Geraldine Ferraro would not have had the opportunity to be such an important trailblazer without the hard work of some of the amazing New York suffragettes: Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Susan B. Anthony. and Lucretia Mott. Their statue is in the rotunda of the Capitol. and it was a bill of Connie Morellas and mine to move the women out of the basement into the rightful living room of the Capitol with the countrys other great revolutionary leaders. Stanton met Mott in 1840 when they both were refused seats at the World AntiSlavery Convention in London on account of their sex. It was there that they first discussed the need for a convention to address the condition of women in the United States. This led to the first womens rights convention in Seneca Falls. New York. which was attended by Anthony. Together. they championed the National American Woman Suffrage Association. dedicating their lives to achieving equality and the right to vote for women. The activist work of Cady Stanton. Susan B. Anthony. and Lucretia Mott are the roots under the womens movement in this country. None of them lived to see women gain the right to vote. but it would have been literally impossible without their hard work and dedication. They literally dedicated their lives working daily to raise awareness. build coalitions. and to pass the 19th Amendment. Without their dedication to womens rights. Alice Paul. the author of the Equal Rights Amendment. would not have been inspired to secure a womans right to vote. Alice Paul. incidentally. was a relative of my late husband. Clifton Maloney. from the great State of New Jersey. Without their dedication. I would not have been inspired to continue the work on the amendment to our Constitution which we coauthored to ensure equality for women and men in all areas of society. But there are also countless women whose work has had a tremendous impact on our lives and in our communities. For all intents and purposes. they have been forgotten. Nellie Bly was one of the most influential journalists of the 19th century. She pioneered the field of investigative journalism at a time when our Nation was rapidly undergoing industrialization. She also emulated the voyage of Mr. Fogg. Jules Vernes character made famous in the classic novel. "Around the World in 80 Days." But Bly pointed out. however. that he made the trip in 72 days. While working for Joseph Pulitzers The New York World. Bly went undercover and feigned insanity to report on the deplorable conditions of the Blackwell Island insane asylum. She exposed the horrific physical and emotional cruelty she had seen patients endure. Her work caused an uproar in New York. resulting in more money to help people with mental illnesses and a change in care for the people in the asylum. Blys work helped open the profession to future generations of women journalists who wanted to write hard news rather than the light features in society columns. Lillian Wald. another great New Yorker. was a progressiveera reformer setting the standards for modern social work and community nursing. She left medical school in the 1890s to work with poor immigrant families on New Yorks Lower East Side and founded the Henry Street Settlement. which still serves New Yorkers. and Visiting Nurse Services. which still serves our country and which continues to offer health care and social services to the needy. Wald tirelessly campaigned for the rights of women and minorities and undertook some amazing humanitarian efforts to improve our country helping to found the United States Childrens Bureau. the Womens International League for Peace and Freedom. and the NAACP. The New York Times nominated her as one of the 12 greatest living American women in 1922. and she later received the Lincoln Medallion for her work as an outstanding citizen of New York. There are untold numbers of women like those that I have mentioned who have made great contributions to this Nation. In addition to learning about their specific contributions. we are only now gaining a full understanding of how civilization evolves through the power of feminine values and womens enduring traditions. Nowhere can one find a place for all of these contributions and traditions in one place. That is what we want to accomplish for women. I want to note that there are numerous museums in and around The Mall. We have museums for stamps. We have museums for law and order and for space. We have the great Smithsonian. We have museums for African Americans. We have museums for Indian Americans. and we have museums for the mediathe important media. We have over 22 different museums right in this area. but not one is focusing on the valid and incredibly important contributions of women. They say women hold up half the sky. but where do you find it? It is not in the history books. It is not in the museums. It is nowhere to be found. Now. if all these other museums had sections focused on the contributions of women. maybe we wouldnt need this museum. But they dont. As my daughter used to say when I would read stories to her at night. she would say: Mommy. Mommy. why arent there any stories about girls? Why are all the stories about boys? Cant you read me a story about girls? We dont focus on the contributions of women. There is a woman who rode longer and farther than Paul Revere. and nobody even knows her name. Lets build this museum and talk about her contributions. too. If we and future generations are to learn all the lessons of the past upon which to build a future. we must be aware of the true experiences. the hardships. the successes. and the contributions of women. I have here some people I feel deserve to be in that museum: Sandra Day OConnor. the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court. one of the first elected to serve in the State legislature. an outstanding attorney. Eleanor Roosevelt. from the great State of New York. an outstanding First Lady who helped so many. Rosa Parks. who was tired and decided not to give her seat to a White and started an entire civil rights movement that literally changed this country and the opportunities for all people. and Sally Ride. the great astronaut who went into space. We dont really chronicle the women scientists and the explorers. all these incredibly important women. Marsha. I knowI knowthat we would not have these hearings and we would not have the momentumwe have over 84 cosponsors of our bill now. This would not have happened without your hard work and your leadership. I know she has been reaching out to her colleagues that chair these committees. to the leadership of the majority and others to move this effort forward and to gain momentum. So on behalf of the women I am privileged to represent. I want to thank you for all of your hard work. It is historic.