February 26, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 38 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session
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AUTHORIZING EVERY WORD WE UTTER MONUMENT TO ESTABLISH A COMMEMORATIVE WORK; Congressional Record Vol. 166, No. 38
(House of Representatives - February 26, 2020)
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[Pages H1204-H1206] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] AUTHORIZING EVERY WORD WE UTTER MONUMENT TO ESTABLISH A COMMEMORATIVE WORK Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 473) to authorize the Every Word We Utter Monument to establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its environs, and for other purposes, as amended. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 473 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. AUTHORIZATION TO ESTABLISH COMMEMORATIVE WORK. (a) In General.--The Every Word We Utter Monument may establish a commemorative work on Federal land in the District of Columbia and its environs to commemorate the women's suffrage movement and the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which gave women the right to vote. (b) Compliance With Standards For Commemorative Works.--The establishment of the commemorative work under this section shall be in accordance with chapter 89 of title 40, United States Code (commonly known as the ``Commemorative Works Act''). (c) Prohibition on the Use of Federal Funds.-- (1) In general.--Federal funds may not be used to pay any expense of the establishment of the commemorative work under this section. (2) Responsibility of the every word we utter monument.-- The Every Word We Utter Monument shall be solely responsible for acceptance of contributions for, and payment of the expenses of, the establishment of the commemorative work under this section. [[Page H1205]] (d) Deposit of Excess Funds.-- (1) In general.--If upon payment of all expenses for the establishment of the memorial (including the maintenance and preservation amount required by section 8906(b)(1) of title 40, United States Code), there remains a balance of funds received for the establishment of the commemorative work, the Every Word We Utter Monument shall transmit the amount of the balance to the Secretary of the Interior for deposit in the account provided for in section 8906(b)(3) of title 40, United States Code. (2) On expiration of authority.--If upon expiration of the authority for the commemorative work under section 8903(e) of title 40, United States Code, there remains a balance of funds received for the establishment of the commemorative work, the Every Word We Utter Monument shall transmit the amount of the balance to a separate account with the National Park Foundation for memorials, to be available to the Secretary of the Interior or Administrator (as appropriate) following the process provided in section 8906(b)(4) of title 40, United States Code, for accounts established under 8906(b)(2) or (3) of title 40, United States Code. SEC. 2. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Neguse) and the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Colorado. General Leave Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Colorado? There was no objection. Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, ``Every word we utter, every act we perform, waft unto innumerable circles beyond.'' Those are the words Elizabeth Cady Stanton that inspired the movement for H.R. 473, which will create Washington, D.C.'s first statue memorializing the women's suffrage movement. Today, we have the opportunity to honor the diverse and multigenerational group of women who fought for decades to secure women the right to vote. This bill is strongly bipartisan and, in accordance with the Commemorative Works Act, will cost nothing to the Federal Government. It received positive feedback from the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission and passed the Natural Resources Committee with bipartisan support in October. Leading women's organizations are in support of H.R. 473, including the Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission and multiple chapters of the American Association of University Women as well as the League of Women Voters. I am honored to carry this legislation that recognizes and honors the suffragists' tireless efforts and the ripples of hope and civic progress they have elicited for generations. Madam Speaker, I urge your support for this commonsense tribute to our Nation's history, and I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. McCLINTOCK. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This coming August 18 will mark the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which, after a century of earnest protest, extended the right to vote to all women. Forty years before that, suffragette Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote admiringly to Lucretia Mott. She was born in 1793 during President Washington's administration. At the time that Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote to her, she was in her 88th and final year of life. Mott was a Quaker, a major voice in the abolitionist movement, and later in the suffragette movement. Reflecting on her leadership in these just causes and the effect that it had on the entire Nation, Elizabeth Cady Stanton said: One who has lived 88 years, reflecting ever the sober virtues of the true wife and mother, the earnest reformer, the religious teacher, both in the schoolroom and Friends Meeting, must have exerted a strong influence for good on our young, impressionable Nation. When we remember that every word we utter, every act we perform, in all our waking hours, the very atmosphere, the combination all our faculties creates have their constant effect, on everyone who comes within the circle of our individual influence, and through them are wafted by word, by letter and by thought, to innumerable other circles beyond, when we try to estimate all this, we can in a measure appreciate the elevating influence on a nation of just one grand life. The Every Word We Utter Monument takes those words as a testament to the patient influence of so many who finally won adoption of the 19th Amendment, and with it, the fulfillment of American democracy. Those early suffragettes, like Mott and Stanton, never lived to see the culmination of their life's work, but the Every Word We Utter Monument will ensure that their example and achievement is memorialized in Washington, D.C., as are all of the great men and women and all of the great deeds that built this country, as Lincoln said, into the last best hope of mankind on this Earth. This memorial, which will be built without use of Federal funds, will serve as a lasting tribute to the brave and intelligent women who fought to secure voting rights for all Americans. Madam Speaker, I urge adoption of the measure, and I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from California for his remarks, and I couldn't agree with him more. I appreciate his support of this important bill. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. McCLINTOCK. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Tipton). Mr. TIPTON. Madam Speaker, last year marked the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment. While I wish the House would have passed this bill last year to honor the centennial anniversary of the suffragettes' decades-long fight to win the right to vote, I am glad we are debating this bill now. The Every Word We Utter Monument will serve as a continual reminder of the courage shown by women engaged in the suffrage movement, and we must all work to do what we can for the future to be able to ensure quality and inclusion. I appreciate the opportunity to have worked with my colleagues from Colorado on this bill and especially my colleague from the Second District, Mr. Neguse. I have stood across from him a few times on this floor, and it is nice to be in agreement on a public lands bill that we are able to work together on now. It is a bill that will help us bring to light Loveland sculptor, Jane DeDecker's, work to Washington. I think it is an adequate effort to be able to help recognize the suffrage movement and the contribution of women to our Nation. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill. Mr. McCLINTOCK. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. I want to thank my colleague and neighbor from the Third District for his very kind remarks and for his support of this bill, and my fellow Members of the Colorado delegation for their unanimous support of this bill. Madam Speaker, I must take a moment to thank the advocates who have worked on this legislation for many years, Jane DeDecker, who is a constituent of mine in the wonderful community of Loveland, Colorado, who conceptualized the statue for which our bill is named; and the president of the Every Word We Utter board, Jody Shadduck-McNally, who also worked tirelessly. Both of these women have worked very hard to ensure that this piece of women's history and the long legacy of women's civic engagement that followed is commemorated effectively and can stand as an inspiration for generations to come. I would close just on a personal note. As the Speaker knows, my daughter, Natalie, is just a year and a half old now. As she grows up, I want her to feel represented, empowered, and assured of the fundamental role that she plays in [[Page H1206]] our society. When Natalie visits our Nation's Capitol, she will hopefully be able to visit this statue and learn of the great struggle to ensure her equality and be assured America's sons and daughters stand on equal footing at the doors of opportunity. In reverence to the brave women who fought for equality in the past, and on behalf of all of those who will follow, I thank my fellow Members for their consideration in support of this legislation. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. {time} 1315 The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Neguse) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 473, as amended. The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed. A motion to reconsider was laid on the table. ____________________
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