[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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