[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 108 (Tuesday, August 4, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1532]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   WOMEN'S PROGRESS COMMEMORATION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, August 4, 1998

  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to announce the introduction of 
the Women's Progress Commemoration Act, an important bill to help our 
nation preserve the rich heritage of the women's movement.
  Last month, this country marked the 150th anniversary of the first 
Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York. Thousands of 
Americans traveled to Seneca Falls to participate in this celebration. 
We were honored to have First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton help us 
inaugurate this anniversary, as well as having high-ranking women in 
government like Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Secretary of 
Health and Human Services Donna Shalala participate in other aspects of 
the celebration. It is now our duty to ensure that the legacy of this 
event is not simply a week of activities, but a lifetime of education, 
preservation, and restoration.
  Mr. Speaker, for too long, sites central to the history of the 
women's rights movement in our nation have been neglected. Important 
sites like the Susan B. Anthony House in Rochester, the Elizabeth Cady 
Stanton House in Seneca Falls, or the M'Clintock House in nearby 
Waterloo were neglected for years and are in need of restoration. Our 
nation is in danger of losing an irreplaceable chapter in our history 
if these sites are not identified and preserved.
  I am therefore pleased to introduce the Women's Progress 
Commemoration Act. This legislation will establish a 15-person 
commission to review sites of historical significance to the women's 
movement. The commission is directed to identify sites important to the 
women's rights movement and make recommendations for their 
preservation. Within one year of its formation, the commission will 
provide the Secretary of Interior with a list of sites deserving 
recognition and in need of preservation. It will also recommend actions 
to rehabilitate the sites to protect for future generations the 
historical legacy of the movement.
  I am proud to have Representatives Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Lynn 
Woolsey (D-CA) as original cosponsors of this legislation. Senators 
Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and Ted Stevens (R-AK) have introduced a 
companion bill with 18 bipartisan cosponsors.
  As Susan B. Anthony herself noted, ``Men have been faithful in noting 
every heroic act of their half of the race, and now it should be the 
duty, as well as the pleasure, of women to make for future generations 
a record of the heroic deeds of the other half.'' I hope my colleagues 
will join me in supporting this effort to preserve the history of the 
women's rights movement.




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