May 20, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 84 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page H3999]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        CELEBRATING CENTENNIAL OF SECURING WOMEN'S RIGHT TO VOTE

  (Mr. LaMALFA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to celebrate the centennial 
of the House passing an amendment granting women the right to vote in 
all States in this country.
  One hundred years ago, the unrelenting efforts of women suffragists 
over the course of a 72-year campaign paid off in the passage of the 
19th Amendment.
  For example, the first woman to hold Federal office, Republican 
Representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana, was actually elected 3 
years before women were allowed to vote at the Federal level in all the 
States at the time. She went on to introduce legislation similar to 
what would eventually become the 19th Amendment.
  My home State Republican Senator, Aaron Sargent from California, 
introduced the first legislation to amend the Constitution and grant 
women the right to vote. It failed on the Senate floor, but it 
represented the beginning of an unstoppable movement that culminated in 
the ratification of the 19th Amendment in August 1920.
  This Chamber is where it all began. I am proud to be standing here 
today and joining my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to 
celebrate the 100th anniversary of this great victory for women and the 
values of our Republic.

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