A resolution designating March 2021 as "National Women's History Month".

III 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. RES. 123 Designating March 2021 as ‘‘National Women’s History Month’’. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 18, 2021 Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Ms. COLLINS, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. DURBIN, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. KAINE, Ms. WAR- REN, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. CASEY, Mr. CARDIN, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. WARNER, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. WYDEN, Ms. ERNST, Mrs. CAPITO, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. ROSEN, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. KING, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. HEINRICH, Ms. SINEMA, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. SMITH, Mrs. HYDE-SMITH, Mrs. FISCHER, Ms. LUM- MIS, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. CARPER, and Mrs. BLACKBURN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judici- ary MARCH 23, 2021 Committee discharged; considered and agreed to RESOLUTION Designating March 2021 as ‘‘National Women’s History Month’’. Whereas National Women’s History Month recognizes and spreads awareness of the importance of women in the his- tory of the United States; Whereas, throughout the history of the United States, wheth- er in their homes, in their workplaces, in schools, in the VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Mar 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR123.ATS SR123 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 SRES 123 ATS courts, or during wartime, women have fought for them- selves, their families, and all people of the United States; Whereas, even from the early days of the history of the United States, Abigail Adams urged her husband to ‘‘Re- member the Ladies’’ when representatives met for the Continental Congress in 1776; Whereas women were particularly important in the establish- ment of early charitable, philanthropic, and cultural insti- tutions in the United States; Whereas women led the efforts to secure suffrage and equal opportunities for women, and also served in the aboli- tionist movement, the emancipation movement, labor movements, civil rights movements, and other causes to create a more fair and just society for all; Whereas suffragists wrote, marched, were arrested, and ulti- mately succeeded in achieving— (1) the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which provides, ‘‘The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.’’; and (2) the enactment of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.), which extended the protection of the right to vote to women of color and language mi- norities; Whereas women have been and continue to be leaders in the forefront of social change efforts, business, science, gov- ernment, math, art, literature, music, film, athletics, and other fields; Whereas women now represent approximately half of the workforce of the United States; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Mar 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR123.ATS SR123 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 SRES 123 ATS Whereas women once were routinely barred from attending medical schools in the United States, but now are enroll- ing in medical schools in the United States at higher numbers than men; Whereas women previously were turned away from law school, but now represent approximately half of law stu- dents in the United States; Whereas, since the American Revolution, women have been vital to the mission of the Armed Forces, with more than 200,000 women serving on active duty and 2,000,000 women veterans representing every branch of service; Whereas more than 10,000,000 women own businesses in the United States; Whereas Jeannette Rankin of Montana was the first woman elected to the House of Representatives in 1916 and Hat- tie Wyatt Caraway of Arkansas was the first woman elected to the United States Senate in 1932; Whereas Margaret Chase Smith of Maine was the first woman to serve in both Houses of Congress; Whereas, in 2021, a record total of 144 women are serving in Congress, including 120 women in the House of Rep- resentatives and 24 women in the Senate; Whereas President Jimmy Carter recognized March 2 through 8, 1980, as ‘‘National Women’s History Week’’; Whereas, in 1987, a bipartisan group of Senators introduced the first joint resolution to pass Congress designating ‘‘Women’s History Month’’; Whereas, in 1987, President Ronald Reagan issued a Presi- dential proclamation proclaiming March 1987 as ‘‘Wom- en’s History Month’’; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Mar 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR123.ATS SR123 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 SRES 123 ATS Whereas, in 2020, Congress passed the Smithsonian Amer- ican Women’s History Museum Act (title I of division T of Public Law 116–260) to establish a national women’s history museum on or near the National Mall in Wash- ington, DC; and Whereas, despite the advancements of women in the United States, much remains to be done to ensure that women realize their full potential as equal members of society in the United States: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) designates March 2021 as ‘‘National Wom- 2 en’s History Month’’; 3 (2) recognizes the celebration of National Wom- 4 en’s History Month as a time to reflect on the many 5 notable contributions that women have made to the 6 United States; and 7 (3) urges the people of the United States to ob- 8 serve National Women’s History Month with appro- 9 priate programs and activities. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Mar 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR123.ATS SR123 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS