SECOND REGULAR SESSION

House Concurrent Resolution No. 47

93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

5717L.01I

      Whereas, in 1987 Congress declared March to serve as "Women's History Month" to acknowledge the important role women have played in shaping America; and

            Whereas, although women constitute a majority of the nation's population, women's achievements and contributions are underrepresented in museums and memorials; and

            Whereas, in 1999 the President's Commission on the Celebration of Women in American History called for a women's history museum to be established on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.; and

            Whereas, the National Women's History Museum (NWHM), founded in 1996, is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, educational institution dedicated to preserving, interpreting, and celebrating the diverse historic contributions of women, and integrating the heritage of women fully into this nation's history; and

            Whereas, the NWHM has identified a site for the museum near the National Mall - the Pavilion Annex of the Old Post Office Building located on Pennsylvania Avenue, in close proximity to the White House and the United States Capitol Building; and

            Whereas, the Pavilion Annex has been vacant since 1992 and the NWHM has raised the funds needed from private donors to sign a 99-year lease for this building and open a museum; and

            Whereas, the United States Senate voted unanimously in favor of S.501, the National Women's History Museum Act of 2005, a bill that directs the General Services Administration to enter into a long-term lease with the NWHM for federal property that has been vacant since 1992; and

            Whereas, the NWHM will showcase the full history of women in the United States and the contributions they have made and continue to make in the marketplace, arts and sciences, government, entertainment, education, home, and community; and

            Whereas, the National Foundation for Women Legislators (NFWL) is an official member so the Coalition to support the efforts of the NWHM to establish a permanent residence on the National Mall, the most prominent location for museums to be situated in the nation's capital, and NFWL has been specifically charged with the responsibility of asking the United States House of Representatives to support these efforts:

            Now, therefore, be it resolved that the members of the House of Representatives of the Ninety-third General Assembly, Second Regular Session, the Senate concurring therein, hereby urges the United States Congress to support the National Women's History Museum's efforts to secure the Pavilion Annex with a lease through the General Services Administration to open a museum that will highlight the important role women have played in shaping this great nation; and

            Be it further resolved that the Chief Clerk of the Missouri House of Representatives be instructed to prepare properly inscribed copies of this resolution for each member of the Missouri Congressional Delegation.