[House Report 118-268]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


118th Congress    }                                     {      Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session      }                                     {     118-268

======================================================================



 
                  WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE NATIONAL MONUMENT 
                              LOCATION ACT

                                _______
                                

November 3, 2023.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Westerman, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1318]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 1318) to authorize the location of a monument on 
the National Mall to commemorate and honor the women's suffrage 
movement and the passage of the 19th Amendment to the 
Constitution, and for other purposes, having considered the 
same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommends that the bill do pass.

                       PURPOSE OF THE LEGISLATION

    The purpose of H.R. 1318 is to authorize the location of a 
monument on the National Mall to commemorate and honor the 
women's suffrage movement and the passage of the 19th Amendment 
to the Constitution, and for other purposes.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    For the first 144 years of America's history, women did not 
have the right to vote. In the middle of the 19th Century, the 
women's suffrage movement emerged with the goal of securing 
this important constitutional right for women across the 
nation. In 1919, Congress passed a constitutional amendment 
(the 19th Amendment) granting women the right to vote, which 
was formally ratified by the states on August 18, 1920.
    Under the Commemorative Works Act (CWA), any new monument 
or memorial in the District of Columbia or the surrounding area 
must be approved by an Act of Congress. Typically, once 
approved, a private organization will have seven years to raise 
the required funding for the commemorative work's construction 
and design. The CWA also established the ``Reserve,'' which 
broadly encompasses what is known as the National Mall. The CWA 
found that the Reserve was ``a substantially completed work of 
civic art'' where the siting of new commemorative works should 
be prohibited. In order to place a new commemorative work in 
the Reserve or near the Reserve, an additional Act of Congress 
is required. While this is somewhat rare, most recently 
Congress authorized a location within the Reserve for the 
Global War on Terrorism Memorial in 2021.
    In December 2020, President Trump signed legislation 
authorizing the creation of a federal monument in Washington, 
D.C., to honor the women's suffrage movement and the historic 
passage of the 19th Amendment. That legislation empowered the 
Women's Suffrage National Monument Foundation to establish a 
commemorative work on federal land in D.C. or its environs. The 
bill required the Women's Suffrage National Monument Foundation 
to follow the standard legal framework established by the CWA 
and prohibited the use of federal funds for commemorative work.
    H.R. 1318, the ``Women's Suffrage National Monument 
Location Act,'' authorizes the congressionally chartered 
Women's Suffrage National Monument to be placed in the Reserve. 
Under the CWA, this additional legislation is necessary for the 
Monument to be placed on the National Mall. Supporters of H.R. 
1318 argue that this monument would be the first tribute to 
women's history on the National Mall. H.R. 1318 is a bipartisan 
bill being co-led by Representative Lesko (R-AZ). Senators 
Baldwin (D-WI) and Blackburn (R-TN) are leading companion 
legislation in the Senate.
    While the text of the legislation does not specify a 
location within the Reserve for the Monument, it is the 
Committee's understanding that the Women's Suffrage National 
Monument Foundation has identified Constitution Gardens as the 
optimal location. The Committee also understands the Foundation 
would like to address the sizable, deferred maintenance backlog 
within Constitution Gardens in addition to building this 
Monument. The Committee believes Constitution Gardens could 
serve as an appropriate location for this Monument and 
encourages the National Park Service and the Foundation to work 
together on identifying a location of prominence within the 
Reserve for this important Monument. The Committee also 
encourages the National Park Service to work closely with the 
Foundation to ensure this Monument can be constructed and 
completed in time for the United States Semiquincentennial in 
2026.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 1318 was introduced on March 1, 2023, by Rep. Joe 
Neguse (D-CO). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee 
on Federal Lands. On July 13, 2023, the Subcommittee on Federal 
Lands held a hearing on the bill. On July 26, 2023, the Full 
Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The 
Subcommittee on Federal Lands was discharged by unanimous 
consent. The bill was then ordered favorably reported to the 
House of Representatives by a roll call vote of 32 yeas to 0 
nays, as follows:

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                                HEARINGS

    For the purposes of clause 3(c)(6) of House Rule XIII, the 
following hearing was used to develop or consider this measure: 
hearing by the Subcommittee on Federal Lands held on July 13, 
2023.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 establishes the short title of the bill as the 
``Women's Suffrage National Monument Location Act''.

Section 2. Women's Suffrage National Monument

    Section 2 establishes the location for the Women's Suffrage 
National Monument within the Reserve in Washington, D.C. under 
the CWA.

            COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

      COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET ACT

    1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act. 
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
sections 308(a) and 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974, the Committee has received the following estimate for the 
bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    H.R. 1318 would require the Women's Suffrage National 
Monument to be located within the Reserve in Washington, D.C. 
The Reserve is the public land between the Lincoln Memorial and 
the Capitol that includes the White House and the Jefferson 
Memorial.
    Public Law 116-217, enacted on December 17, 2020, 
authorized the establishment of a commemorative work on federal 
land in Washington, D.C., but not on the National Mall. Because 
H.R. 1318 would only change the location of the monument, CBO 
estimates that implementing the bill would not affect federal 
spending.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew 
Pickford. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 
Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                             Director, Congressional Budget Office.
    2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or 
objective of this bill is to authorize the location of a 
monument on the National Mall to commemorate and honor the 
women's suffrage movement and the passage of the 19th Amendment 
to the Constitution, and for other purposes.

                           EARMARK STATEMENT

    This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives.

                 UNFUNDED MANDATES REFORM ACT STATEMENT

    According to the Congressional Budget Office, H.R. 1318 
contains no unfunded mandates as defined in the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act.

                           EXISTING PROGRAMS

    Directed Rule Making. This bill does not contain any 
directed rule makings. OR This bill directs an executive branch 
official to conduct the following specific rule makings:
    Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not 
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government 
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was 
not included in any report from the Government Accountability 
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139 
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program 
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law 
98-169) as relating to other programs.

                  APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.

                PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

    Any preemptive effect of this bill over state, local, or 
tribal law is intended to be consistent with the bill's 
purposes and text and the Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the 
U.S. Constitution.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    As ordered reported by the Committee on Natural Resources, 
H.R. 1318 makes no changes in existing law.

                                  [all]