[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 28 (Tuesday, March 6, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E288-E289]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 RESTORATION OF WOMEN'S CITIZENSHIP ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 6, 2001

  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise on the third day of National Women's 
History Month to reintroduce the Restoration of Women's Citizenship 
Act, legislation that corrects an antiquated law that mars our Nation's 
history.
  In 1922, Rose Bouslacchi, an American citizen, married Conrad 
Sabatini, a tailor by profession and an immigrant from Northern Italy. 
When the couple married, a Federal law existed which stripped women of 
their U.S. citizenship if they married resident alien men, but the law 
did not apply to men. Ironically, a year later the U.S. granted Conrad 
Sabatini the privilege of citizenship while his wife, Rose Bouslacchi, 
lost hers.
  During the course of her life, Rose Bouslacchi reared a family of 
five daughters, each a college graduate and each a contributor to the 
well-being of our Nation. Four became teachers and one became a nurse. 
Rose Bouslacchi was an active member of her church and worked with her 
husband in the running of their business. Her life embodied the values 
of family and faith, representing the best of America. But, Rose 
Bouslacchi could never be called an American again.
  Rose Bouslacchi was not alone. There were many women affected by this 
law. After decades of women voicing the gender inequities of our laws, 
Congress modified the law. In 1952, Congress enacted a procedure for 
women wronged by the 1907 law to regain their citizenship. A 
legislative oversight, however, failed to provide a procedure to enable 
deceased women to have their citizenship restored posthumously. Thus, 
many families like Rose Bouslacchi's have been left without any 
recompense. The Restoration of Women's Citizenship Act would grant U.S. 
citizenship posthumously to the women who were wronged in 1907 and were 
unable to benefit from the 1952 law.
  I urge all my colleagues to celebrate National Women's History Month 
and honor those deceased women and their families by cosponsoring the 
Restoration of Women's Citizenship Act.

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