[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 165 (Wednesday, September 23, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H4721]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  0915
               CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Lee) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support 
of H.R. 1923, the Women's History and Nineteenth Amendment Centennial 
Quarter Dollar Coin Program Act. This bill will celebrate 100 years of 
women's suffrage by featuring women leaders from across the country on 
quarter dollar coins.
  We have been working to advance this bill for over 3 years, and I am 
so proud to have the endorsement of various stakeholders and the 
support of the United States Mint and Treasury on this legislation.
  Let me first thank my co-lead, Congressman Anthony Gonzalez, as well 
as our Senate counterparts, Senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Deb 
Fischer, for their efforts, and for all of our staff for working 
diligently on this legislation.
  And I thank my good friend Congresswoman Maxine Waters and the 
Financial Services Committee for their leadership and commitment to 
getting this bill to the floor. There is bipartisan and bicameral 
support for this legislation.
  My good friend, Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman's legislation on 
semiquincentennial coins commemorating the 250th anniversary of the 
United States is included in this coin package, and I thank her for 
spearheading the efforts on that initiative.
  Finally, let me thank my dear friend, former U.S. Treasurer, Rosie 
Rios, who was really instrumental in shaping this legislation years 
ago, and for her incredible work to raise the visibility of women in 
every space and place to reinforce the critical role women have played 
and continue to play in history. I am deeply grateful for her 
leadership.
  Finally, let me just specifically acknowledge my staff, my former 
legislative director, Emma Mehrabi, for early on never missing a beat 
with diligence and strategic work in getting this bill to the floor, 
and also my current legislative director, Gregory Adams, who really has 
taken this bill to the finish line.
  H.R. 1923 will create a new series of circulating quarters, starting 
in 2022, featuring trailblazing women in American history. It is my 
hope that women of all backgrounds, diverse American women, will be 
chosen and depicted, celebrating the accomplishments of our Nation's 
historical leaders, thinkers, innovators, activists, freedom fighters, 
women who have contributed to achievements in many, many fields: civil 
rights, abolition, suffrage, science, and technology, the arts and 
humanities, education. Because of these women our country is better for 
them and their leadership.
  Much like the previous and celebrated 50 State Quarters program, the 
women featured on these coins and their images will be selected with 
broad public input. Each Governor will engage with members of the 
general public and local groups focused on increasing the inclusion of 
women or improving the quality of life for women to recommend a 
prominent, trailblazing woman to represent their State or territory to 
be featured on their State coin.
  It is my hope that through this process the broader American public 
can engage in a dialogue and celebration of the contributions of these 
women, ensuring that their legacy and contributions are more widely 
known, understood, and valued in each and every corner of our country.
  Mr. Speaker, driving to the Capitol this morning, traffic was stopped 
at the corner. I saw the hearse carrying the casket of our beloved 
Justice Ginsburg to the Supreme Court. I said a prayer as I witnessed 
the procession, and thought about her life and how she paved the way 
for racial and gender equality, and I thought about it in the context 
of this bill today, and the phenomenal women who this country will have 
a chance to get to know. I thank her for her life, her legacy, and for 
what she has done to ensure that women now have their rightful place in 
history.

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