[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 56 (Wednesday, March 30, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H3994-H3995]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
LOUISA SWAIN FEDERAL OFFICE BUILDING
Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules
and pass the bill (S. 2126) to designate the Federal Office Building
located at 308 W. 21st Street in Cheyenne, Wyoming, as the ``Louisa
Swain Federal Office Building'', and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
S. 2126
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. LOUISA SWAIN FEDERAL OFFICE BUILDING.
(a) Designation.--The Federal Office Building located at
308 W. 21st Street in Cheyenne, Wyoming, shall be known and
designated as the ``Louisa Swain Federal Office Building''.
(b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation,
document, paper, or other record of the United States to the
Federal Office Building referred to in subsection (a) shall
be deemed to be a reference to the ``Louisa Swain Federal
Office Building''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
Georgia (Ms. Williams) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Webster)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Georgia.
General Leave
Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
[[Page H3995]]
all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend
their remarks and include extraneous material on S. 2126.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Georgia?
There was no objection.
Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of S. 2126, which names the Federal
office building located at 308 West 21st Street in Cheyenne, Wyoming,
as the Louisa Swain Federal Office Building.
In 1869, Wyoming became the first State or territory in the U.S. to
continuously recognize women's voting rights as equal to the voting
rights of men. Louisa Swain was the first woman to vote under that law.
When she cast her vote in the general election of 1870, she was 70
years old. It would be another 50 years before women's voting rights
were recognized in the rest of the country.
Swain, born in Norfolk, Virginia, was orphaned by the age of 10. She
married and moved to Baltimore, where she and her husband raised four
children before moving to Wyoming. Shortly after voting in the 1870
election, Swain and her husband returned to Baltimore, where Swain died
in 1878.
S. 2126 was sponsored by Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis and Maryland
Senator Chris Van Hollen, and cosponsored by Maryland Senator Ben
Cardin and Wyoming Senator John Barrasso. In October 2008, Congress
passed a resolution making September 6, 2008 ``Louisa Swain Day.''
Madam Speaker, I am proud to support and highlight the history of
voting rights in this country. I support this legislation and I
encourage my colleagues to join me. I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WEBSTER of Florida. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of S. 2126, which designates the
Federal office building in Cheyenne, Wyoming, as the Louisa Swain
Federal Office Building.
Louisa Swain was the first woman to cast a ballot legally, on
September 6, 1870, paving the way for all women after her and for
greater equality.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my
time.
Mr. WEBSTER of Florida. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Madam Speaker, in closing, I recognize the work of Louisa Swain and
her historic vote in 1870. I urge support of this legislation, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to
support this legislation in the spirit of voting rights in this
country, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. CHENEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 2126 which
will rename our federal building in Cheyenne, Wyoming, to honor one of
our state's most distinguished heroines: Louisa Swain.
On September 6, 1870, Louisa Swain became the first woman to cast a
ballot in a general election in the United States. She cast her
historic vote just a few blocks from the federal building that will now
bear her name. Louisa's action that day represented the very best of
what Wyoming represents: independence, leadership, grit, integrity, and
equality.
In 1869, Wyoming became the first place in America where women had
the right to vote. Our state constitution included suffrage for women.
When we applied for statehood in 1890, Congress responded that we would
not be admitted to the union so long as we provided women with the
right to vote. In response, Wyoming's state legislators said, ``If we
can't come in with our women, we aren't coming in.''
Wyoming became a state in 1890, the first state in the union where
women could vote.
The track record of female leaders in Wyoming is long and extensive.
It runs through who we are as a state, whether that's Esther Hobart
Morris service as the first female justice of the peace in Sweetwater
County in 1870, Susan Johnson serving as a postmaster in Cheyenne in
1880, Mary Bellamy being elected to the Wyoming House of
Representatives in 1911, or my own grandmother, Edna Vincent, who was
the first female Deputy Sheriff in Natrona County.
It's appropriate that we acknowledge Wyoming's historic leadership
when it comes to advancing rights and opportunities for women. Renaming
our Cheyenne federal building after Louisa Swain will serve as an
important reminder and honor for all the trailblazing women who have
come before us, and will put Wyoming's proud history and heritage on
display as an example for the entire Nation.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from Georgia (Ms. Williams) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, S. 2126.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. ROSENDALE. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution
8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion
are postponed.
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